After almost a decade in the Indian industry,designer duo Lecoanet-Hemant finally comes up with their flagship store There was a whiff of Yuletide in the air,German brew on the counter and the punchy Lady Gaga on the airwaves replaced by Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer . The launch of Indo-Parisian designer duo Hemant Sagar and Didier Lecoanets flagship store at the Gallery on MG Road turned into a delightful Christmas affair. Providing the stiletto stimulus were Francophiles who piled into the 2,000 square feet store,browsing through the LH Cares line of eco-garments and sharply tailored mens jackets. What can I do? They love me, laughed Sagar,when asked about the overwhelming presence of the French. The usual socialite set was MIA save Sanjay Sharma of Swarovski,a party-goer at large,designers Ashima-Leena and Monisha Bajaj. However,the question doing the round was why the spiffy duo took so long to come up with their flagship store in the capital. The duo known for combining Parisian chic with the rich Indian handicraft moved the workshop to Delhi in 2002,after the company ran into financial trouble in France. We had to start from scratch. We first wanted to build a client base in the city,make a kind of culture. Many Indians dont feel the twist in fashion as much as Parisians. We had been working on the idea of a shop only since last year, reasoned Sagar,while Lecoanet mingled with the clients. The newly set up space offers a Quick Tux section for men and a Red Carpet section for ladies. The mens section will churn out tuxedos in about a weeks time and the Red Carpet will offer glamorous gowns in ten days, shared Sagar,while swivelling his chardonnay. As part of the opening celebration,the store featured limited edition tee-shirts designed by select designers such as Masaba Gupta,Gayatri Khanna,Malini Ramani and even actor Sonya Jehan. The proceeds of the tee-shirts will go for a womens cause. On the racks were plenty of runway pieces as well as a few pieces from the Indo-fusion line introduced this season. But what drew the attention were the affordable line of jeans,priced at Rs 3,490 upwards and the poplin blouses. There are also silk tops for an evening out,chequered trousers and leather sheep jackets for men for casual wear. As Lecoanet puts it, Its a new start,and we are open to other things,including diversifying.
