Deepit Chughs label Line Outline offers a complete wardrobe solution for men with sharp tailoring intermingled with sporty aesthetics.
By Asmita Aggarwal
When you are heavily armed with a ten-year retail experience it is almost next to impossible to make an error. That may just be the case with Deepit Chugh, who worked with Raymonds and Aditya Birla Retail, designing for their in-house labels.
Quitting his job after a long stint during the lockdown, the Mumbai-based designer, figured there was a gap in the menswear market. He began with a small embroidery unit during the pandemic with out-of-work embroiderers from Nala Sopara to Bandra and launched her label Line Outline. Chapter 1 his line won the GenNext award and next year, he won the Elle Graduate show, in two years of him beginning his journey, he opened his studio.
The NIFT Delhi 2011 graduate, changed eight schools, as his father worked for the Reserve Bank of India, but it was his mom who was his inspiration. A commercial artist, who worked with Alyque Padamsee, Deepit grew up with murals and paintings she used to make. Though the defining moment came in 1999, when he was ten years old and watched his cousin Yukta Mookhey win the Miss World contest. All her gowns were designed by Hemant Trivedi, for a middle-class boy, this was nothing short of magic. I realised through perseverance, hard work and patience, nothing is impossible, says Deepit.
Despite being a Covid baby, the brand received a lot of exposure, the LFWXFDCI showcase, it was his first runway outing. Line Outline is about colouring outside the box, menswear which offers fluid pieces, people who draw their own lines, tailored looks with sporty elements, along with a touch of modernity. Matka cotton lightweight jackets, raw silks, breathable is the buzzword, you can style it formally or casually. Playing with classic single breasted blazers, updated safari suits teamed with baggy layered joggers, replacing buttons with pattis (fabric lines) for ease, padded corset belts cinch the waists in a unisex offering.
The muse this year is 1930 modern architecture-streamlined, clean, representing the arches, even futuristic in its appeal. I learnt from the best, in my corporate experience, where you have creative directors with three decades of know-how, you work on cost to line sheets, sourcing, discovering bestsellers, allocating budgets, merchandising and team inputs. It is quite holistic and it makes you industry prepared, he explains.
With this, Deepit can make better and informed decisions, as he understands the market angles, visual imagery and hanger looks with in-depth market research. I would like to offer wardrobe solutions to the modern man, he could buy a shirt for a date, jacket for office, or an embroidered bandhgala for a wedding, my label I hope, will be a one-stop shop for all his requirements, he concludes.