Cult Modern at Fort Kochi has niche fashion collections from designers across India
It is February and love is in the air! Valentine’s Day is here and it is time to celebrate the special bond we share with your loved ones. So this Valentine’s day, is it going to be a romantic date with your partner or a fun evening with friends and family? Either way, let’s check out the fashion forecast for the month. Archana Nandal, Co – Founder of Cult Modern, the all new design- forward fashion-house at Fort Kochi, takes us through her exclusive collection from the February edit that has been crafted by select designers, labels and makers from across India and the world!
Text: Riya Sonny Datson
Photography: Anoop Ajay
Nestled boldly on the quaint ‘One Napier Street’ at Fort Kochi, Cult Modern has an alluring charm that will surely conjure the fashionista in you! The elite fashion stop, the first of its kind in Kochi if not Kerala, was recently founded by the enterprising couple, Archana and Sanjay. The philosophy behind cult modern? “Our mood is Vignette-Vogue, that twilight point where we mindfully take a step back to look ahead. And we’re reading this metaphor into bringing sharp and limited edits of a Selective of designers, labels and makers from India and the world who are masters of their craft & cut, who create and recreate timeless classics in chic sum-ups of old and new contrasts, in fashion-lifestyle- art like none other. Yes, we’re twilight inspired…we relate twilights with our mood of showing some old-new, some new-old, some new- new, some old-old,” explains Archana.
So what’s in store for Valentine’s? Reds and pinks are a quintessential part of the colour palette this season and Cult Modern plans to add a touch of spring to their February edit. Florals never go out of style and are synonymous with love and spring alike. “As the season shifts and the weather gets springish, in mid-february we’ll be opening our fourth Selective of petite and bold florals, and graphic stripes on light linens, mulmuls, cottons, and fine silks. Our palette and patterns are evocative of hazy dawns and old love. Metaphorically for us dawns are just like the season of spring – both stand for new beginnings, of freshness, new blooms. We’re bringing a sharp edit in classic whites, ecrus, desert-dunes, rose-golds, old-rose, warm olives and morning-yellows and ombres,” she says. Of course, there is always the option of pairing your pastels with a touch of bold red accessories for the seasonal feel! And this chic store has just the right high fashion jewelry and accessories to step up your fashion quotient. “We have a fresh batch of handcrafted giftables and collectables – finest leather bags and accessories from Nappa Dori, jewelry from Tribe by Amrapali, CVH studio, House of Tuhina & Tachi.” What’s more? If you are planning on gifting, Archana has some carefully selected books, some estate coffees from Bili Hu, teas from No 3 Clive Road and chocolates from Earth Loaf. For personal-care, there’s Purearth’s purest of pure oils and elixirs, rosehip oils, seabuckthorn creams and serums, and their newly launched hemp skincare line that’s just so ready for spring.
So, who are the designers to look out for this season? “Our hero labels Abraham & Thakore, Raw Mango, Eka, Shades of India, Suket Dhir, Tilla, Payal Khandwala, Sonam Dubal and White Champa have given us some awesome spring fare. For this edit, we’re bringing some new heroes too – Rajesh Pratap Singh, Pero, Jason & Anshu, Runaway Bicycle, Cord, Chillosophy and Buna.”
To sum up, Cult Modern has a classy elegance when it comes to couture & style and for Valentine’s, apart from the seasonal palette, the store will host beautiful florals that will pep up your look for any occasion. “We work with a lot of emotion and we are a bit sufi’ish in our thought, let’s just say we wear our hearts on our sleeve! And personally I feel, Valentine’s Day is a great day to reinforce love, there is no stronger emotion than love , is there?…And love, not just for your paramour, but love for all those whose lives we touch upon everyday – friends, family, associates, co-workers, our surroundings, environment, our own selves. Yes, Valentine’s Day is so essential, for the young to joyously express love and for the others to simply love. In the Indian and world context, any expression of love has to quintessentially be with scarlet reds and maharani pinks. Love is forever, so are these two colours. The contextual match of both is indeed made-in-heaven,” signs off Archana.
