We have seen this Bengaluru-based men’s resort wear brand being sported by footballers Sunil Chettri and Udanta Singh Kumam; cricketer S Badrinath; Mr India Supranational Prathamesh Maulingkar and quite a few other celebrities from across India. Known for being a vegan, pro-minimal wastage and an ethically produced brand, Destello, helmed by young self-taught designer Prashant Priyadarshi, is celebrated by the metrosexual man for their play with pastel vibrant colours like pink, green, beige, brown, yellow and red; and focus on floral graphic prints. Their Spring-Summer ’21 edit features summer feels and prints that can be dressed up and dressed down. We catch up with the designer to find out more about why his new collection focuses on, “prints that really make people happy.” Excerpts.
Your SS ’21 collection is trending across social media, what defines this edit?
Our main goal has always been to make resort wear for men more mainstream and bring it on to the streets of India. Honestly the idea behind each of our collections is always led by our customers and followers. Each collection is based on what sold the most in the last couple of seasons. We then modify or keep similar prints as inspiration and develop new ones. We interact a lot with our customers and followers through surveys and social media and we understood that there was a need for prints that really made people happy and had a positive vibe to it. That defined my aesthetic for this season.
You are known for being a vegan, pro-minimal wastage and an ethically produced brand — in today’s consumerist world, how does that fit in?
The new generation of customers in India is woke and they have started to recognise the tension between
consumerism and the climate crisis. They don’t care about the brand name per se and are more concerned about things like: how ethically made is the piece of clothing? Is it cruelty free? Is it sustainable enough? Is it zero wastage? Is it a small-scale production? It’s the story behind the brand that satisfies the customer these days.
What’s trending this summer for men, according to you?
According to my sales study it’s: relaxed fitting, nautical vibes, soft and flowy fabrics, floral prints that can be layered, pinstripes that never seem to go out of style, spring prints and short sleeves. Coming to bottoms — I think shorts are in, well fitted denims and chinos are being seen a lot and there has been a shift from well fitted to comfort fit; the baggy fit is back and surprisingly, high waisted pants are back again.
What next can we look forward to from Destello?
I haven’t planned my next edit yet, but you can be sure it will feature a whole lot of print surprises.
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