Onaya, the 24-year-old Kolkata-based fashion and apparel brand, has relocated to a new address on Wood Street to offer more to city fashionistas. Its new three-storied building has been built with an intention of making it an experience centre. Making the most of its sprawling space, it intends to offer its clients a holistic experience of Bengal in terms of its skill and diversity in food, art, culture and craftsmanship. “My heart is in Bengal and all my artisans are from here. Since we have been associated with Bengal and its karigars for so long, we wanted to do something related to that. We relocated from Loudon Street because we were not being able to give the experience to our clients that we wanted to. We are showcasing Bengal’s karigari through our clothes. We work with over 3,000 people. Now, with this space we want to display the art and craft produced by Bengal’s craftspeople and give our clients an experience of the variety of food available here, too. We have a cafeteria space here and wish to host food workshops to show the skill that goes into making the Bengal specialities,” said Sandeep and Gautam Jain, owners.
The facade made of terracotta welcomes clients to step inside its sprawling three floors dedicated to apparel, divided into various sections displaying occasionwear outfits. “We want people to choose us for dressing them in every celebration in their life, no matter how small or big it is,” added Sandeep and Gautam.
The second floor displaying gowns and lehngas showcases a collection of resham work, zardozi work, sequin work and wire detailing. This raw silk trail gown features floral applique and is embellished with sequins and cutdana.
The gown and lehnga section on the second floor has a zone dedicated to the pastel palette, displaying trendy styles like draped outfits, fringe detailing and sheer cape detailing.
The bridal section on the third floor showcases outfits for the bride as well as the bride or groom’s family. Bridal lehngas displayed feature sequin work, bandhej, patola, thread embroidery, zardozi and pearl work.
The sari section on the first floor displays embroidered saris, bandhej, Benarasi saris, printed Benarasis, zardozi saris and cocktail blouses, besides displaying a section of draped saris. We loved the unique kalamkari Benarasi on the mannequin.
Sandeep and Gautam Jain
Swastika Mukherjee
“I feel every attire tells a story. I believe fashion and the way you style yourself is something that comes from within. The collection is quite extraordinary, the interior of the store is very aesthetically designed. I would highly recommend visiting the store and checking out the collection that has variety and is rooted in the Indian ethnicity. My personal favourites are the salwar kurta sets. They are classy, subtle and comfortable. I have picked up two for myself and I am sure I am going to go back for more,” said Swastika Mukherjee, who dropped by at the launch.
The hosts of the launch party, sisters Avanti (right) and Mallika Murarka
The sari section on the first floor has a special zone dedicated to contemporary draped saris. Segregated according to the colour palette, it features saris designed with pearl work, sequin work, zardozi work, Parsi and Kashmiri thread work, pita work and Swarovski crystals.
The ground floor houses salwar suits.