Akhilesh Ashok recently launched his streetwear label House of Sauce in Milan, which includes oversized hoodies and crew neck t-shirts, caps and crop tops with bold prints.
Akhilesh Ashok recently launched his streetwear label House of Sauce in Milan, which includes oversized hoodies and crew neck t-shirts, caps and crop tops with bold prints.
In Milan’s Piazza del Duomo, people got to see an Indian streetwear brand and a city named Chennai. “It was nice to tell him about his city. A lot of people out there had never heard of it. Now they do,” says Akhilesh Ashok, who launched his label House of Sauce last week with a fashion show in Milan, followed by pop ups in Paris, Amsterdam and London.
“There is a lot of curiosity about the label on social media as well. Many people are asking me if this is a ketchup brand or a new restaurant,” he says on a call from London, where he is finishing an event for House of Sauce. Choosing to introduce his collection to Europe , is their way of presenting India to the world. The official India launch will take place later in September.
Dressed models from the collection | photo credit: special arrangement
Akhilesh, originally from Salem, has studied commerce from Loyola College, Chennai. “I come from a family of auditors. I am a numbers man,” says the 23-year-old, adding that a career in fashion was never on his radar. But during the lockdown he thought that since he has been a consumer of fashion for so long, why not be on the other side. He knew he wanted it to be a streetwear label because he saw great potential in it.
“I am a self-taught designer. I have two designers – Asha Sridhar and Shreya Dileep – who help me turn my vision into design,” says Akhilesh. He spent 10 months conceptualizing the final seven , and 45 designs that are part of the first collection called Prints of Epiphany. The capsule includes oversized hoodies and crew neck t-shirts, deconstructed hoodies, crop tops and caps. He wants these pieces to be conversational. Let’s start with The line is unisex, heavy on prints with bold and loud designs.
“Streetwear works on a promotional culture. Some celebrities wear clothes for the pre-launch but people are unable to buy them. There is hype around it. And when these clothes sell, they are sold out in four to five minutes,” says Akhilesh. The plan is to have a limited number of pieces on sale. In this case, 2,000 pieces will be sold online. There is little chance of them being restocked. “We want it to be exclusive,” he explains.
Cricketer Washington Sundar, rapper Irfana Hameed and Canada-based music producer Yanchan Rajmohan will play the first collection of House of Sauces. Akhilesh has divided the capsule drop into two parts. The first part will start selling on the website from September 20. Akhilesh says, “We are going to see how much these are promoted.” Meanwhile, he is excited to introduce a global brand with roots in Tamil Nadu.
The website will launch on 15 September. Houseofsause is on Instagram.