‘Indian women love maillots; it’s great to see women accepting their body type’

Resortwear specialists Shivan & Narresh discuss their newest store, the Indian woman’s love for maillots and their forthcoming menswear line.

Shivan Bhatia and Narresh Kukreja (right) at their new Swim Boutique in Delhi.

For Narresh Kukreja and Shivan Bhatia, the last six years have gone swimmingly. The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) graduates, who pooled their considerable talents and first made a splash with their label Shivan & Narresh at Cannes at ‘Mare di Moda’ event in November 2008, haven’t been known to be afraid of diving into the deep end. Swimming puns aside, the duo, who took a distinct leap of faith to launch India’s first luxury beachwear brand, do admit feeling a degree of trepidation initially.

“It was a bit intimidating, to start off this category in India after experiencing the mature swimwear market in Europe, but at the same time, there was a larger adrenaline rush to start a new venture as a direct product of our passions of travelling and body art,” says Bhatia (30). Nearly six years later, they’ve not only managed to stay afloat, but also captured a share of the market that was hitherto unexplored with three stand-alone stores, a marked online presence and a distinct artistic oeuvre. Their latest is a unique Swim Boutique at Select Citywalk, Delhi, with a Bangalore outpost coming up in July.

Envisaged as the bottom of a swimming pool, the Swim Boutique has racks that borrow from pool ladders, walls lined with Italian glass mosaics, pool depth markings on the wall and diving mannequins suspended from the ceilings, crystallised with Swarovski elements to echo water droplets on the bodies. “A touch of the bygone era of Piscine Molitor lifestyle was given to the showroom with gold-plated vintage showers fixed in the changing rooms,” adds Kukreja (28). Here, the duo looks back on their journey so far and discusses inspirations and aspirations. Edited excerpts:

What got the two of you interested in swimwear in the first place?

Narresh: Shivan was a passionate illustrator since his early school days and I was obsessed with art. While it allowed him to sketch anywhere on the human body and bring it alive, I got the biggest reason to look beyond my canvas and paint bodies instead. Swimwear became the perfect way to amalgamate fashion and art for us. This was our biggest aphrodisiac, to overcome all the challenges we faced in working on an intimate category of clothing in a country like India.

You’ve managed to create a space for yourself in the industry? Was that a conscious thought when you started out?

Narresh: Not at all. Our prime goal was to follow our passion for this category and show India the dream of luxury holidaying, while making swimwear central focus of a look — making people embrace the swimsuit beyond the swimming pool.

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What are some of the preferences that Indian women exhibit in swimwear? How have tastes evolved over the years?

Shivan: Indian women love maillots! Especially the one shoulder ones — some want the classic style in every possible silhouette alteration. With changing times and the market becoming more mature, the high-waisted bralet-style bikinis and the cut-out trikinis have become popular with women who want to experiment with trends and subtle boldness. It’s great to see how comfortable women are becoming in accepting their body type and embracing it.

Also, tell us about your new menswear line.

Shivan: We will launch our menswear line at the Swim Boutique in a month’s time. It was a logical step, as a result of our loyal women clients who would blame us for making their men look not worthy enough of walking down the beach/pool with them, wearing their regular sports brand while they wore their Shivan & Narresh swimwear. So, after much ado, we thought it was time to give the men a piece of our universe too. The line will feature beach shorts, swimming trunks and linen shirts with sharp cuts in the brand’s signature colour-blocked avatar.

What are the lessons you’ve learnt from your consumers?

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Narresh: Consumers have taught us that this category means a lot more than fashion to them. It’s a garment that makes them love and accept themselves, and gives them the freedom to indulge and recreate. This understanding has made us view our own category of clothing less as fashion and more as a tool for problem-solving and imparting confidence.

Is the swimwear specialist mould in any way limiting to your creativity?

Shivan: Swimwear is and will always be our forte and an integral part of our brand identity. Our larger vision is based on comprehensive and holistic wardrobes for women out on holidays or honeymoons on a beach, cruise, resort and even a destination wedding. While swimwear remains the foci of the collections, resortwear includes pareos, cover-ups and shirts. The destination-wedding wardrobes include specialised tailored jersey-saris as well as the neoprene lehenga. So, there really isn’t a limit in terms of creativity.

Summer trends and colours/cuts we can expect at the store.

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Shivan: Sports Luxe remains the larger trend for the season, so expect to see an influx of athletic styles infused with sharp style lines and high contrast colours like flaming oranges with flossy pinks and blacks, canary yellows with monochromes and aquas with corals. Trikinis and bralets will be the silhouettes dominating the swimwear while maillots would see bolder versions with strategic cut-outs.

This story appeared in print under the headline Swim Team

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