Stepping into S & N by Shantnu Nikhil’s first store in Chennai feels like walking into a pristine, curated wardrobe. Shirts are neatly lined up on racks, suits hang in crisp perfection, and the occasional shimmer of sequins bring the drama. The retail space aligns with the philosophy of designer duo Shantanu and Nikhil, and what they envision all their stores should feel like. “The philosophy of every store is basically a man coming to his wardrobe,” says Nikhil Mehra. “The environment should sort of regulate your nervous system. It does not intimidate, nor should it feel like the brand is trying too hard,” he explains. While the designer duo burst into the scene nearly 20 years ago with their couture label Shantnu and Nikhil, they launched the prestige-pret extension of their label , S&N by Shantnu Nikhil, in 2020. Envisioned as a bridge-to-luxury label which reimagines occasion dressing for the contemporary customer, there are garments for both men and women spanning bandhgalas, draped kurtas, elevated separates, and sculpted gowns.
A view of the Chennai store
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Special Arrangement
Their last collection, The Drift, featured sharply tailored printed and textured shirts, kurtas, bomber jackets, classic trousers, corsets and draped gowns in a predominantly black, white and beige palette with interesting drapes, gender-fluid silhouettes and detailing in the form of embroidery and panelling. These are clothes for an occassion, a celebration or to simply elevate the everyday with a crisp shirt featuring a pop of embroidery, or a simple draped kurta.Brand beginingsNikhil, says that launching S&N in 2020 felt like something they had been waiting to do, for many years. “We were incubating a particular style, a sartorial style for men from 2013 onwards, and we were doing a very clean, thinker’s outfit as opposed to having seen India in its sloppy menswear avtar until then,” Nikhil recalls, of their couture origins. Sharply tailored, neat menswear, has always been what the designers have excelled at, and he says there was much thinking that went into how men were dressing for weddings then, “We reflected on how an Indian man would celebrate; was it through embroidery, silhouettes, fabrics, textures or something else?”
