Fashion 5 set for Gangtok debut

Gangtok , Sikkim : Naomi Campbell and Mallaika Arora Khan have sported their designs. Now, Gunjan and Rahul’s ensemble will be available at Ollatin, a boutique that opens in town on August 8.

Fashion designer couple Aparna and Norden Wangdi, who are setting up the store in Sonam Gyatso Marg (Tibet Road), here, have got Gunjan Arora and Rahul Jain on board, along with another designer, Sunita Shanker. The store’s shelves will be lined with their collections: Sunita’s Anushka, Aparna and Norden’s Freefalling and Gunjan and Rahul’s Sirali.

The price range of the clothes will start from Rs 500, though accessories may come cheaper.

All the five designers have made it big in the country’s fashion scene and their products can be found in all leading stores.

“Our design sensibilities are similar,” Rahul Jain told The Telegraph from Mumbai, as he talked about the three teams. “Our products are technique oriented, textured and Indian in looks and it is a great opportunity for us to be part of the Sikkim store.”

Rahul added that there is a big market for fashion apparel in the Northeast. “People in the rest of the country are not bothered about the Northeast and that is where they are making a big mistake,” he said.

Aparna and Norden share the same views, which is why they came up with the idea of a store in Gangtok. Though the designer duo are based in Delhi, Norden is a Sikkimese.

The two know Sunita and Gunjan from the time all of them were at National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New Delhi.

Sunita, Aparna said, established her label in 1996 and the same year she was invited to Japan to present her range of textiles and clothing along with other Asian designers. Since then she has exhibited her work in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore and London.

Sunita has worked with crafts people and weavers in villages and her fashion philosophy is strongly influenced by traditional designs, said Norden.

Gunjan and Rahul, on the other hand, say their target consumer group is 30 plus corporate people.

Aparna and Norden, who were seen giving finishing touches to the store today, said almost everything was ready and they were looking forward to the big day.

Source: The Telegraph