Fashion for heritage

The new Ogaan,located on the first floor,of the historical Grants Building in Colaba,fits Bhartia’s vision perfectly. “I wanted something that would represent the historical heritage of this city,” says the designer,“What I love about Mumbai is the wealth of heritage architecture here. And Colaba has always been my favourite since you can find such beautiful structures here. It breaks my heart when a lovely old building is torn down to make way for a new structure. So when we found this place,I was quite categorical in my demand that the old structure be left as untouched as possible.” It was a demand that architect Saurabh Dakshini seems to have fulfilled. The walls are bare and grey and the strong iron pillars still stand proudly,holding up the ceiling,where the old teak wood rafter lie exposed. “The raw,unfinished look of the place is perfect as a setting for the clothes. You can’t have the fixtures and furnitures drawing all the attention,when the people are here to shop for clothes,”explains Dakshini.

The collection on display —ranging from Gaurav Gupta’s elegant semi-stitched saris,to Gauri and Nainika’s cocktail confections to Bhartia’s own selection of Indo-western wear—is quite eclectic. There’s even a whole range of clothes by Kiran Uttam Ghosh (“she’s like family”),including some lavish bridal wear. “The idea is that there should be something for every occasion and every need here,” explains Bhartia,“Even brides these days demand so many different styles. They don’t want to be repetitive. So they may wear a red lehenga for the actual ceremony,but for things like the sangeet or the reception,they want to experiment.” Ogaan also stocks jewellery and delicate,metal filigree bags by Ritika Sachdeva.

In a way,Bhartia feels that her store’s wide ranging collection stems from her love of Indian heritage,just like the store’s design. “There’s so much work in India and it needs to be shown off. Nowhere else will you find workmanship like in India,” she says,as she fingers the elaborate embroidery on a Studio Petticoat tunic,“All the pieces here have been deliberately chosen to reflect that.” In the 15 odd years that Bhartia’s been in the business,she’s seen fashion retailing grow from nothing into something formidable,even if it’s still not the behemoth that it already is in other Asian countries like China or South Korea. “But there’s still time and scope for us to grow. In the past few years,we’ve seen so many new designers and something exciting is always coming along,” she says.

Management of the store won’t be easy,she admits. “I live in Delhi,so of course it’s easier for me to look after the branches there. But I’ll be flying down frequently.” But she’s not worried about competing with other boutiques in the fashion conscious financial capital. “I’m confident of our loyal clientele. They want us here,” she signs off.