The iconic multi-designer store Aza, which will soon clock 20 years, has opened on Elgin Road. Spread across 5,350sq ft, the two floors wear a pristine white look that spells calm. They have opened with an eye-catching collection that caters to every mood — from lounging to holidaying to partying and weddings. The beautiful Devangi Parekh, owner and managing director, Aza, welcomed us in and chatted with us about getting Aza, which was started by her mother Alka Nishar, to Calcutta, and more.
How long has this been in the pipeline?
We decided to open a store in Calcutta in the second half of last year. I had just delivered (a baby) in November. So, we started work in December. It just took a few months to bring it up. I am really excited to bring it to Calcutta finally. It has always been on my list of things because I live here and I love this city so much. We did Hyderabad earlier this year. That was a really massive project because it was a 12,000sq ft store, four floors. As soon as that was done, my focus was on Calcutta.
I think people in this city have good taste and they are fond of new things and the circles are so small, people love dressing up. They are also quite aware now of what’s trending and happening in the fashion scene across India. This is the perfect time to come to Calcutta.
I have been married here for more than seven years now; I have seen the shift. People are getting more and more fashionable and open. The feeling that ‘I have to travel to shop’ is no longer there. They are happy to be here and shop as well.
Tell us about the curation...
We have 75 designers across bridal, wedding, festive, Indo-western and contemporary clothing, as well as jewellery and accessories. Downstairs we have the contemporary section and resort wear and light Indian. Upstairs we have heavier Indian for wedding guests and destination weddings as well as the bridal section. This is not massive, our Bandra store is much bigger, but the idea is that we want to keep the collections as fresh as possible and we want to keep rotating the styles.
People are looking for changes and designers are releasing collections pretty much every week. Right now we’ll do a lot of summer collections and in August we’ll do a Rakhi collection, then we’ll do Puja and Diwali collection and then a bridal collection. We’ll do menswear pop-ups and get designers here for short periods of time.
There’s Jayanti Reddy, Mishru, Rimple & Harpreet Narula, Seema Gujral, Ritika Mirchandani, Payal Singhal, Amit Aggarwal, Aisha Rao, Paulmi & Harsh, Aseem Kapoor, Shriya Som, Deepika Arora, Niti Bothra, Beau Monde, Crimzon footwear and more. Rimple & Harpreet Narula are only available at Aza. The Varun Bahl collection you see is only available at Aza and he works mostly with Aza.
We have got a lot of collections now which are not there in any of the other stores and keep the mix really fresh. Even if the designer is available elsewhere, we try to work with them to ensure that what they are giving us is different. There are some bestsellers that work in every single store.
How is retail doing now?
The pandemic was difficult for the offline stores because during the lockdown they had to be shut, but we used that time to really amp up our e-commerce and we saw it grow a lot during the pandemic. Now 45-50 per cent of our business comes from e-commerce and at the stores, as soon as the lockdowns lifted, we saw a huge resurgence. A lot of people who wanted that Bollywood-style, one-week wedding, waited and had those big weddings.
Buying patterns have shifted a lot post-Covid. A lot of the discovery continues to happen online and NRIs are buying entirely online even for weddings. Domestically, people who prefer to buy offline have come back. There is also a lot of WhatsApp shopping. Retail has picked up crazy post-Covid.
What kind of changes have you seen in the last 10 years?
Social media has become a strong part of everyone’s life and people are aware of trends. They come with information about what they want and what will suit them. We can offer them more in the aesthetic that they like.
One of the changes that has happened to social media also is that people get bored very quickly because there is visual fatigue. When they see a campaign, they want to move to the next campaign fast and not wait for a full season. When they see it on social media, they want it immediately. We also try to keep it fresh.
During the pandemic, so many new designers came up. Again because of social media, we discovered so many homegrown labels. That appreciation for Indian labels also went up. People are no longer obsessed with international brands as they were because they see the value in Indian brands and the quality and finishing. Even with Western wear, they want Indian brands.
How do you see the spurt in standalone stores?
It’s every designer’s dream to have a space of their own that they can curate completely as they want. Actually, a lot of the designers had it in the pipeline before but they stopped everything in the pandemic because there was no demand. After the pandemic ended we saw a big boom in retail that designers couldn’t keep up with production... maybe because people did such a clearing of their lives... they were ready for a fresh new self. A lot of people did a complete closet makeover after the pandemic.
What are you expecting from the Calcutta market?
We did two pop-ups here over the last few years and they did really well for us. I definitely believe Calcutta is a very good market. I am excited that so many new stores and restaurants are opening up... it’s become a buzzing city. I love living here and I am looking forward to lots of people shopping here.
What have you learnt from your mother, Alka Nishar?
She is a complete role model and has the perfect mix and balance of left and right-brain thinking. She is extremely creative and has an eye for beautiful detailing. At the same time, she has strong business acumen and an MBA (degree). I would hope to be the same in that respect. Her ability to stay calm in all types of situations. People who joined Aza have stuck around for 20 years now. I really respect that and would hope to build a team like that as well.