S&N by Shantanu and Nikhil celebrates travel with #SNSafari

It takes a lot of courage to create a travel-inspired collection at a time when there are fresh rules and restrictions imposed on travel almost every week. But Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra, who launched their collection #SNSafari for their ‘bridge-to-luxury’ label S&N by Shantanu and Nikhil at the phygital FDCI x Lakme Fashion Week last month, are not your average designer duo. 

“An idyllic backdrop of ‘celebration on the move’, a travel-inspired undercurrent and a new-found tandem between folk and funk, #SNSafari is a celebration of oneself, of the journey and of the destination. Inspired by the notion of gaining ground amidst the humdrum of life the collection is an experiential narrative of travel where we invite our audience to celebrate vicariously,” says Nikhil, who with Shantanu, launched S&N by Shantanu and Nikhil a year ago.

Wild card
The couturiers, who have also designed the Mumbai Indians’ jersey for Indian Premier League 2021, have experimented with offbeat silhouettes and earthy colours in #SNSafari. Using a palette that shifts from rust orange to charcoal grey, slate grey, midnight blue, black and off-white, the collection features asymmetric kurtas and cropped jackets for women and open sherwanis and structured shirts with Nehruvian details for men. Elements like laser cuts and skillful draping lend each piece a new level of edginess. “It is a fun gamut of ultra-modern styles. As it is travel-inspired, we have given a lot of importance to comfort,” shares Nikhil. 

Into the future
Talking about dealing with the pandemic and what the future holds for the duo as designers, Nikhil reveals that the last year saw them rethinking their business model, to make it more versatile and future forward. “We accepted the fact that ‘digital is the future’ very early on in the pandemic and streamlined our efforts towards going the digital way by launching a fully functional e-commerce website and participating in three ‘phygital’ fashion weeks. For us, few positive consequences of the pandemic were a press towards digitisation, acceleration in innovation and an urge towards understanding and integrating newer ways of consumerism. We observed a shift in the way consumers feel about fashion. They are far more emotional in their choices and responsible in consumption. Thus, we felt the need to forge a more inclusive and conversational relationship with our consumers,” he says in conclusion. 

Rs.10,500 upwards. Available online