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Designer Kunal Rawal launches flagship store in Mumbai

By Meenakshi Kumar

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Kunal Rawal has launched a flagship store in South Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda. This is the menswear designers second store in Mumbai after his studio in Juhu. Rawal teamed up with architect and designer Rooshad Shroff to restore the first floor of Rhythm House, the iconic music store which shut its doors in 2016.

In the new store, from the original staircase and ceilings to the teak flooring, Shroff and Rawal have retained most of the original architectural elements, updating the space with a fresh monochrome palette and décor that resonate with the label’s design ethos and the process of making a garment. “There were elements from the label that I wanted to incorporate in the space. I would like to believe that we pay a lot of attention to the functionality of our pieces, because these can be worn in multiple ways," he says. “I wanted that flexibility in the space."

Rawal introduced the idea via hydraulic clothes racks that can be rolled up to transform the space, industrial elements like a conveyor belt to showcase key pieces on the store’s upper level, specialized blinds to segregate the rooms, brass cages surrounding luxuriously huge changing rooms with retractable racks, a metal table with two-toned French knots (a recurring element in the works of both Rawal and Shroff), military-inspired collectibles and antiques sourced from around the country and the world.

At the recent Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2019, he showcased ‘Future Past 2019’, a multifunctional collection a one-of-its-kind collaboration between the designer and boAt – a lifestyle brand for consumer electronics. Known for his unconventional take on heritage silhouette he showcased the bandhgala in numerous styles layered over shirts and kurtas. The sherwanis had curved hemlines, paired with well-tailored close-fitting ankle length trousers. Inspired by the Morse code, the motifs were in linear patterns of dots over hoodies and layered kurta over-shirts.

Kunal Rawal