When you’re in an industry where there is little to no competition, it is easy to get complacent.
However, that has never been the case with designer duo Shivan Bhatia and Narresh Kukreja of swim and resort wear label, Shivan & Narresh. In 2010, when they launched their brand, the concept of resort wear in India’s fashion industry was practically non-existent.
But that didn’t stop them from constantly pushing the envelope and coming up with revolutionary garments like the bikini sari and the mastectomy blouse.
Their need to reinvent themselves and evolve with the changing times has been so strong that it has seen them expand from just swimwear to resort wear, event planning and most recently, athleisure.
Created in collaboration with Koovs, the recently launched line of jogger pants, tops, playsuits, jackets and shirts, are pieces that wouldn’t be out of place in the designers’ own closets, or so we’re told.
We talk to Narresh Kukreja about the future of swimwear in India, sustainability and their collaboration with Koovs.
What would you say is the future of the swimwear market in India?
When we started out, it was a pure passion call to design swimwear. It’s a category that best expresses both Shivan’s and my creativity and design principles.
India is a young country. And when we launched our label, fashion in India was all about bridal wear. It was not something that people thought about everyday.
Now, things have changed
Our category, swim and resort wear, answers issues such as body confidence and our country’s history (traditionally, our clothes were always sensual and exposed skin, whereas in the west, it was scandalous).
However, over the years, we’ve become restricted as a society and swimwear, while it has a niche audience, is yet to take off in India.
What are your thoughts on sustainable swimwear made using ocean waste?
It’s very exciting. We have been talking to a few vendors about this. We source all our fabrics from Italy, so it’s a bit challenging to coordinate and communicate from here.
But our team has their ears and eyes open and you will hopefully see an eco-conscious line of swimwear from us soon.
How did you venture into event planning?
Our Celebrations wing was born out of necessity. One of our bridal wear customers wanted her whole wedding and decor to go with what she was wearing.
She didn’t want to look out of place in her modern outfit surrounded by traditional fixtures and design elements, especially in the photographs.
So that’s how it happened. So aesthetically, our events are like stepping into a universe that is an extension of our clothes.
Tell us about your collaboration with Koovs
We started working on the collection about four months ago. Right from the start, we were very clear that we wanted to address a younger and wider audience.
We wanted to offer the Shivan & Narresh universe at price points that were in keeping with what Koovs had in mind.
What is the concept of the collection?
The idea is to dive into the holiday lifestyle of Shivan & Narresh. We have used four signature prints in the collection.
This is also the first time we’ve created outfits that fall under categories like streetwear, athleisure and sport.
Tell us more about the prints, colours and silhouettes used
We’ve created prints called Summer Night, Rose Magnolia and Vineyard, so the colour story is a mix of black, red, skyblue and rose.
They’re all summer colours, very conducive to holidays. I would say it’s a maximalist approach to athleisure and street wear. It also includes some evening wear.