Flat Lines

At first glance, the body of work at Kavita Bhartia’s new Ogaan flagship in Colaba is disappointingly mundane. The 1,600 square feet of prime real estate is crowded with sequined kurtas by Kiran Uttam Ghosh (formerly Kimono), Gauri and Nanika ruffles and wisps of chiffon by Nachiket Bharve. Not to miss Bhartia’s own collection of embellished jerseys. All of these we’ve seen before, at Ensemble and Melange and Amara and Zoya, enough times to bore us into a coma.

Code Red

We held on, though, clutching at lifelines like the store’s PR release, which promises collections by cooler labels like Rahul Mishra and Anamika Khanna (neither of which are currently available), and the new Pero collection (formerly Gaba), prominently displayed in the front. We especially loved a silk scarf, lined with square tassels and flecked with blood red – at Rs 7,000, it gave us a reason to go on, to strive towards a richer, more decadent future.

Rejuvenated, we dug deeper, rejecting the shocking Sabyasachi copies by Petticoat Studio (how do they get away with it?) and finding hope in Sanchita’s uber-cool line of tees, including versions patch-worked with hardy strips of leather, one with an exposed shoulder pad and another sporting a pair of doleful owls (start at Rs 3,000).

Heart Beads

Owls also fly onto oversized bowler hat rings by Ritika Sachdeva, the best of which is the colour of ripe tangerines and stamped with a fat elephant (Rs 1,200). In truth, Sachdeva is the savior at Ogaan, with her fun bangle sets (one large cuff and a bunch of complementing pieces), abovementioned rings and best of all, a collection of vintage-y long-chained evening bags. Made entirely from filigreed metal, polished a dull gold and in cool shapes, these are delicate, different and instantly covetable (Rs 7,000).

Last Words

All in all, Ogaan is a dead beat. You may think we’re being harsh, but trust us reader, this is not what we wanted to report. After all, no one enjoys being in critical condition.

Getting there: 5/5 Grants Building, first floor, Arthur Bunder Road, Colaba, call 22833576/7, Rs 1,200 for a Ritika Sachdeva oversized ring.