D’kloset: Gays up fashion in Mumbai

D’kloset, Mumbai’s first queer multi-designer store launched last month is already doing brisk

business. Run by a 29-year-old visual merchandiser Inder Vhatwar, it retails affordable surplus stocks of designer brands, most of which have been handpicked by Vhatwar from Bangkok. The Bandra store, aiming to be a one-stop-shop for all the clothing needs of gay men in the city, offers V-neck T-shirts, denims, jackets, waistcoats, ties, suspenders, mufflers, shoes and accessories like bags, earrings and neckpieces. Adding to the collection there’s the mankini, a male version of the sling bikini. Customers come from places as far apart as south Mumbai and Vashi.

After the Delhi High Court legalized homosexuality in July 2009, the sudden explosion of visible queer expression, right from film festivals to gay parades to the rise to prominence of gay rights activists seemingly bade well for the queer community in Mumbai, which was soon given the moniker of being India’s gay capital. In the same year, the launch of Queer Ink, India’s first online queer bookstore (despite its strictly virtual presence) and Azaad Bazaar, India’s first LGBT pride store in Bandra heralded a new beginning. With the launch of this store the fashion industry has once again succeeded in wooing their new counterparts. D’kloset, which also features an outdoor seating area, will soon be serving coffee and also host events in the run-up to the Queer Azaadi March on January 29.