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Pernia’s Pop-Up Studio has taken over Fort’s old Zara and filled it with enough designer wear to dress all the guests at a big fat Indian wedding several times over. The 50,000-square-foot store in the heritage Ismail Building is enormous even by the increasingly extravagant standards of Mumbai’s bridal boutiques. We’re assigned a friendly sales associate almost immediately and are grateful for her company through this multi-level maze of occasion wear. There is a lot to take in.
Stylist Pernia Qureshi launched the business in 2012 as an online shop featuring her pick of Indian designers. Purple Style Labs acquired it in 2018 and has since expanded it into a retail empire. Qureshi is no longer creative head, but her name remains above the door.
On the ground floor, Amit Aggarwal, Anushree Reddy and Seema Gujral have dedicated shop-in-shops. Aggarwal’s sculptural shapes and metallic pre-draped sarees bring some adventurous construction to the bridal fashion. Reddy’s romantic florals, pastels and Nizami zardozi have a softer appeal. Our favourite is Gujral’s section, where the bridal lehengas come in seemingly every colour imaginable. The pastels are particularly beautiful. Her signature crystal, pearl and sequin embroidery gives the clothes extraordinary detail and plenty of sparkle. Seeing so many of them together makes just narrowing in on a colour look like a substantial part of the wedding preparations.
Dozens of designers
The wider selection includes Jayanti Reddy, Dolly J, Arpita Mehta, Ridhi Mehra and Masaba, alongside Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna and Ritu Kumar. One section filled with deep-red bridal outfits is especially arresting. We also like Payal Singhal’s playful clothes for mehendis and sangeets, with their prints, tasselled details, ghungroos and inventive separates. Between the elaborate bridal wear and these lighter options, there is plenty for each function on a wedding itinerary.
The first floor brings together heavier bridal outfits and fine jewellery, with labels including Zen Diamond, Nornament and Mohar Fine Jewellery. On the third floor, Western and Indo-western ready-to-wear broaden the reasons to visit beyond wedding shopping. The menswear selection is substantial too, with sherwanis, bandhgalas and tuxedos.
The spacious fitting rooms are comfortably appointed for families to shop together. There is enough choice for the mother of the bride, her sister, the groom and the guests to find their own outfits. Our associate explains that customers can give her a budget and she’ll take them through the designs within it. In a store with this much choice, that is reassuringly practical advice.
The accessories make it possible to finish the job. Crimzon and Stoffa offer shoes in gold, silver and embroidered finishes, with kitten heels, taller heels, wedges and mules among the choices we see. Being able to try different heights with the outfit and match the colours in person is a considerable advantage.
Don’t miss the jewellery
Our favourite from the accessories section is Amama’s fashion jewellery. The Delhi label’s statement earrings, necklaces and embellished pieces in affordable prices offer plenty to work into a festive wardrobe. Our associate tells us the selection here is even better than at the brand’s new Kala Ghoda store. We visit that afterwards and agree with her. On this shopping trip, Pernia’s has the stronger selection. After guiding us through five floors of clothes, she has proved equally useful on where to find the earrings.
Time Out tip: Stop at the excellent Nandan Coffee just around the corner before tackling Pernia’s. You’ll need the caffeine to keep going.