Desi branding sells International fare

Delhi-based Masala Tee-wallahs Sheikha Mattar-Jacob from Singapore and Indo-French Noelline Besson,who launched Masala Tee boutique last year,say their label is very “Indo-centric and is emblematic of all the things we do”. “The word masala allows us to play with colours,making it more fun,alive and enticing. It also refers to our diverse background,” says Mattar-Jacob,who has a background in advertising having worked for 15 years in the Publicis group. The duo literally teamed up over a cup of tea,merging their professional experiences,devising the storyboard and rolling out the first batch of 2,000 tees with screen-printed faces of women,embellished with Swarovski crystals that were a sell-out via social networking sites. Currently,the two,who operate more like a mini-advertising agency,are working on an e-commerce website. “What we have right now is an e-book that doesn’t allow you to shop online,” says Mattar-Jacob. So far,they retail in 20 stores in India,including The Neemrana Shop and Bombay Electric in Mumbai. The duo also has plans to go global. The tees are priced at Rs 2,500.

In the post-economic slowdown world,India has emerged as one of the more resilient economies,leading to international brands and designers flocking to the country for better retail options. Besides,the presence of well-travelled expatriates,along with a slew of local trendsetters in India,give these designers ample opportunity to register an instant recall value. Greek-Lebanese designer Alecca Carrano,who floated a range called Tandoori in 2007,says that it is quite commonplace for designers to use Indian words even at home.

Perhaps,it could be for a similar reason that British designer duo Reem Archibald,43,and Jo Butler Dwyer,48,set up the label Khush in Delhi,cranking out dainty baby smocks with paisley patterns for six-month-olds and Nehru-collared kurtas for boys. Of late,the two-year-old label has moved base to Sydney,the label’s morphed to BeKhush but the line remains the same,with kaftans and long dresses for women on offer. “We wanted to create something nice,comfortable and colourful that one could wear. Also,the stress was on the fun aspect so we decided to call it Khush,” explained Archibald.

Meanwhile,Frenchman Chris Balzac’s label Goachic with it’s collection of lacquered helmets is on sale at the Ultra Confidential design studio in the Capital. “I have been a frequent traveller to India for a long time,but I didn’t really sit down and decide about the business. It just happened and the name stuck when I was biking in Goa,” said the 30-something Balzac. The helmets draw majorly on the Indian-mythological character Ganesha and come in flaming colours,and are pegged at Rs 14,000.