As Sue Mue celebrates 47 years in the business of luxury fashion, it talks about the fascinating journey over the years, the coming together of generations to reinvent the brand, the ups and downs and how they continue to bring the classic and the contemporary together.
It all started in mid sixties when Narinder Mohan started cross-stitching with wool strands and matty work for her young daughters and they were much appreciated by her peers.
Finally in the year 1968, her love for hand-crafting beautiful outfits and dress materials
for her young daughters, went beyond the homebound and the iconic fashion store was set up under the name Priyadarshini in the quaint Green Park market with much less
buzz as compared to now. In 1973, she gathered some housewives and young girls
and a couple of tailors and soon the brand was collaborating with the heritage stores in Delhi including the iconic Handloom Emporium now known as Heritage. She was joined by Neena Sharma who became an invincible pillar of support for the years to come. Customization and stitching went hand in hand and Narinder could totally call the upcoming trends, colours and patterns for the next season much before the idea of forecasting hit the
Indian fashion scene. After fifteen years of collaboration and sourcing out, Priyadarshini was reinvented by her husband and co-founder Late Surinder Mohan and he named in Sue Mue in the year 1984.
It was Narinder’s flair for colours, and a natural understanding of different body types and aesthetic finesse, that turned Sue Mue into the go-to luxury house for wedding wear amidst the capital’s fashion connoisseurs. The brand has had a fascinating journey so far with three generations of the family working towards it. Over the years, the generation of clients as well as the workers have been committed to the store. During the 90’s, the family suffered a setback when Narinder lost her younger daughter who went to New York to study fashion. It was then when Narinder’s elder daughter Mohita took over and started rebuilding the idea and save the brand from suffering any losses. She gave up college and started helping out Surinder to evolve the brand and extend it further economically and culturally. In the last ten years, she has made it into a cultural savoir-faire and continues to work with the next generation of workers at the factory. Now she is joined by her daughter Mahima who helps her with the modern idea of branding and communication.The Sue Mue team functions like a big family and everyone seems to be much connected with each other and it all goes into the flourishing of the brand and the legacy almost fifty years. As the year 2000 saw a significant boom in the Indian fashion industry and bridal wear had just begun as a concept, Sue Mue was one of the first ones to take the idea forward. The fabrics like rubia, terricoat, lizi-bizi, crapes, georgette, raw silk, satin silk, Bhagalpuri silk and the famous binny silk from Bangalore with beautiful zardozi and thread work were available at the store following a strict code of customization. Luxury was backed up with emotion and personalization. Over the years, they grew and lived as one of the most sought after luxury stores in Delhi with clientele across India and overseas.
Sue Mue is renowned for its prêt and bespoke options in traditional Indian and fusion wear. It seems to be clearly redefining the coming together of the classic and the new and it recently announced the launch of its couture line. The trousseau collection for the upcoming wedding season has drawn its inspiration from the magnificent opulence of Indo-Islamic architecture from the time of the Mughal era. You call it and you get it! A striking merger of geometric patterns with floral motifs and organic hues, textured fabrics like handloom raw silk, georgette and lustrous silk organza make a collection of crisp silhouettes. Anarkalis, Angrakhas and Peshwaz are interestingly paired with Mughal paijamas like kaliondar and garara giving a modern influence to these classic styles. Intricate zardozi and aariwork embroidery techniques have been widely used along with mellow resham and semi-precious metals. The colour palette is rich and subtle for the season ranging from Venetian red, Royal blue, Castleton green to a gentle Tea rose and Beige. The rich banarsis, the woven fabrics, the opulent gottapatti work, assorted variety of screen prints, the innovative digital prints, the ethnic block print, the Persian motifs, the beautiful Kashmiri embroidery, the enchanting florals bind the collection with timelessness and magnificence. The Autumn-Winter, 15 couture collection is indeed a royal affair, inspiring and splendid with the perfect synthesis of luxury, art and architecture. The classic angarakhas teamed up with patialas, the imperial motifs from the Taj Mahal settled with the refined meenakari work. The store’s interiors show the penchant for detailing and it’s truly an experience rediscovering the architectural inspirations of the Mughal era. Go live and love the Medieval opulence!
AN EYE ON FASHION 