With the chosen district comes a shop with solid bones. Its colonial contraptions include a frontyard, backyard, high ceilings, a verandah, and plenty of light passing through all times of the day. The interiors find their inspiration in one particular room in India’s small town mansions, havelis and palaces. “There is always one room on top that is always the most well-ventillated room. It’s all-white, limestones, and access remains only with the women of the house. No kids allowed. In fact as a kid, we thought of it as the most VIP room. The women would head over there for afternoon siesta. It has airy curtains and a blue border runs along the edges of its wall. We’ve added that into the store to correspond with the borders and selveges in textile and handloom weaving, creating a connection between clothes and architecture,” explains Singh.
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Eka
While the collection in-store during launch was the label’s fall/winter collection, it is a space that would serendipitously accentuate the brand’s summer state of mind aesthetic with its lighter whites and muls come high temperatures in the capital city. Much like all that Eka does, a slow entry to brick and mortar after over a decade in business could seem like a long time coming to most. And the designer admits, she could have done it sooner. But Singh believes she has grown with the wearer, fine-tuning what the aesthetic stands for along the way, to now come to a point where it can all culminate in the four walls of an Eka store in the heart of Delhi. It’s her slow language in craft, clothing and business that have held the brand in good stead, after all.
