Shantanu & Nikhil say they find creative inspiration for their designs in 'India's cultural landscape'

Popular designer duo Shantanu & Nikhil feel Bollywood stars Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, along with Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli are pushing boundaries with their sartorial choices. [caption id=“attachment_4205107” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Shantanu & Nikhil. Image from Twitter/@sangeetaagrawa2[/caption] Nikhil Mehra and Shantanu Mehra shared their joint inputs over email with IANS. Asked to name the stars pushing boundaries with their fashion choices, they said: “Ranveer, Shahid and Virat.” The designers, known for fusing history and heritage with modern elements in their fashion, will be showing a menswear collection at the third edition of Van Heusen + GQ Fashion Nights, a platform to showcase the best menswear in the country. It is scheduled to be held on Saturday and Sunday at Taj Land’s End. On their source of inspiration, they said, “We have been continually rediscovering our touch points of inspiration in the form of Indian history over the past few seasons. Each of our collections begin with inquisitively enquiring and critically examining the cultural landscape and rich heritage of India and then finding ways to be creative within it. “Even our SS'18 collection, Thar, has been inspired by the multi-tribal nuances from the streets of Rajasthan. It celebrates the migrating India movement and aims to uncover the new codes of sartorial street couture.” The style gurus feel the “less is more” philosophy rules the trend sheet in the menswear segment. “And unfussy colour palettes that allow the ensembles to be more silhouette-centric. Structured trench coat inspired bandhgalas and long sherwanis teamed with asymmetric drapes for both men and women have paved the way for gender queer luxury, which has been one of the biggest trend-takeaway from this year. “For the upcoming season, layered pleating, bold colour blocking, long line cape structures, reinterpreted drapes, relaxed silhouettes, aged textures and surface ornamentation techniques are some of the trends to watch out for.” Work wise, they said, “We are on this exciting journey to make the brand reach out overseas beyond just fashion, very soon there will be an announcement on that.”