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A treasure trove

Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

A never ending range What works for this store is its phenomenal variety

You name it and Samsaara has it. Established or upcoming, Delhi or Calcutta, clothes, accessories or footwear, the multi-designer luxury retail store Samsaara is a haven for the fashionable junta of Bangalore. It is part of Genesis Colors Pvt. Ltd, t he holding company of the designer label, Satya Paul and Deepika Gehani.

Though Samsaara has been operational since April this year, the store was officially launched on Friday with the showcasing of latest collections by Mumbai’s sister designer duo of Mana Shetty and Isha Mehra, Asmita Marwa from Hyderabad, Malini Agarwalla and Bangalore’s very own Manoviraj Khosla and Ravage of Raj Shroff and Neetu Gupta.

Mana who also happens to be Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty’s wife, had a showing at Rain Tree sometime ago. This is her second foray into Bangalore market. Mana had brought down her Indian prêt line of sequined kurtis in prints and linen for daywear, dressy silken jackets, tunics and collared kurtas in bandhini with brocade, kundan work and zardozi in blacks and maroons.

“We do wearable clothes for the 30 + woman with ethnic touch. Though we have baby doll cuts, our cuts are primarily straight. Our long jackets are very popular. We have our own block-printing unit,” explains Mana.

While she designs the clothes, Isha looks after the administrative part. Ranging between Rs. 2,600 to 10,000, they seem affordable too. Asmita Marwa of Hyderabad has used Kalamkari in her Anarkali Kurta churidars and tunics in vegetable dyes and natural dyes in earthy blacks and browns. A perfect blend of contemporary and classic, they start at Rs. 5,000 and go up to Rs. 16,000.

Manoviraj Khosla’s stylish evening shirts in cotton, Ravage’s saris, tunics and salwar kameez with motifs inspired from K.K. Raghava’s paintings look contemporary chic. Malini Agarwalla has brought down her brand “Malaga” offering a range of accessories like handbags, stilettos and wedges footwear. Malini’s handcrafted bags combining crochet, brocade and silk are impressive and range between Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 12,000.

Apart from these, you have a horde of designeroutfits, each clamouring for attention. Starting from Rs. 800, the clothes go up to a staggering lakh! Most clothes lie between the range of Rs. 3,000 – Rs. 7,000.

“It is a single stop-shop for all the designer labels. We get the designers to do lines exclusively for us. The collection of clothes and accessories is in accordance with the semi-informal, yet trendy style of the Bangaloreans,” explains Sanjay Kapoor of Samsaara. What works for this store is the variety. From lesser-known labels like “Aksh” and “Stae” from Kolkata, Nikasha from Mumbai to Rohit Bal there is a range of highly wearable semi-formal salwar kameezes in an array of fabrics and styles.

Aparna Chandra has done an entire range of Anarkali kurtas in bright colours using mostly silk and georgettes. In western wear there are trendy tops by Deepika Gehani, Asmita Marwah, Monisha Jaisingh and Payal Kapoor. Jaisingh has done something awesome with Lycra. Cocktail dresses by the likes of Rohit Bal, Prashant, Seema Khan (Sohail Khan’s wife), and Tarun Tahiliani start from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 20,000.

The top floor is dedicated to heavy saris, lehengas, salwar kameez. There are saris from Swapan and Seema, Tarun Tahiliani, J J Valaya and Shobhaa De’s cocktail collection priced between Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 89,000. Shantanu Nikhil’s sari with leather patch work on sari and border (Rs. 28,000) is never-before seen stuff. Bhairavi Jaikishan’s wedding lehenga in pure silk and real swarovski crystals look grand and is priced accordingly at Rs. 1,30,000. There is footwear from Rinaldi, trendy jewellery from Curio Cottage as well. Samsaara is located at J-777, 100 feet road, Indira Nagar. For details contact – 080-42050024.

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