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From the Post:
Boutique looks to attract 'sexy and glamorous'
India's foremost designers will be highlighted
Zosia Bielski, National Post
Published: Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Indiva, a 12,000-square-foot, two-storey boutique dedicated to introducing wealthy Canadian women to India's top designers and artisans, officially launches tomorrow in Yorkville.
From $2,000 tablecloths to ready-to-wear ensembles, Indiva is targeting women with a "discerning eye for quality," owner David Anselm said yesterday.
"This is a perfect time for what we're bringing to Canada. Bollywood is gaining far more prominence. We're seeing the impact of the tremendous growth of the Indian economy," said Mr. Anselm, who along with sister Wendy Dias and Nick Del Giudice, opened Indiva's doors to the public on Thursday; stores in Montreal and Calgary are to follow in three years.
Indiva's street level features women's couture, accessories and footwear, while the second floor is devoted to soft home furnishings -- drapes, carpets, pillows, bedding and table linens, all handwoven by Indian artisans.
The boutique hopes to attract Toronto's affluent South Asian women, but it's not the main goal.
Indiva's target market is the "sexy and glamorous" Canadian woman, aged 25 to 40. Almost every piece has some combination of silk, velvet, taffeta, tiny mother of pearl and beadwork embellishments and "zardosi," a gold threading technique. Even the simplest white shirt is intricately embroidered.
One standout is a cream-coloured bolero ($1,199) and skirt ($2,499) ensemble crafted from lace, silk, and mother of pearl and designed by Rohit Bal, who Time magazine dubbed "India's master of fabric and fantasy." The velvet ribbing reveals faint fingerprints left behind by an artisan.
Many of Indiva's pieces are surprisingly muted, in part because it's spring. But it's also part of a conscious effort to get Canadian clients thinking beyond the vibrantly dyed saris they most often associate with Indian fashion.
"We felt that India was being pigeonholed for a lack of mainstream appeal," said Mr. Anselm.
He estimates India's fashion business is worth US$1-billion today, with little of it crossing over to North America.
After migrating with their parents in the mid-seventies, Ms. Dias and Mr. Anselm made a personal trip back to India in 2003. It helped spark their "Fusion Fashion" venture.
"We were very pleasantly surprised at the growth of India, not just in the economic sense, but in terms of the fashion industry. We were taken up with the quality of work being done in India, which our Canadian consumers were not aware of. We felt there was a huge opportunity here, and we were very encouraged in our next trip when we actually started meeting designers. They are just emerging on the runways of Europe."
Although they've been embraced at Harrod's in London and Saks in Dubai, many of Indiva's designers have had little or no North American exposure.
Among them is Krsna Mehta, who is also launching his designer line in New York's Soho district.
Mr. Mehta specializes in textiles, hand-made carpets and dhurries, which are flat woven rugs. Mr. Anselm anticipates some of his clients will be hanging them on their walls as art pieces.
At a lavishly set table upstairs on the home decor floor, Ms. Dias details the month-long process by which a lavishly embroidered table cloth $2,499 was made.
"It was hand done in India by artisans who follow a pattern, nothing computer-generated. It's two artisans sitting across a framework and actually needle pointing and embroidering the design."
Indiva's most expensive item is a sumptuous hand spun and hand woven pashmina blanket, priced at a staggering $5,000.
"There's roughly 100 square feet of pashmina wool in this blanket. We would say it takes seven months to hand spin and weave this," said Mr. Anselm.
As part of Indiva's philosophy to treat every client like "Mariah Carey," the three handpicked all of their staff from other stores in Yorkdale, Sherway and Bloor Yorkville. For three weeks, they watched sales girls at work, then poached the best of them with a brochure and dental benefits.
"The aspiration is that our clients will call and ask, 'Is Amy working today?'" Mr. Anselm hopes.
AoD
Boutique looks to attract 'sexy and glamorous'
India's foremost designers will be highlighted
Zosia Bielski, National Post
Published: Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Indiva, a 12,000-square-foot, two-storey boutique dedicated to introducing wealthy Canadian women to India's top designers and artisans, officially launches tomorrow in Yorkville.
From $2,000 tablecloths to ready-to-wear ensembles, Indiva is targeting women with a "discerning eye for quality," owner David Anselm said yesterday.
"This is a perfect time for what we're bringing to Canada. Bollywood is gaining far more prominence. We're seeing the impact of the tremendous growth of the Indian economy," said Mr. Anselm, who along with sister Wendy Dias and Nick Del Giudice, opened Indiva's doors to the public on Thursday; stores in Montreal and Calgary are to follow in three years.
Indiva's street level features women's couture, accessories and footwear, while the second floor is devoted to soft home furnishings -- drapes, carpets, pillows, bedding and table linens, all handwoven by Indian artisans.
The boutique hopes to attract Toronto's affluent South Asian women, but it's not the main goal.
Indiva's target market is the "sexy and glamorous" Canadian woman, aged 25 to 40. Almost every piece has some combination of silk, velvet, taffeta, tiny mother of pearl and beadwork embellishments and "zardosi," a gold threading technique. Even the simplest white shirt is intricately embroidered.
One standout is a cream-coloured bolero ($1,199) and skirt ($2,499) ensemble crafted from lace, silk, and mother of pearl and designed by Rohit Bal, who Time magazine dubbed "India's master of fabric and fantasy." The velvet ribbing reveals faint fingerprints left behind by an artisan.
Many of Indiva's pieces are surprisingly muted, in part because it's spring. But it's also part of a conscious effort to get Canadian clients thinking beyond the vibrantly dyed saris they most often associate with Indian fashion.
"We felt that India was being pigeonholed for a lack of mainstream appeal," said Mr. Anselm.
He estimates India's fashion business is worth US$1-billion today, with little of it crossing over to North America.
After migrating with their parents in the mid-seventies, Ms. Dias and Mr. Anselm made a personal trip back to India in 2003. It helped spark their "Fusion Fashion" venture.
"We were very pleasantly surprised at the growth of India, not just in the economic sense, but in terms of the fashion industry. We were taken up with the quality of work being done in India, which our Canadian consumers were not aware of. We felt there was a huge opportunity here, and we were very encouraged in our next trip when we actually started meeting designers. They are just emerging on the runways of Europe."
Although they've been embraced at Harrod's in London and Saks in Dubai, many of Indiva's designers have had little or no North American exposure.
Among them is Krsna Mehta, who is also launching his designer line in New York's Soho district.
Mr. Mehta specializes in textiles, hand-made carpets and dhurries, which are flat woven rugs. Mr. Anselm anticipates some of his clients will be hanging them on their walls as art pieces.
At a lavishly set table upstairs on the home decor floor, Ms. Dias details the month-long process by which a lavishly embroidered table cloth $2,499 was made.
"It was hand done in India by artisans who follow a pattern, nothing computer-generated. It's two artisans sitting across a framework and actually needle pointing and embroidering the design."
Indiva's most expensive item is a sumptuous hand spun and hand woven pashmina blanket, priced at a staggering $5,000.
"There's roughly 100 square feet of pashmina wool in this blanket. We would say it takes seven months to hand spin and weave this," said Mr. Anselm.
As part of Indiva's philosophy to treat every client like "Mariah Carey," the three handpicked all of their staff from other stores in Yorkdale, Sherway and Bloor Yorkville. For three weeks, they watched sales girls at work, then poached the best of them with a brochure and dental benefits.
"The aspiration is that our clients will call and ask, 'Is Amy working today?'" Mr. Anselm hopes.
AoD
