BENGALURU: In the 1980s Bengaluru, a little-known family-owned silk saree brand undertook an ambitious move, relocating from its small showroom on Commercial Street to the nearby M G Road. The decision was fraught with risks, but M Chandrashekar, founder of the city’s Deepam Silks was determined to grow his business and establish it as the go-to place for silk sarees.
Now, as they get ready for their golden jubilee celebrations, they are ready to launch an exclusive collection of wedding sarees early next month. “Over the last five years, we have been working closely with a few hand-picked designers on our 50th-anniversary collection. We hope to launch the collection early next month,” says Vijayshekhar Ravi Deepam, co-director, Deepam Silks and a second-generation member of the Deepam family. The price of the golden jubilee collection will range between Rs 10,000 to Rs 7,50,000.
Going back in time, the saree brand started in a small 400 sqft showroom nearly five decades ago. Today, they stand in a 16,000 sqft showroom on M G Road catering exclusively to wedding shoppers. “In the early ’90s, the industry started growing, with a lot of new players coming into the market. But we have a 40 per cent growth rate year on year,” says Ravi Deepam, adding that they shifted their focus exclusively towards wedding shoppers in the early 2000s, away from their previous image as a brand for tourists.
Ravi Deepam feels that success is due to their uncompromising attitude towards quality and a variety of designs. “People tend to cherish their wedding sarees, so we need to offer them something that is unique. We offer our customers the finest Kanjeevaram silks. Even though wedding sarees are quite limited in terms of colours, we ensure that the design of each saree is different from the next through elaborate embroidery work done by our skilled master weavers,” he explains.
The brand has master weavers and designers from across the country. “We have master weavers across the country, from people who only work on cashmere embroidery to people down south who work on Kanjeevaram and Dharmavaram. Each weaver is individually chosen for their skillset and craft,” shares Ravi Deepam.