BOMBAY MIX

The city's potpourri is encapsulated in a brand new store housed in a very old building. SOBO is a melting pot of culture, design and fashion sensibilities, WHAT's ON found

Bombay-centric artworks guide you up the stairs to the first floor of Metro House. First in line is a "No-rickshaw" signpost an emphatic representation of the south of the city. Rajabhai Tower, Victoria Terminus and other iconic landmarks of South Mumbai stay mounted by the door. Located inside an 80 year-old heritage building at Hughes Road, the smell of fresh paint permeates through the powder blue window panes and white walls at SOBO, a store that gets its name from the hip acronym for South Bombay.

The store's newness is as big a contrast to its exterior, as is the collection. A psychedelic laptop sleeve with a dramatic Om rests against a traditional phulkari dupatta from Punjab, a very rare and unique art, the store's owner Shagun Shah will tell you. Chic clutches and velvet zipper jackets share shelf space with heavily embroidered salwar suits and sarees. The city's paraphernalia, including Suketu Mehta's Maximum City and Zero Point Bombay lay strewn around amid digital-printed kurtas, paisley sarees, costume jewellery, funky printed dresses and innovative clocks.

What's on display? SOBO, the culmination of the common love three sisters share for fashion, houses Indian and western womenswear and menswear collections by upcoming designers. Sabbah Sharma, Shraddha Mehra, Vibgyor and Falguni, co-owners Palak Zota's own label of kurtis and Kinjal Parikh's Copper Rose range of summer dresses are part of the eclectic array of garments. "The store will continue to rotate designers every few months," says Shagun. Pure silver and costume jewellery is outsourced from designers Bansri and Gytri Narang, mainly.

What else? Art is also part of the store's offering, with pieces priced at Rs 1,500.

At: Motor House, 1st floor, Hughes Road, Chowpatty.
Call: 23612751

Price range
Tunics: Rs 1,000 to Rs 4,000
Cotton kurtas: Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,500
Formal kurtas: Rs 4,000 to Rs 18,000
Sarees: Rs 3,000 to Rs 50,000
Laptop sleeves: Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000
Ghaghras (including bridal trousseau): Rs 20,000 to Rs 60,000
Dresses and tops: Rs 800 to Rs 5,000
Jewellery: Rs 400 to Rs 5,000
Bags: Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000
Shoes: Rs 750 to Rs 2,500
Shawls and heavy dupattas: Rs 1,800
Men's shirts: Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,800
Men's kurtas: Rs 3,000 to Rs 15,000