The stage is set for brothers Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra as their label turns 20 in 2020. Vogue gets a glimpse at act two, scene one.
West Coast to East Coast, America to India, sharing a room growing up to sharing offices as adults—this brother duo has had a long journey. For the most part it has involved a know-it-all big brother and a creatively-inclined younger one.
Along the way, their childhood roles have seamlessly transcended into well-rounded responsibilities. And although poles apart on paper, at their eponymous label Shantanu & Nikhil their two minds come together to swap notes on a disruptive direction for Indian couture.
“When we started in 2000, fashion critics didn’t understand how traditional Indian wear could be so modern. They felt the time wasn’t quite right for it,” explains Shantanu. But the duo stuck to their guns. If the first show was built on tropes of experimental drapes and sherwanis cut closer to the body, their next outing mixed menswear and womenswear to question the status quo. “In the past, our woman has been strong, led the pack, taken charge, and now she’s finally looking at settling into her space. We reflect this in a whole new palette for her in Rajkumari. It’s bright and no longer black and white,” says Nikhil on their recent departure from monochrome into the chaos of colour.
So how does a brand keep reinventing itself 20 years in?
SHANTANU ON NIKHIL
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