Luxury resort wear is one of the hardest markets to break into and only in the last few years have homegrown brands entered this space. At the fore is Shivan & Narresh,  started in 2009 by Shivan Bhatiya and Narresh Kukreja. With a strong retail presence, well designed e-commerce site and credited with the creation of a ‘Bikini Sari’, they are the go-to for many Indian woman looking for holiday wardrobes.

Brand Manager Siddhartth Mahajan has been with the company since inception, working his way up as an intern. His most notable contribution has been establishing a solid marketing and social media presence with on-point visuals and communication. Reflecting on five years in business, Siddhartth shares his journey:

The Beginning I met Narresh by chance in 2007. I had been invited by NDTV’s local channel for Delhi and NCR, called MetroNation, for a tasting at a new restaurant. The event lasted six hours and the host deserted me with only the second guest to talk to, who happened to be Narresh. He was about to leave for Rome to study luxury marketing and having read a lot on the city, I offered to give him tips on Roman architecture and history.

We kept in touch through his studies in Italy. When he returned in 2009 with Shivan to start their studio in Delhi, I asked if I could help them during my summer break. Their first store in Hauz Khas Village was set to launch; I assisted with whatever they needed—from Photoshop to answering emails.

In the years before, I had no inclination towards fashion. I come from a family of engineers, doctors and bankers in Delhi —my father’s in real estate. After juggling architecture with fashion for much of college, I decided to pursue the latter upon graduating. Fashion allowed me to utilize my management skills, love for interacting with people, and multi-tasking. It left friends and teachers shocked, but being finally answerable to my parents I made sure my grades weren’t affected one bit.

Above: image | Parikhit Pal  source | S/S 2015 campaign

Business of Fashion I started with creative software and newsletters. Soon enough, I was at fashion weeks helping with fittings, show line-up, press kits: the little details that make a great show. I made up for my lack of merchandising and marketing degrees by learning on the job, and devising my own methods of work. As I began to understand the industry better, my responsibilities increased. From social media, PR and marketing, I moved on to buyers’ negotiations. Now as Brand Manager, my typical day fits in numerous tasks. I start with responding to media requests followed by marketing discussions with Narresh. After lunch, work revolves around communications and retail departments, planning new activities and strategies. During financial year closures, I also work closely with our auditing firm.

My habit is to do everything myself. However as the business grows, I’ve realised the wisdom of delegating work and managing people. Teamwork is only efficient when everyone works together and contentedly. While aligning my team with the brand’s vision, I try to involve our new talent to improve on processes developed over the years.

When it comes to Shivan and Narresh, our individual dynamics are completely different. With Narresh, it’s a lot of serious marketing and business discourse. Shivan is the fun one amongst the two, always ready to mix systems and merchandising discussions with a joke or two.

Above: source | S/S 2015 at AIFW

Brand Value When the brand emerged in 2010, there was little consumer awareness of swimwear – but a lot has changed since. Our communication strategy and social media focuses on helping women understand their body type and pick the appropriate silhouette. We train our staff to help make women more comfortable shopping. As the market matures, our vision is to be India’s only luxury brand with a presence in holiday destinations across the globe. We want to introduce the world to a truly modern Indian luxury brand in such a specialised category.

The brand is positioned as a combination of western minimalism with Indian aesthetics. We focus on the real woman who comes in all shapes and sizes—women up to Size 18 buy from us. To cater to this diversity, we keep our cuts modest but infuse bold colours. Vivid maroons, reds, yellows, and blues, stand apart from tropical prints and muted European designs. We offer customization, so women aren’t limited to what is on the rack – swimsuits can be made to measure, a rarity in this category.

The brand’s development is closely attributed to its entrepreneurial vision along with the growing need, among well-travelled Indians, for an Indian luxury resortwear brand. It was natural for us to grow swiftly in the Indian retail environment. We also aimed for placement in luxury hotels and resorts, and a number of properties have been encouraging. The brand thrives on innovation, from being the country’s first luxury swimwear brand to developing designs like the Bikini Sari, the Resort Sari and the Mastectomy Blouse. These attracted market interest and associations that have facilitated our growth.

Above: source | Shivan & Narresh store at Select Citywalk, New Delhi

Above: source | The Mastectomy Blouse For All

In 2011, Narresh lost his father to terminal cancer. His desire to do something for cancer patients resulted in the Mastectomy Blouse for All. We found a partner in the Mumbai-based Sahachari Foundation and launched at their Design One event. We received donation pledges through the Foundation as well as organisations like Women’s Cancer Initiative – Tata Memorial Hospital, Passages, and CANSupport. We also pledged our contribution towards the 2014 Vogue Empower initiative. It has widened the brand’s social presence, and helped us engage with women suffering grave physical trauma in a social milieu that often judges appearances harshly.

People assume that our demographic is women in their 20’s but it is, in fact, over 30, well-travelled and settled women. They don’t want the same swimsuits as their teenage daughters and seek age-appropriate options. Shopping patterns differ from one city to another, but the fact is that women now have an Indian swimwear brand which understands their bodies. They don’t have to travel abroad to buy swimsuits that don’t necessarily flatter them because our design department put months of R&D into understanding body types.

Above: source | #SwimAware campaign | GQ India July 2015 | Elle India Jan 2015

Visual Appeal Imagery is extremely important to us. We pay great attention to our campaigns, because our consumers relate to these images. In India, one can position a swimwear brand as sultry but that isn’t what Shivan & Narresh is about. Our campaigns are focused on a lifestyle – what you do and wear on vacation. For example, one of our recent campaigns was shot in Udaipur, and it’s a narrative of the quintessential Shivan & Narresh woman on holiday. How she enters the resort, what she does by the pool and how she interacts with her surroundings as she explores the city.

Above: source | #WearWhere campaign | S/S 2015 campaign

With our communication strategy, we always try a different route. For instance, we replaced the usual press releases handed out during fashion shows with an 8-page publication – The Beach Bulletin. An extension of our monthly newsletters, it offered insights into our collection, from the inspiration to the process and even the show’s ambience. This was our way of engaging guests into the brand’s universe.

Above: source | S/S 2015 Beach Bulletin

People I feel closer to the brand because of Shivan and Narresh who have always been friends first. My parents supported my career change in a direction which is beyond many Indian parent’s comfort zone.

Digital References  Business of Fashion  Style.com  Arch Daily  Conde Nast Traveller  Refinery 29

I love the TV show Mr. Selfridge, and the 2014 biopic Yves Saint Laurent. I associate myself with anyone who is focused and ambitious about their career; the Harvard Business Review introduces me to many influential business personalities.

Above: source | Piscine Molitor, Life of Pi | Loomis Dean, 1956

The Art of Instagram The world is on social media. The web is the new platform for conversations and our approach is focused on engaging its users. When we wanted to talk about body awareness, we turned to Instagram with a campaign called #SwimAware. Over three days, we placed Shivan & Narresh swimsuits on vintage images of women to show styles and cuts to suit each body type. We watched our audience relate to the content as users tagged their friends and circulated the images. Though it wasn’t the intention, we received many sales enquiries. It is encouraging to have a means to hear from clients and followers directly – social media is bridging the gap that has long existed between brands and their connoisseurs.

Above: source | Tadao Ando, Church of Light  image | Namit Sirohi

A fashion brand is more than just glossy images and fashion weeks – that’s a small part of the business calendar. With each season, we use intuition and hard statistics on consumer behaviour to offer something new. From convincing maillot buyers to try trikinis to exciting new brides at the prospect of a Neoprene Lehenga for their beach-side cocktail – the market is challenging, exhausting but exciting!

Work History  Shivan & Narresh: Brand Manager, New Delhi. August 2014 – present Shivan & Narresh: PR & Marketing Manager, New Delhi. June 2012 – July 2014 Sushant School of Art & Architecture: Research Assistant – Communications, New Delhi. January 2011 – May 2012 Anagram Architects: Architectural Design Intern, New Delhi. June 2010 – December 2010