I recently came across one of the most chic, stylish & hip stores in India, Dulce Couture, and their creators are nothing less than chic themselves! Dulce Couture is an online store which houses fashion jewelry, watches, accessories, stationary, home décor, phone/laptop accessories, and so much more. They originally began with fashion jewelry, but now have included products to style every aspect of your life, home, and more. Founded in October 2012, Dulce Couture started as a highly curated accessories store. In a few short months, it grew from being a regular Facebook page to a website, and are now ripping the runway during Lakmé Fashion Week. The ladies behind Dulce Couture believe in providing the most quirky, yet trendy products at the same time – and they do just that. Which isn’t good for a person like me, because I’ll be spending a lot more money now! Check our my exclusive interview with Dulce Couture founders, Manisha & Jyotsna!

What inspires the work you create for the brand Dulce Couture?
Our work is not inspired by one thing. We draw inspiration from everything around us like fashion, trends, street style and the likes. Dulce Couture is about people who are experimental; with a versatile style sense and that are where the ongoing and ever-changing need for inspiration comes. I guess a fair part of it is based on the fact that we both are into wardrobe and accessories quite a lot ourselves. And our basic motto was not to make “Dulce Couture” just another accessory name, there was a bigger picture to it throughout.

When I first looked through the items sold by Dulce Couture, I saw a blend of funk/spunk and chic-ness, a dynamic mix of styles & tastes. What truly defines your designs?
It simply defines “SHE” who can look chic, funky, and elegant at any time by wearing our collection. Our designs are fun and do not have a fixed clientele in mind. They are for the young at heart, who believe in fashion and following it by spending a small part of their income on it. Our designs are subtle, sober and quirky too. They are a blend of cool, classy and loud.

The brand not only has items to style your personal trends when going out, but also the personal trends in your home and everyday items, such as phones cases. What made you want to branch out into an array of different “accessories”?
We not only need to look fancy, but walk out of fancier homes too. An eye for fashion or detail comes from a fashionable well-being where everything from your home to your wardrobe and ensemble for the day are taken care of. And phone case is something, which everybody needs, in his or her super gadget-freak life. It’s a new trend to flaunt fashion through your phone case. When mustache was in the fashion, everybody wanted to have a bit of it and then why not in the form of a phone case? You can’t always wear jewelry to make a statement? Phone cases play a huge role in showcasing your fashion sense too. Also we took our customer’s suggestions as well. “Home is where the heart is”, so keep the home pretty and the heart will get prettier accordingly. (WINKS)

Your collection was recently featured on the runway of Lakmé Fashion Week SS 2013. How did this relationship form?
We will call it luck by chance. One of our family-friend is a fashion designer and they got selected in Lakmé Fashion Week. We always wanted to have a big platform for our work, so we collaborated with them and then styled up their models with the best jewelry. It of course got us a huge publicity and appreciation of our hard work.

Do you foresee the brand showcasing at different shows across India? How about on an international level?
That is definitely not out of the question, but right now Dulce Couture is in a very initial stage and touchwood it’s doing fairly decent. I am thankful to Lakmé for providing such an authoritative platform to our brand and I’m sure in the near future, it will come out all guns blazing and we hopefully be a part of many international events. Recently we have launched our e-commerce website www.dulcecouture.in and would like to put our full concentration on that only.

What I love best about the brand is that it was formed by two dynamic, strong & independent women. Please tell our readers how you both met and conceived the idea of Dulce Couture?
Manisha: Well, I vividly remember, but I guess when I was three-four years old and I was beating up this big girl, my mom came up and told me that I’m not supposed to hit my sister and perhaps in my baby language I would have replied “ok”. So that’s how Jyotsna and I started off; before we used to beat the heck out of each other. Haha…Dulce Couture is a random thing we thought of doing because we just wanted to kill our boredom. We belong to different backgrounds, one is an IT engineer and other one is post-graduate in management; but the common part if hard-core business family and because of that job stereotypes were not fascinating us enough.

“Dulce Couture” is a very non-Desi name! How did you think of it?
That hit a nerve. Honestly speaking, the concept behind the name was the most tedious part in the entire set up. We wanted something unique, yet so chic and sober. In India people love Desi names but we always loved Spanish/French brands and their fashion so we wanted to give a touch of that.

What are each of your top 3 favorite products from the brand?
Jyotsna: Statement jewelry, phone covers…and again, statement jewelry ☺
Manisha: Well I don’t wear jewelry; but IF I will have to pick three favorite of myself, then of course, neon necklace, pastel earrings, and sweater chains.

Who are your top three celebrities that you would like to style?
Jyotsna: Well…Gul Panag of course…Kalki, and JLO.
Manisha: Gul Panag, Malliaka Arora Khan, and PINK.

Who is one Bollywood celebrity who you think has the SAME style as what your brand defines?
Jyotsna: Kalki
Manisha: Gul Panag

Do you bring out accessories per season or do you have a certain market watch you follow to see what your clients/customers like?
We keep a watch on the market trend and get the products for our customers so that they can follow the fashion easily.

If you had to leave the house with only ONE item from Dulce Couture to show off during a red carpet event, which ONE item truly defines what the brand stands for?
Pastel jewelry !

Looking back at fashion history, what is one of your favorite fashionable periods, and why?
Well of course Coco Chanel’s era, 1906; it was the period when people started believing in change and started adapting it for good…getting rid of their huge forest hats and making a statement by flaunting Chanel’s work.

How would you describe the “Dulce Couture Diva”?
Confident, sober and elegant.

What does the future hold for Dulce Couture?
Future is unpredictable and we don’t even believe in guessing it. We are ready for everything ☺

One final question: “Bravura” is an artistic word for “exceptional.” What makes Dulce Couture “bravura”?
The service we provide makes it BRAVURA.

*** Be sure to check out Dulce Couture’s website and find them on Facebook too! Don’t forget to tell them that Bravura Magazine sent you! ***