The new big summer fashion trend: mixing prints

In the past decade, the brand SVA by Sonam and Paras Modi has managed to create a niche for itself in the resort and occasionwear space. 

Known for its striking prints and easy chic sensibility, SVA's latest collection, Shahar, much like the previous ones celebrate the city of Mumbai. Inspired by the key hues of the city, grey, orange, pink, black and ivory, each ensemble in the latest collection brings out the charm of the city. 

In an interview, Sonam and Paras Modi talk about completing 10 years in the industry, what's hot in fashion, and the role of content creators in selling garments. Edited excerpts:

Also read: Tips for vacation-worthy jewellery pieces

What have been the key retail learnings till date?

In the past 10 years, a lot has changed in retail. We started off at Lower Parel in a compound, and have shifted to Kala Ghoda now. Both have given us diverse experiences and we feel we're still learning. Few things that will always stay with us. Treat your customers well. They are coming for shopping, but we provide an experience. Visual merchandising and display is very important; it’s the first impression in the mind of the customer. The markets keep changing, we have seen a lot of ups and downs, the pandemic almost killed retail, and surviving through, with a completely changed customer, has been a big challenge.

What made you derive inspiration from Mumbai for your collections?

It is the sheer love for Bombay, and childhood memories we have had. Everyday travelling to work and back, there is construction work happening in every corner. At the same time, we find street art that envelopes all of Bombay's walls, under bridges, pillars, in the narrowest of gullies, on buildings. This juxtaposition is what we wanted to bring out in the new collection. We wanted to celebrate the beauty of old Bombay and the new concrete jungle of a city that it is turning into.

SVA’s prints have been its biggest USP. How do you experiment with new prints season after season?

Our prints are an amalgamation of everything SVA. We include beautiful florals with minute geometric designs, stripes etc. This season, we gave our classic stripes another twist, with colour block graphic print and multicolour chevron prints.

Despite being resort and evening centric, the label is rooted in an easy, breathable sensibility. Was it a conscious effort to keep the offerings light and approachable?

Yes, it was a conscious effort to make our collections light, easy breezy and fun. We focus on multiple usability. Most of our looks can be broken down and worn as separates as well. This is one of our key learnings from the pandemic and we consciously incorporate this aspect into our collections.

What are the new summer and resort essentials? 

I think the co-ord set is here to stay for this season, but I feel this will be the end of it. We also feel mixing up the prints will now be the next step. As for this season, we have some column dresses, kaftans and capes, which are here to stay. The versatile structured cape jackets, which we also do, are a go to; they can be styled separately with palazzos or jeans as well.

SVA has a legion of influencers in its IG universe. How much do they impact the storytelling of the brand?

The influencers are a very important part of our tribe. Their version or way of expressing adds a lot of versatility to our collections, and helps us connect with the target audience. Our clients can see how our garments look and feel on real people as opposed to models.

Gender-fluid style is seen across the board. Did you sense a demand among your customers?

Yes, we do. Our prints are very gender fluid, and we find a lot of men love this about our men’s section. Our resort shirts and shirt style kurtas for men are also bought by women.

Also read: Why Payal Singhal chose Kala Ghoda for her new store