The Couturiers

We are set up at 68, Sultanpur, right on Mandi Road in Mehrauli. It’s an interesting part of Delhi to work in, with all the old buildings and the narrow lanes nearby. At The Couturiers, we spend most of our time with fabrics and sewing machines. It’s a hands-on kind of place. The shop often smells like steam from the irons and there are threads all over the floor by the end of the day. We don't have a fancy front-of-house person; usually, whoever is free just steps up to talk to whoever walks in. We do a lot of custom work, so there’s a lot of measuring and pinning involved. Sometimes the deliveries of fabric are late because the trucks get stuck in the Mehrauli traffic, but we make do. We focus on the stitching and making sure the fit is right for each person. It’s not a polished boutique with marble floors; it’s a working space where things actually get made. We’ve been here for a bit and the local people know us. We aren't trying to be the biggest name in fashion; we just want to do good work that people feel comfortable wearing. It gets quite hot in the summer with all the machines running, but we have a couple of fans that keep things moving. We just take things one garment at a time and see how it goes.