A wash of the calm. That’s the vibe the Outhouse Resort Boutique in Assagao, Goa, exudes. Spread across two rooms with salmon pink, natural white, cement grey, beige stone flooring, high ceilings, terracotta tiles, teakwood doors and dreamy windows as part of the design scheme, it’s almost experiential. The abstract mirrors and tables add to the mood. As do the ceramic pots studded with gemstones. We chatted with Kaabia Grewal, one half of the sister duo Kaabia and Sasha Grewal, on what to expect.
Congratulations! The store looks lovely. Have you deliberately kept it minimal?
Our stores in general have been minimal on the base but since it’s Goa, the holiday capital of the country, it’s easy, serene and coastal. Since it’s the resort store of the country, we definitely wanted to keep it more minimal and have accents which are coastal. We have a cool bamboo cane lamp. Also, by name, the brand synergy is eclectic and bold. They interestingly match the bold synergy of Goa. It is inspired by Goa, the waves and the easybreezy (mood). We also have a lot of salmon pink accents.
Tell us about the stunning ceramic pot, a piece of art...
It is one of our iconic pieces which we kind of experimented with. A lot of people have actually loved it. The ceramic pot has a lot of gemstones. The idea is not to waste the gemstones but to repurpose them and make them into sculptural ceramics. We tried it first at the Goa store and it looks nice. It’s an amalgamation of all our semi-precious stones like malachite and jade. We have also added the OH monogram.
What have you launched it with?
We need to carry forward some of our bestselling pieces to the Goa store, (but) the collection is definitely a lot more resort and in sync with what Goa is. So, lots of shells and raffia.
How many stores do you have currently? What’s the expansion plan?
That’s the fifth store. We’ve always wanted to open in the holiday capital. Holiday retail has been a big part of the brand. This was a part of the plan, but it also came in at the right location, which is key. It’s in Assagao and the area is buzzing. It’s a Portuguese building, a concept store where they have F&B, and us and Shivan & Narresh and Beyond Designs. We are opening our next store in Hyderabad. So, that’s the plan. And, of course, strengthen our current stores.
Since we are talking holiday, what would you advise people to pick up this holiday season?
We are launching our new Furbie and it’s coming in very interesting resort colours and with a new handle. It’s one of our key iconic bags. Pick up colours and material which is easy. We have these cool long earrings which we have in the Goa store as well. So, minimalism and maximalism in a cool, interesting way would be my picks.
Are you launching anything new, in terms of expanding the label?
In the Outhouse universe, our vision is to become a lifestyle brand which has a lot of accessories that align with the brand. We are expanding the bags category in a huge way because that is something we feel we started in a minuscule way back in the day, jewelled bags. The idea was to make it interesting and cool. Eyewear is something we are exploring as also shoes. It’s not immediately in the pipeline, but we are working towards it.
Outhouse recently made news when they accessorised Alia Bhatt’s Met Gala look with their OH V Couture Glovelettes, OH Celeste Jewelled Hair Bow and OH Celeste Orion Nova Earrings. The actress was in a Prabal Gurung gown and the look was styled by Anaita Shroff Adajania. What was the brief? “Alia’s stylist Anaita is a dear friend and we’re elated to have done this. We started the conversation a week before Alia’s departure to New York. ‘Marrying the edginess of Outhouse with the elegance of pearls’, said Anaita on our first meeting and that’s where our creativity fuelled to customise two pieces for her — The OH V Couture Glovelettes and the OH Celeste Jewelled Hair Bow and we recommended to pair these with complementing OH Celeste Orion Nova Earrings from our pret collection,” said Kaabia. Sasha described the pieces for us in detail. “The three pieces we exclusively handcrafted for Alia Bhatt to wear for the Met Gala were completed in three days, right from their design to finishing. Individually, if we had to clock the hours our experts spent on creating them, we’d say that the glovelettes took the longest time as it was made-to-measure fit and had intricate embellishments. The glovelettes were completed in 21 hours, the earrings in six hours and the hair bow in five hours. An interesting insight into our process is that the hair bow was thought of second. We were first designing a custom braid accessory, but decided to keep it classic yet couture!” she said.