Apparel April 2019 Apparel May 2019 issue | Page 50

FEATURE
THE GAURAV GUPTA STORE
IN KALA GHODA IMMERSES
THE VISITOR IN A FEAST FOR
THE SENSES.
Tara Road, Mumbai. Both the stores offer a
uniquely inclusive shopping experience enhanced
by the signature fragrance in the store, New
Age Victorian decor, plush sofas for seating,
fresh flowers, ornamental clothes stands and
exclusive selection carts, various lounges and
large dressing rooms. The collections are neatly
demarcated: womenswear is displayed as per
the prêt, Western couture and bridal lounges,
and menswear is in the categories of prêt,
business wear, red carpet and wedding collection
lounges. The luxurious ambience complements
the garments and invites customers to take in the
entire offering of the opulent store design and the
ethos of the collection.
I APPAREL I
May 2019
INTO ANOTHER WORLD
If some stores are rooted in reality, there are
others that are about fantasy that seemingly wrap
and transport customers to a world of fantasy-
glamour. The Gaurav Gupta store in Kala Ghoda
immerses the visitor in a feast for the senses as
drapes hang across spaces, mythological figures
adorn the walls, and the dramatic garments with
ruffles, pleats, layers, waves and oodles of flair
that look sculpted themselves stand in an equally
dramatic theatrical space. His recently opened
store in Mehrauli, Delhi, takes the experience
several notches up as it recreates a surreal
ambience complete with a tree in the heart of
the store!
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CREATING A CONTEXT
As the sentiment goes, “Every Indian bride wishes
to wear Sabyasachi attire on her wedding day,”
and creating the aura of that special day and the
mood of romance, beauty and old-world charm
are the Sabyasachi boutiques. Entering through
a heavy door, the Sabyasachi boutique at Kala
Ghoda ushers customers into a palatial world
graced with carpets, chandeliers, paintings,
vintage clocks, wall plates, attar bottles, mirrors,
walls of deep hues and more that complement
the richly embellished garments.
Different sections in the two-level store have
different collections, with spaces for sitting and
soaking in the ambience as well as making a
choice for garments for the mehendi, sangeet,
wedding, reception and any other functions there
may be, and the atmospheric changing rooms as
well! The store also has garments for grooms. In
addition, there is a separate section for jewellery
where the bride can buy wedding jewellery to
match her attire, thus adding an important facet
to bridal shopping. And in the ensconcing,
exotic, opulent Indian ambience, it is easy for the
shopper to submit to the beauty of the garments
and the experience and say, this is it!