Checkmate: The Vian Shop’s monsoon-ready travel wear is here
Kolkata-based fashion designer Sayantan Sarkar’s label, The Vian Shop, co-founded with Olivia Sinha Roy, has unveiled an elegant line of resort and vacation wear called Checkmate to brighten up the gloomy monsoon season. Known for his interplay of design aesthetics with high-quality fabric, Sayantan’s collections are always a conversation starter, featuring fluid structures where drapes and textures play a crucial role. The designer took us through his latest drop in a fun chat.
Kolkata’s The Vian Shop drops earthy, elegant monsoon staples
Tell us all about your new collection of travel wear.
This collection is a celebration of ease, structure, and earthy elegance. We’ve worked with handwoven cotton, khadi checks and stripes on lightweight, breathable fabrics—perfect for India’s summer heat. The palette ranges from soft neutrals to browns, with a hint of pinks and lavenders on handcrafted multi-checks with woven stripes. The silhouettes are a thoughtful mix of anti-fit kaftans, asymmetric overlays, shirt dresses, co-ord sets, and midi dresses, designed to flow with the body. Signature elements include gathered seams, dolman sleeves, drawstring details, and panel play—each piece combining function and fluidity.
What’s the idea behind the collection?
The idea is rooted in functional comfort and conscious beauty. We wanted to design clothes that breathe, move, and empower—the kind you can wear from home to a brunch, from work to a slow evening out. Inspired by Indian textures, this collection is our take on slow living and dressing effortlessly in our chaotic urban settings.
How different is the collection from the previous ones?
While we’ve always focused on handcrafted, sustainable fashion, this time we’ve gone bolder with experimental forms and fluid shapes. The introduction of more structured drawstring styles with playful contrasts of stripes with checks gives the collection a fresh versatility. We’ve layered heritage elements with a street-style ease, which is a newer direction for us.
How sustainable is the range and your label in general?
At The Vian Shop, every decision is made with sustainability in mind. Our fabrics are natural, locally sourced, and handwoven by artisans. We follow small-batch, made-to-order production to avoid wastage. The scrap is reused in accessories or future trims. Sustainability isn’t a trend for us—it’s our foundation. We believe sustainability should be accessible—our range begins from INR 3,000-4,000, making conscious fashion more inclusive and wearable every day.
What’s trending in casual and occasion/wedding wear this season?
For casual wear, co-ord sets, oversized shirt dresses, and soft kaftans in breathable fabrics are everywhere. Think versatile layering pieces that work from am to pm. For occasion wear, there’s a growing love for handcrafted minimalism—light drapes, soft pastel tones, and relaxed separates. Brides and guests alike are embracing comfort-led elegance with woven textures and fusion silhouettes.
What are the summer wardrobe must-haves?
A breezy oversized shirt dress, kaftan tunics in handwoven checks or stripes, a versatile co-ord set in a bold tone like mustard, lightweight overlay jackets for layering, handmade slip-on sandals and silver jewellery to accessorise the look
Who is the most stylish celebrity in your eyes?
We love Konkona Sen Sharma—she embodies a kind of quiet charisma that doesn’t chase trends, it sets them. Her style is slow, serene, and soulful—like poetry stitched into fabric. She wears comfort like couture, and her love for unstructured, Indian silhouettes makes her the perfect muse for mindful fashion. She doesn’t just wear clothes—she lives in them, just like the Vian woman.
What are the plans for your label?
We’re steadily growing—expanding our size range, setting up more offline and pop-up touchpoints, and most excitingly, we’re in the process of onboarding onto multi-designer platforms and e-commerce spaces to bring the label to more wardrobes, especially in tier II and tier III cities. Every plan we make leads back to one goal: To make handmade fashion a daily choice, not just an occasional one.
Tell us about your upcoming collections.
Next in line is a quiet handloom transition, where khadi and jamdani are gently reimagined for everyday living. The collection brings together airy kaftan dresses, relaxed drawstring pants, soft layering sets, and cropped jackets, all shaped with ease and intention. It’s a line that lets the fabric speak—soft, breathable, and rooted—made for slow days, mindful dressing, and the simple beauty of feeling at home in what you wear.