Design Lies In The Details

Constantly innovating is the secret to Nivedita Saboo’s success. In a conversation with MARWAR, the luxury couturier talks about her business and flavour of fashion.

I have enough clothes” is something no girl ever said! Be it for a wedding or a special celebration in the family, clothes are one of the quintessentials and one can never buy enough of them. Nivedita Saboo, founder and creative director of the eponymous label Nivedita Saboo Couture, understands your desires and works to deliver the best when it comes to fashion. Her label aims at creating the best of designs for its clients and this philosophy is reflected in its opulent logo that signifies the magnanimity of the brand and the people behind it.

Her iconic store Nivedita Saboo Couture in Juhu, Mumbai, is a fine example of glamour and luxury. Spread across 3500 sq ft, the expansive space houses the finest bespoke collections by the luxury couturier that have dressed up some of the biggest names in the world of glamour. Like her clothes, her brand is a dream for fashion enthusiasts.

The creative inspiration

Nivedita Saboo discovered her creative side at a young age, and spent her childhood finding joy in exploring various avenues of creative expression by learning refined hobbies such as sketching, making music, and performing kathak. Exposure to these hobbies led her to pursue fashion at National Institute of Fashion Technology, graduating summa cum laude as a gold medallist and she stepped into the world of fashion at 19 years. After a two-year stint as the Head Designer with Arvind Brands, she amassed a depth of technical knowledge and launched her own luxury fashion label, Nivedita Saboo Couture in 2002.

Design, styles, cuts and silhouettes-Nivedita learnt the skills and had the makings of an exceptionally versatile and resilient leader in her field. Starting only with one sewing machine and tailor to leading and directing a team of over 200 designers and craftsmen, Nivedita’s journey is that of passion, perseverance, and grit. She dressed up the who’s who in the glamour industry including Deepika Padukone, Jacqueline Fernandez, Lisa Hayden, Karishma Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Neha Dhupia, Manoj Bajpai, Sushant Singh Rajput and Vir Das, and made an impact on the national and international fashion ramps by showing at Paris and London Fashion Weeks and collaborating with Warner Bros for the ‘Wonder Woman’ collection. She is one of the six designers in India to have been featured in the official Fashion TV (FTV) 2015 calendar. She has received several awards for her contributions in the world of fashion. In this interaction, the couturier walks us through her collective journey in fashion.

Having started as early as 19, what influences did you have in your formative years?

Having stepped early into the fashion industry, I feel like the major influences that gave me a lot of learnings are the ones that came as feedback from customers, parents, family and especially from my mother. She taught me to be a never-say-never person, to never give up and to work with a positive outlook.

How do you describe your luxury fashion label?

It is a beautiful amalgamation of being a high-end couture label that offers completely bespoke services to our patrons. They not only get the experience of creating full comprehensive wardrobes with us but also get our special styling advice. The brand has a fixed couture collection and builds wardrobes starting from a linen shirt to a wedding outfit.

Where do you find your creative inspiration?

I find my creative inspiration through life, travel, people that I meet, personalities that we dress, and through the beautiful crafts of India and all over the world. Inspiration, for me, comes from every aspect of world fashion, which is also interconnected to our lives.

Looking back, how do you describe your collective journey?

Having dressed up celebrities and having showcased my collection the world over, my collective journey has been of immense learning and extremely enriching. Understanding different people from different environments, knowing what global design is all about and by imbibing that as a solution into my design philosophy from the national as well as the international perspectives-that is what has made my designs accepted.

You excel in prêt and couture collections in travel, resort and bridal wear. What is your forte?

My forte lies in understanding the pulse of human psychology that is living, breathing, interacting, with me, and all around me from all across the world. Thanks to all our international and national clients who talk to me regularly, there is this collective consciousness, that I feel I can put my finger on. This is the reason why we have evolved so quickly, pivoting every single year to become even more agile and relevant.

How do you feed into the sartorial energy of the women of today?

Women of today know their needs, their body type, their personality and what they want to project. I feel this beautiful balance of yin and yang while dressing up using powerful pattern making, beautiful fabric and cuts that enhance a woman’s body type and at the same time give her an edge by making her the most powerful version of herself.

Tell us your experience on the global platform.

Our international showcases have truly been spectacular for the brand. We have raised a lot of awareness through international showcases and collaborations which have gotten the brand amazing visibility and international support. I remember when the Creative Director of Warner Brothers was discussing what the design pattern should be like, he said to me: “Nivedita, we have come to you because we love what you do and I don’t think you need any direction from us to design this collection. In fact, we are looking forward to working with you on this!” I felt like that was a true testament to what the brand has achieved.

What lessons have you learnt from your mentors?

The biggest fashion lesson I have learnt from my mentors and even my own experience is that fashion can’t be put in a niche. Every single individual has a different liking and a different personality and I feel all kinds of work, art, and fashion choices have a place in this world. We need to identify the type of people that resonate with our signature style.

Where do you look for your own signature look when it comes to sartorial styles?

My sartorial energy lies in the simplicity of power dressing. I feel very comfortable in being a minimalist and at the same time adding attention to detail to every single garment I create. I believe that design lies in the details.

Can you shed light on your expansion strategy?

Our flagship stores in Pune and Mumbai are doing well post-Covid. We have seen a huge boom in the market. The last five years have been very challenging starting from demonetisation, GST and then Covid, which was a huge blow to businesses. Even after all this, the store has sustained itself and bloomed.

Do you offer a personalised shopping experience for your customers?

Our patrons come to us because we offer a beautiful personalised signature experience. We study personalities, body types, agility and comfort required before designing. I think it is spectacular that we find the best design solutions that are not only inspired from our signature but also designed keeping in mind the needs of our customers.

How do you bridge the gap between being creative and heeding the commercial aspects of business?

It is tough to balance being the creative director, the finance person, the sourcing person, the administrator of the business and to also have a leadership role in HR when it comes to keeping the teams together, motivated and inspired. A lot of times, I need to remind myself that being the creative director and the founding creator of the organisation requires more of my bandwidth today because our processes have been set to a level where now my entire focus needs to shift towards newer product lines.

Twenty-two years later, you continue to create an impact. What is your success secret?

Constantly innovating, upping my game, and creating better collections every single time that what we did the last time-I think this is what keeps us going at the brand Nivedita. Creating patterns and fits that are redefining the way people feel in their clothes, and then seeing that inspiration when patrons get in our clothes and feel amazing in them, is the key to the success of our brand.

You are a believer of sustainability. Tell us about it.

Sustainability is not only a product but a
process. I feel like we find our inspiration in being sustainable. With every single thing that is going on around us at one point of time we thought not being sustainable will affect three generations ahead of us. Four years ago, we were talking about polluting industries and their effects on the lives of coming generations. However, today, the situation is so grave that as we live and breathe we ourselves are being affected by the polluting industries. Being sustainable comes from knowing the grave danger that we are facing as a human race.

How do you balance your professional and personal worlds?

I think the balance between personal and professional worlds is prioritising when your family needs quality time from you and when it’s really important for work to be a constantly ongoing process where attention to detail is never lost. I make sure to prioritise family and work depending on whichever of the two needs more of my involvement.

Coming from a traditional set-up, what do you think about family support?

I feel very strongly about families supporting women entrepreneurs to achieve their highest potential. I am a firm believer that there is no glass ceiling! If we educate our girls and give them the confidence to achieve their dreams by becoming the wind beneath their wings—they will fly and will always feel supported. They will never have to think about themselves as one of those fighting for equal rights. I firmly believe that whether it is a man or a woman, the competition in this world is equivalent and unless we are really best at what we do, the world is a really unforgiving place as there is no space for mediocrity.

What plans have you mapped out for 2023?

The year started with the launch of our new luxury and retail commerce website nivedita.com, which is a beautiful collection of content, creativity and community. We will be fine-tuning it and bringing it up to speed within the next few months. The year 2023 is also about pivoting to become more scalable and introducing our luxe brand.