‘We want to go beyond clothing, to be a lifestyle brand’: Lovebirds on making accessories, opening an international store, and moving to Goa

THERE is barely an Indian brand that personifies its founders as much as Lovebirds does. True to its name, the Lovebirds fashion label came about only because its two founders Amrita Khanna and Gursimran Singh met and fell in love, and, well, decided to start creating together. Yes, most people would go on and make a baby, and they did that as well. Twice – they have two daughters.

The latest presentation from Lovebirds took us to Sri Lanka. Literally. Nearly 100 guests were flown to Bentota, to the late and legendary architect Geoffrey Bawa’s serene and vocal-for-local estate Lunuganga. Among them were fashion press but also the ‘Lovebirds community’ – artists such as Thukral and Tagra, Princess pea, and founders of brands such Claymen, NorBlack NorWhite.

“Going to Lunuganga was not a planned idea, but when we completed a decade in the business last year, we thought about going back to our initial ideas,” says Gursimran, 42, who goes by Gursi in the industry. “After we had made our first collection, Amrita and I just packed our bags and went to Sri Lanka for a holiday. We were so inspired by Bawa and his narrative of keeping things local, and where he stands globally now. This was an analogy we wanted Lovebirds to sit with too.”

“For us it was not ‘why Lunuganga’, it was ‘why not Lunuganga’,” Amrita, 46, laughs.

Lovebirds is largely an architectural fashion label. Their clothes rely hugely on tailored concepts that are built for fashion, yes, but also ease of everyday wear. Their prints work as quirky wallpaper. Besides, Le Corbusier and Chandigarh (where Gursi comes from) are in the brand’s DNA, and they are fans of Bauhaus styles too. Their stores are often at historic locations, such as their Mumbai store at Colaba’s brownstone Wesley Church; their shows at Jaigarh Fort in Rajasthan and another at a church in London.

At Lunuganga this time, Lovebirds presented their most stunning collection. In keeping with Bawa’s Tropical Modernist style, the clothes were rooted in Sri Lanka’s imagery and craft but aimed at an international audience. There were structures and rippled dresses, batik prints, printed or patched lotuses that reminded of local fronds, cutaway shoulders, monochrome minimalism, and pops of colour that reminded of fishing boats that dot the island country.

The runway was a mere strip of white cardboard that ran across a garden. No lights, no wires, no speakers. The clothes and the guests blended perfectly with the open environment and the show took place before the sun went down. It was idyllic.

Lovebirds had also collaborated with Paradise Road, the beloved home and textile store of Sri Lanka, to make batik printed sarongs for the show. Like Bawa, the show celebrated local materials and local stories.

“We wanted to approach the collection with craft, in fact, this was the most craft-led collection we have ever done,” Gursi says. The duo went in a little deeper and worked with non-government foundations such as the Ena de Silva Foundation and One World Foundation. “The rest of it was typically Lovebirds – architectural, primary colours, nothing too clever, classic and mature,” Gursi adds.

The accessories, gorgeous leather shapes in bags and fringed shoes, were a special highlight. “We started designing accessories a few years ago, but it has taken us a few collections to understand them better,” Amrita, better loved as Bunki, explains. “We want to go beyond clothing, we want to be a lifestyle brand. Leather accessories have only been associated with the big international brands, but I think the market for Indian accessories is growing.” Lovebirds bags are priced at Rs 15,000 upwards.

Just over a decade later, Lovebirds has five stores in India (two in New Delhi, one each in Gurgaon, Mumbai and Hyderabad). They also sell from a mix of over 40 department and specialty stores internationally, such as Neiman Marcus in the USA , Harvey Nichols and Liberty in the UK, as well as Australia, Japan and the Middle East. More than 40 percent of the business is via ecommerce.

Lovebirds annual revenue stands at Rs 55-60 crore, and they plan to increase that with a new international store (in London where Bunki has lived, or then New York City).

How has India’s ready-to-wear market changed in the last decade? “It has grown but it’s also very cluttered now. There is a huge opportunity. But the people who started with their businesses in ready-to-wear are now being met with those who started as couture now. I feel you cannot differentiate one brand from the other,” Gursi says. “We don’t work with embroidery so our tailoring has to be perfect. That’s what our value addition is, the feel of the fabric and its construction. We are an international brand. But if Neiman Marcus buys from us they don’t want just contemporary clothing, they want a modern Indian brand.”

The tailoring comes from Amrita, a trained designer, while the design language comes from Gursi, who worked as a graphic designer and art director. Amrita ran a small boutique in New Delhi and Singh was designing a cafe close by. He kept popping over to see her. They began dating and moved in together soon. They made a collection and Singh designed a sophisticated look-book and sent it to a few magazines. Soon, they were invited to showcase at the Lakme India Fashion Week, and they had a brand.

Gursi’s mother insisted they marry and they agreed only on the condition they would do it the next day itself. They wanted to be spontaneous and free. A gurdwara was booked and  friend Sanjay Garg of Raw Mango made Amrita an outfit within a day. Soon, the brand grew and so did their family – Dali is now 10 and Caro is 7.

“We are both emotionally-driven people,” Singh says. “Family and work are inter-related. Amrita’s family is very creative. Her mother is a singer, her father is into meditation, Aman Khanna of Claymen and Amrit of NorBlack NorWhite are related, and Bharat Sikka (photographer) and Maruk Sikka (chef) are cousins. So yes, it’s quite a close-knit, interesting family.”

The couple is moving to Goa next month. “We’ve had a house in North Goa for many years and we’ve put the girls in a school there,” Singh says. “We just want them to have the experience of living in a smaller city. There’s learning in moving too. We’ll try it for a year and see how it goes.”

And that is the Lovebirds vibe in a nutshell.