CHENNAI : There’s a new shopping landmark on Cathedral Road — a glittering, glamorous and graceful one at that. Bengaluru-based occasion and bridal wear brand Koskii launched its first store in the city with a fashion show featuring pieces from the collection, on Saturday.
With plush and pleasing interiors spread over different levels, customers have enough room to admire their exquisite collection. With a strong legacy in textiles that spans a hundred years, Koskii is looking to establish a national footprint as the occasion wear brand of choice for women. Koskii, meaning ‘girl’ in the Nawayati language, offers classic pieces that have a rich traditional aesthetic and simplistic elegance.
“Opening a store in Chennai was a natural choice,” said Umar Akhter, COO of Koskii. “We have always had a continuous inflow of customers from Chennai who would drive down to our store in Bengaluru as they could not find this kind of a collection here. Even from a cultural perspective, both Bengaluru and Chennai are south Indian cities and we didn’t feel Chennai would be any different as south Indians are also shopping for different occasions like haldi, mehendi, sangeet, etc.”
Be it festive or wedding collections, Koskii has a line-up to suit every discerning taste and budget. “We pride ourselves in being a brand that provides affordable and value-for-money clothing, but provide the experience of a luxury brand,” he said. “Through word-of-mouth, people are recognising that this is a luxury brand which they can afford. We have regular salwar suits from `1,500 onwards to `15,000-`20,000 and bridal lehengas from `10,000 to `2 lakh.
One of the unique features of our store is that we display our collection on the floor. That’s why we call it a walk-in-wardrobe as customers can see, feel and interact with the collection.” They have also curated clothes and tailor-made them for occasions. “For instance, for the sangeet where people are going to be dancing, we’ve kept in mind that the high-end bridal collections are not heavy, so we have outfits with loose sleeves or sleeveless,” he said.
For the season ahead, Koskii’s collection comprises breathtaking creations in elegant pastel shades. Embellished with thread work, beadwork, cutdana, zari, zardozi and mirror work, the creations are sure to make heads turn.The diverse collections also boast creations handpicked from textile, weaving and karigari centres across India. The intricately designed and embroidered masterpieces tell tales of skill, effort, patience and imagination while employing age-old techniques rooted in tradition.
“When I came back to India from Singapore to start Koskii, I was saddened with the way brides were depicted in bridal wear campaigns — a gorgeous woman sitting in a ghunghat. But the woman of today is sitting in the board room, an entrepreneur and so much more. Our brand is for the woman who is out there, the girl of today and the girl of tomorrow,” said Umar.