An alumnus of Loyola College, Chennai; entrepreneur and fashion aficionado Akhilesh Ashok teamed up recently with a bunch of his friends including Shreya Dilip — a final year design student at the Teesside University, Middlesbrough, UK — to launch House of Sause, his passion project that aims to be an ethically and responsibly-made homegrown apparel brand that will take on, “mass-produced cookie-cutter labels,” as the label claims.
“The idea was to establish a global brand with firm roots in India. Unlike the mainstream streetwear outfits, House of Sause’s clothing line allows you to lounge in our confident yet comfortable designs. The youthful energy that the brand emanates is emblematic of the current times; it is accommodative of all kinds of lifestyles. Our brand is loud, proud and stands out of the crowd; and likes playing around with deconstruction and experimentation because we believe that unconventional is truly the new difference,” begins 23-year-old Akhilesh, who originally hails from Salem, Tamil Nadu.
To mark its global launch, the label showcased designs from its debut collection Generation 1: Prints of Epiphany earlier this month at a street fashion show in Lombardy, Milan, Italy. Choreographed by Pavithra Ramasubramanian, a fashion photographer based out of Los Angeles, the street-style show began at the Duomo Cathedral, located in the heart of Milan and then continued into the Galleria, which is Italy’s oldest active shopping gallery and home to various luxury fashion brands.
“The first drop comes from hours of brainstorming and working around different patterns and line art. We have created this collection which focuses on abstract art, focusing on the core elements of House of Sause and its aura. For the purpose of relatability, we aim to cater to a generation which understands that ‘Sause’ (read sauce) is a slang lingo which means: to be well dressed; and also the generation which understands that ‘Sause’ is a side to your continental main course,” Akhilesh explains.
Consisting of oversized/drop shoulder tees, deconstructed hoodies, oversized hoodies, tote bags, caps, and women’s crop tops, the collection is focused on being 100 per cent cotton and incorporates shades of red and orange primarily to display passion, love and courage.
“We strongly believe that sustainability and fashion can go hand in hand. We have made an honest attempt to ensure our products and packaging is sustainable. The brand started its journey to justify how to coexist between style and sustainability. It is a perfect blend of traditionalism, varsity, lots of street style and a bit of their secret ‘sause’ to provide for a diverse range of designer outfits to match their customers’ funk and finesse. The brand and its fits are loud and proud which stand out of the crowd. Because, we all enjoy a little bit of attention,” concludes Akhilesh.
INR 3,899 onwards. September 25 onwards. Available online.
romal@newindianexpress.com
@elromal
