“S&N is nothing but a trickle-down effect of Shantnu & Nikhil,” says one-half of the designer duo, Shantnu Mehra, who was in Bengaluru recently for the store’s launch.
S&N is predominantly a menswear brand with 70 per cent of the offerings catering to men, and the remaining for womenswear and solutions through accessories, respectively.
Shantnu believes that the bridge-to-luxury segment is still an unchartered territory in India when it comes to Indian designers. And that is exactly what S&N is trying to capture.
For instance, the prices may be watered down compared to the mother brand, but the in-store experience is not, promised Shantnu. “The Shantnu & Nikhil lineage still comes through the interiors with the gold, grey, dark hues and matte colour palette. Our sales frontrunners are more like stylists giving you solutions – what brooch will go with a shirt, footwear that works for you, which colours mix and match well, and so on.”
Shantnu further explains why they never opened their flagship couture store in Bengaluru before, “In Delhi or Mumbai, fashion is larger than life, but Bengaluru gives you a cool vibe. Expensive product consumption, especially fashion and clothing, are not the dynamics of this city. Which is why S&N can make the right noise here. It’s minimalistic, easy to wear and it’s fashion without being fussy.”
S&N currently has eight outlets within India and will see another five this year, including Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Raipur, Jodhpur and Delhi NCR. 2023 would see expansion in Tier-II cities as well.
