Effortless Chic

We meet at Frangipani,at the Trident’s all-day diner,for some salad,a hungry pizza and much catch-up. Rao,at 40 and still a head-turner,is far more relaxed and confident than she was when we first met a decade ago. She’s been in the business long enough to really know it,she’s done with having babies (her cherubic Maya,now 6,took the finale bow with her at her Lakme Fashion Week show on March 11) and is ready to talk a brand new business plan.

“I define Mineral as postmodern clothing for the contemporary modern woman,” says Rao (‘cerebral’ is another word often bandied about where she’s concerned). “It’s clothing that takes her from her own space to her office. It doesn’t shout out ‘look at me’. It’s also for women who understand and appreciate understated design; it’s clearly not for fashion victims.”

Rao makes it clear she isn’t interested in elite fashion boutiques peppered across India’s nouveau metros,but in high street retail. The clothes she showed at LFW resembled chic streetwear,assembled with style and a hint of personal attitude. The muted tones were highlighted with bright colours thrown in as crushed scarves,corsages and basket bags. It was indeed a breather from a runway usually filled with ethnic Indian wear or clothes so conceptual they’re best suited to fashion school graduation fairs.

Rao has roped in her husband,Jaydeep Shetty,a bright man and inveterate wit with a corporate background in marketing,to be her CEO. Also important is the investor — Ashok Mukhi’s Solar Group—that owns and runs many stores on Bandra’s Linking Road and has a strong retail presence.

“It’s clearly not within my means or level of energy to provide the infrastructure required for retail. Mineral is Jaydeep’s concept,it’s his baby. I do the production,he takes it to the stores,replenishes the stocks and looks into strategising,branding and marketing. And with Mukhi on board,we make a good team,” Rao avers.

In this season itself,Mineral will have two standalone stores; one at Malad’s Infinity 2 Mall,alongside Zara,Mango and FCUK. The second store,at Linking Road,will be a much bigger concept store with a book shop and an art gallery within it. “My customers are cerebral too,” she almost guffaws.

Rao did dip her fingers in the standalone retail pie—in 2003 she opened a fabulous little space,Vinegar,in Bandra,that sold the breeziest linens in the country,with prices that started at Rs 1,200. “Vinegar was never a label,it was just a single store. But production was tough,we had no investor and I had gotten into larger format production.”

Designer wear retail in India is rather skewed,with knock-offs and garage designers thriving with their lowered prices. “The designer retail scene is changing,today Rs 25,000 for a dressy outfit is not too much. But luxury can only work if it is available. And designer clothes,garage designers as well as high street stores seem to be doing well.”