Heavy Duty

In the last couple of years,many sectors in the city have emerged as hubs of banking,education and shopping. While Sector 17 has emerged as a serious shopping destination for retail brands,Sector 26 could well be defined as the city’s fine-dining street. However,when it comes to high fashion or designer stops,it’s been an open turf with designer studios spread across the city. So the location of the newly opened Adaah Couture in Sector 8 on Madhya Marg with shops and office in the vicinity,is not surprising. The store,housing multi-designer labels,was formally set rolling by designer JJ Valaya on Sunday afternoon.

Step inside and it’s a different story. The hustle-bustle of outside is replaced by quiet elegance and the decadence is noticeable. Full marks to the design team for having made diligent use of the SCO (Shop-cum-office) space. True to its name,the various collections at Adaah are indeed heavy duty. But what is truly impressive is the number of A-list designers the store has roped in. Apart from Valaya,it houses collections by Tarun Tahiliani,Rohit Bal,Sabyasachi,Varun Bahl,Mandira Wirk,Suneet Varma,Gaurav Gupta and Rimple & Harpreet Narula. The line-up isn’t just enviable but a first-of-its-kind for the city. “We all know when it comes to shopping for designer labels,everyone from the region heads to Delhi. We wanted to bridge the gap,” owner Ankit Gupta steps in to explain. Valaya,too,was all praise and felt the city could do with a concept store like this.

The idea to offer couture,admits Gupta,was intentional. “The market is ready for high-end designer wear and we wanted to be the first ones to tap into it,” said Gupta. One notices that the collections are segregated into sections according to the silhouette and colour and not according to the labels. It’s a luxurious mix of Rohit Bal’s floor-sweeping Anarkalis from Autumn-Winter 2012 to Sabyasachi’s saris and Gaurav Gupta’s concept saris.

For fashionistas concerned with whether the store would offer recent collections,Gupta says,“We have exclusive collaborations with the designer and the prices and collections would be in-season,and what is available at their own stores in Delhi.” With couture as the theme,there are plenty of lehengas to choose from. A private-viewing area housed in the middle of the store complete with a LED-lit podium for the bride to step on is indeed impressive.

As far as prices go,the ensembles start at around Rs 35,000; the lehengas are priced between Rs 1 and 8 lakh.