London’s trendy Notting Hill saw the opening of Aashni & co, a one stop shop for Indian designer wear in London. From selecting an eclectic product mix to stocking the right names, its owner Aashni Shah seems to be making all the right moves. With prices (ex-VAT) on par with India and a well thought out expansion strategy, the future seems bright for this brand new London outpost for Indian fashion.
Ashni & Co. believes there is great talent in India and the design sensibilities is becoming more and more international. It is time the Indian designers have a platform in London to showcase their talent. Their background is more film related. She began her career as an editor for commercials in Prime Focus, moved on to direct short films and assist directors in Feature Films in London. So yes, having no previous experience in Fashion and Retail- she have set out with a concept in her mind and doing the best she can with her team to execute it!
A & C currently stocks Rohit Bal, Sabyasachi, Gaurav Gupta, Shivan & Narresh, Nida Mehmood, Pankaj and Nidhi, Gauri & Nainika. They will be introducing Bodice by Ruchika Sachdeva, Surendri by Yogesh Choudary, Manish Malhotra and Varun Bahl in October. The purpose of the store is to launch and mark an imprint of the Indian Designers into the UK markets. That is possible only if the non-Asian clientele is equally attracted. One month into the opening and 60% of my clientele are non -Asians. And this is not just for the RTW line but also the A & C bridal section.
