Two guys, a girl and Zubeida

Bangalore is where we started first retailing… This is where we presented our collection for the first time when we started our career. South India is a major market for us, especially Bangalore, because there is a lot of demand for soft and subtle designs and clothes with less bling. And since Studio Virtues is about all about fabric and rich embroidery, we connect and relate very well with the market here.

This city has always been about change...We always design clothes according to the needs of the city and its people. The people of Bangalore know about textile, fabric and they know what they are talking about. It’s is also a very different market, as compared to the rest of the country. On one hand, there are those who prefer more of western cuts and colours, less embellishment and something in vogue. Then there are those who like exactly the opposite but this section is very small in Bangalore.

And we are back…We have always received great response from Bangalore, with our collections usually getting sold out soon after the launch. This time, we decided to have an interactive launch rather than just sending the collection. This has given us an opportunity to meet the people who want to buy our clothes. Earlier, we never got to know exactly what people wanted. But today, after this interactive session, we will be going back with the understanding of what the market wants and is expecting.

Presenting Zubeida... This is our latest AW13 collection. The Nawabs of Awadh were renowned for their extravagance and patronage of the best courtesans, craftsmen and cooks. This collection, through its range unfolds the story of Zubeida — a courtesan in the post-Mughal state of Awadh during the 18th century.  We want someone with a very strong character and can wear beautiful, timeless clothes to try this range. It’s not about clothes but attitude and character that attracts people, and we wanted to represent that. We added some nice drapes of dupatta and to bring some contemporary look; we also added checks that represent the shatranj (chess squares), the flaunting of Mughals.

Cuts, colours, fabrics and patterns... We have used a lot of block printing, hand block printing and natural dyes and the collection is entirely in cotton. It’s pre-dominantly black and white, the combinations are such that one can wear it during the day or at night. The collection has got many cuts and layers that add volume to each piece.

Zubeida v/s present trends... The present trend is all about bright neon colours. When we bring a B/W collection, we are obviously breaking away from what’s in vogue. There are a lot of people who do not follow trends — who probably take on the “Zubeida” personality. There are people who want to wear comfortable clothing that enhances their personality.

Teamwork… Even though we are a team, we work individually. We have different design visions. We work on it differently and we think that works best because the customer gets a lot of variety and variations. We don’t compete with each other, don’t fight — we do disagree, but we get along as our thoughts match. We all take inspiration from each other. We inspire, gain and learn from each other.

What next? Right now we are working on our next collection Spring-Summer collection called Indigo, which will have shades of blues and will be launched next month.

Zubeida is on display at Collage, Woodstreet, on till September 30.