Designer Shantnu Mehra on the launch of S&N in Bengaluru and the most accessible segment from the bridge to luxury
Designer Shantnu Mehra on the launch of S&N in Bengaluru and the most accessible segment from the bridge to luxury
More than two decades since the launch of the brand, Shantnu & Nikhil is finally setting foot namma ooru to expand their retail presence. The designers behind the eponymous brand have just launched S&N, a luxury bridge label that has found its first home in Bengaluru at Phoenix Market City. In September, another store will open on Vittal Mallya Road.
“S&N is nothing but a knock-on effect of Shantnu & Nikhil,” says one half of the designer duo, Shantnu Mehra, who was in Bengaluru recently for the store’s launch. Primarily, S&N is a menswear brand with 70% of its offerings catering to men, with the remainder for womenswear and solutions through accessories, respectively.
If the parent brand is all about ceremonial wear, S&N keeps it festive. “There is a sense of contemporary ethnicity meets Indo-Western influences. Party wear is not just limited to weddings. It can be for anything – a birthday, anniversary or board meeting,” Shantnu says of the new label, which launched in 2020 in Delhi.
Known to be anti-trend in their designs, the brothers adopt the same policy in the conception of S&N as a label. Calling the bridge-to-luxury segment an uncharted territory in India, Shantnu believes that while most international brands have set a ground rule on what bridge-luxury is, no Indian designer has been able to touch that point. sweet, until today. “Either it’s at the top of the fashion food chain with couture or it becomes very mass market. Nothing sits on the stomach,” he adds.
And that’s exactly what S&N aims to capture. For example, the statement shirts they retail for start at ₹8,000. Prices may be down compared to the parent brand (price on demand), but the in-store experience, Shantnu promises, is not. “The Shantnu & Nikhil bloodline still comes through in interiors with shades of gold, grey, dark and matte color palettes. Our salespeople are more like designers who give you solutions – what pin will go with a shirt, shoes that work for you, what colors mix and match well, etc.
While the design ethos has remained constant, the business side of things has seen some changes. In 2019, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail (ABFRL) acquired a stake in Shantnu & Nikhil, which then gave the brand “wings to fly” with a stronger supply chain for sourcing, manufacturing and distribution. The one thing the designers were sure about in this partnership? Design before commerce, always. “There is no loss of creative freedom, in fact, we had the opportunity to incubate better ideas.”
For starters, S&N introduces a different market segment for the brand to tap into. In addition to brick and mortar stores, there is also a direct-to-consumer digital channel. While the parent brand focuses on ceremonial wear, S&N offers something for the attending – be it weddings or parties – with a collection of shirts, signature kurtas, evening jackets, fitted vests, sherwanis, saree dresses, corset tops and more.
Even the fashion brand is undergoing a revamp in some stores, where the model is becoming more hybrid, putting both S&N and the parent brand under one roof. Also on the drawing board? Hybrid stores in Dubai, London and New York.
Within India, S&N, which currently has eight stores, will see five more this year, including Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Raipur, Jodhpur and Delhi NCR. 2023 would see expansion in Tier II cities as well. Online, the brand is looking to begin shipping worldwide from August 15.
Over two decades strong, the brand is marching straight ahead, already laying the seeds for the next crop of customers – Gen Z. “Millennials are the biggest spenders, but you can’t ignore the Gen-Z vibe. Some of our shoots and campaigns focus on them because at some point they will become millennials and inclusion has to start somewhere.”
Perhaps the launch of S&N in Bengaluru is also a part of this incubation to invite more customers towards the brand. “In Delhi or Mumbai, fashion is larger than life, but Bengaluru gives you a cool vibe,” says Shantnu, explaining why they never opened their flagship fashion store here before. “Expensive consumption of products, especially fashion and clothing, are not the dynamics of this city. That’s why S&N can make the right noise here. It’s minimalistic, easy to wear and effortlessly fashionable.”
