From traditional crafts to vibrant fashion, these are the best places for shopping in Chennai, India
Shopping in Chennai is a unique experience that’s hard to come by elsewhere in India. Boutique stores in cosmopolitan districts overflow with technicolour sarees, jewels shimmer in shop windows, and arty hideouts on the outskirts of the city offer relief from the heat and chaos of the metropolis centre. Here, we highlight the hottest spots in Chennai for shopaholics – make sure you save room in that suitcase.
Amethyst
In 2000, when Kiran Rao opened Amethyst, a boutique-café in the ex-colonial neighbourhood of Royapettah, she knew she was betting on a social culture that had yet to take root. Today, the summery boutique – which curates an excellent pan-Indian selection of craft-based clothing, jewellery, accessories and books – has a dedicated following. Local labels include Nambi-Kai, whose hand-painted dresses are made with traditional Kalamkari techniques in refreshingly new ways.
Evoluzione
One of Chennai’s landmark concept stores, Evoluzione, is similarly rooted in the region’s heritage. It stocks more than 100 labels across clothing, accessories, footwear, jewellery, beauty and wellness, with sections dedicated to menswear and wedding outfits, featuring embroidered lehengas (floor-length skirts) and sherwanis (long coats worn buttoned-up).
Sundari Silks
Sundari Silks first hit the headlines back in 1949, when its founder wove a special collection for Queen Elizabeth II. Since then, the family-run enterprise has held its own in a city renowned for its sari behemoths. At its flagship store in central Chennai, entire floors are marked by the very specific weave, material or artistic style of each sari. Much of what’s on offer is created on Sundari’s looms in rural Tamil Nadu. Its product line has evolved with a section dedicated to menswear, artisanal home furnishings and silver jewellery. But the vibe continues to be old-school, with staff in stark white dhotis and shirts, ever ready to play-drape a sari while guests sip on piping hot South Indian filter coffee.
Yatri Weaves
Small-batch artisanal producer Yatri Weaves also draws on the past by referencing archival material. Founder Gayathri Kamarajan adds her own twist using non-traditional colours and yarns in her sharp re-creations of heritage designs, some from museums.
Collage
On the outside, it looks like any other art deco home in a leafy residential neighbourhood. On the inside, Collage surprises with its near-brutalist aesthetic and psychedelic artwork. But the juxtaposition – or “amalgamation of art, architecture and fashion” as founder Lata Madhu describes it – really works, acting as a launchpad for young brands that are reinterpreting age-old traditions within its walls. These include 11:11, which champions the use of heirloom cotton to create clothing such as natural-dyed denims and shibori drape dresses, and Divyam Mehta, whose fluid forms draw inspiration from modern art.
Osman Abdul Razak
For more than a decade, Osman Abdul Razak has used his sartorial sense to dress the city’s dandies. Known for his bespoke tailoring and matching accessories, this year he launched his ready-to-wear line of suits, jackets, shirts, waistcoats and pocket squares from his flagship store just off the Nungambakkam High Road.
Vivek Karunakaran
High-profile designer Vivek Karunakaran, whose label has shown at many a fashion week and dresses film stars and celebrities alike, is another Chennai favourite. His printed shackets and structured, coordinated sets are must-haves.
Kalpa Druma
Kalpa Druma’s flagship store in central Chennai is a maze of handcrafted products sourced from across the country: handloom curtains, block-printed napkins and quilts, bronze figurines, papier mâché masks, coir-bound stools, Thanjavur paintings, contemporary art and traditional games for kids – to list a few. If the stock can be overwhelming, the ever-patient staff are excellent guides. There’s also an extensive range of silks and a selection of organic oils, grains and bath and beauty products.
The Purple Turtles
A hike to the north is The Purple Turtles, which has a more contemporary take on home decor, with crafty wall hangings, handmade crockery, portable furniture and lighting – all at reasonable prices.
Manjal
At Manjal, the acclaimed NGO M Rm Rm Cultural Foundation’s store in central Chennai, there are totes, baskets, drawstring pouches, serving trays and other items, all handmade by women from across Tamil Nadu. As an income-generation project, the foundation trains women to weave palmyra and plastic wire into well-designed products. It also works with weavers from the Chettinad region and is resuscitating the handloom Kandangi cotton saris that had fallen out of favour in recent years. Brick-red, ochre, navy-and-emerald stripes and chequered patterns are characteristic of this textile.
Varnam Craft Collective
Another for-profit regeneration project is the Varnam Craft Collective. The label’s founder, Karthik Vaidyanathan, is credited with reviving Karnataka’s Channapatna lacquerware craft, which was largely used for making toys in the past. He works directly with artisans to design and create products such as cookie jars, salt and pepper shakers, and hanging lamps. Varnam’s educational toys are particularly noteworthy, as is its jewellery, which mixes lacquerwork with Bidri inlays.
Ashvita’s
Ashvin Rajagopalan is the man to meet for anyone interested in all kinds of collectables, from handmade clay dolls and studio pottery to movie posters and mint-condition comics. At his gallery, Ashvita’s, hidden in a corner of Chennai’s historic Mylapore area, the veteran art curator brings together authenticated arte- facts and contemporary Indian art, all under one exposed cement roof.
Souk
Meanwhile, Souk, helmed by the well-known interior designer Soumya Keshavan, offers vintage and reproduced objects sourced from across India, Asia, Africa and the Pacific region. Choice items include ceremonial headgear, Anatolian kilims, Javanese lacquerwork boxes and tribal art on treated tree bark from Papua New Guinea.
Dhanyam
The word Dhanyam approximates to “food” in English. This suitably named organic grocery chain specialises in heritage grains, spice mixes, dry fruits, probiotics, beauty products, traditional remedies and bathroom basics, all of it sourced from artisanal makers across India. It’s a great spot to pick up organic spices that are vacuum-sealed and travel easily, and many come to buy the essentials needed for Hindu ritual worship.
Where to stay
Central enough for any shopping trip but still with a laid-back resort vibe, The Leela Palace Chennai is the city’s only luxury seaside hotel, with most rooms blessed with uninterrupted sea views. Guests tend to wake up to fisherfolk reeling in their catch and fall asleep to the sea’s lullaby. The Cantonese-focused China XO looks out over the ocean, and its seafood, especially the fried soft-shell crab, is considered the best in Chennai.
