Loukya launched a year ago and Indulge celebrated the launch of this boutique heritage silk sari brand with a lot of excitement, it was therefore joy for us to hear that the label would now be opening their first store in Bengaluru. We caught up with co-curator sister duo Jayashree Nanaiah Singh and Rajashree Karthik Gowda to talk about the new store on Palace Road and what they have in mind for the city’s silk sari aficionados.
“We were looking for visibility and access and we did a lot of research about where the location ought to be. We were very clear about the brand and who our clientele was. We knew that there were many silk sari shops in Bengaluru, but was anyone focusing on luxury the way we wanted to? Not really. We also noticed a lack of any boutique space for saris in North Bengaluru and so we decided to focus on this area. That’s why we zeroed in on Palace Road and how we set up shop here,” begins Jayashree Nanaiah Singh.
Looking around the store, we notice a rather small number of well-curated saris on display. Quite different from most boutique stores, that overstock and can burden you with too much to choose from, Loukya clearly is confident in their curations and with good reason too. The one antique wooden cupboard with approximately 500+ saris is a selection that any kanjivaram connoisseur would pay just to peruse through.
“We decided to stick to typical kanjivaram motifs and techniques, of course, incorporating our own design sensibilities wherever possible. We choose to only work with weavers proficient in the adai technique which is a very old technique that is not used so commonly anymore. We insist on pure zari and so the sheen might not be as blingy as some of the other saris available in the market, but this will stay and see you through generations,” adds Rajashree Karthik Gowda.
Browsing through the limited yet exquisite collection, we come across many interesting rarities including a unique horse motif placed very interestingly on the pallu of a rich kanjivaram and colour combinations in traditional designs that aren’t very popular today.
“We want to do many different things, but we are also conscious of sticking to a language understood by the weavers we work with. We do make alterations according to what we think will work, but at the end of the day, respecting the weavers and their knowledge of what kanjivaram is, is something we’d like to respect,” adds Jayashree.
While the store and Loukya as a brand focuses largely on kanjivarams, they also house a few banarasis and printed silks too. “Loukya is another name for Goddess Lakshmi aka Kamakshi. The Kamakshi Amman Temple represents an important gem from the past and is set in the midst of Kanchipuram and it seemed like the perfect name for our brand, since we focus very proudly on kanjivarams,” concludes Rajashree.
INR 21,000 onwards. At Palace Road.
romal@newindianexpress.com
@elromal