Belonging to a family of couturiers, Mahima Gujral a.k.a. South Delhi girl, has many folds deeper to her personality than the sublime couture life that she otherwise belongs to. An avid traveller, she loves soaking in inspirations from all over the world and has volumes of stories to share about her bruised passport. Young with a flair to keeping up with the luxurious-drama of a fashionable lifestyle, she balances SUE MUE – her mother & grand parent’s couture house with her laid-back style; with poise.

In this issue of #LockerStyle diaries, we present to you a sneak-peak into her closet and what it is like being an Indian kid born with roots belonging to the ethnic tribes of Indian luxury fashion. Take a look!

Photographs courtesy – Faizan Patel Photography

Follow Mahima Gujral on Instagram

Describe yourself in 1 word.

Explorer

Mahima Gujral in a SUE MUE dress.

How do you associate yourself with Sue Mue?

Sue Mue (Initially known as Priyadarshini) was started by my grandparents, Mr. Surrender Mohan and Mrs. Narinder Mohan back in the 60’s as a small tailoring counter at Heritage, South Extension, New Delhi. The USP of the brand lies in detailed customization of outfits and prompt and courteous client servicing. Inevitably, my relationship with Sue Mue holds a very strong base in the building blocks of my life, both personally and professionally.

Mahima Gujral in a SUE MUE dress.

Apart from getting all the beautiful clothes for my traditional Indian and indo-western wardrobe, Sue Mue has been a part and parcel of my life. From sitting down with the designers and brainstorming the upcoming collection, to working on various business modalities for future brand expansion. I as an individual have grown with the brand and the brand has grown with me.

MICHAEL KORS Wrist Watch

Being born and brought up in a family of couturiers, how has that faired for you so far?

As wonderful as it sounds to have been born in a family of couturiers, it has been no less than a delight to have been surrounded with beautiful colors and fabrics but it has also been a raw firsthand experience at running a fashion house in the country.

Embroidered linen kurta paired with pants from Sue Mue

It has given me a great idea of the industry from supply chain management to a fair understanding of fabrics and their origins to honing daily managerial skills of the functioning of a fashion house. Keeping aside the fact that this is a family run business, as a brand professional and having worked with various international brands abroad including Dior India, I do firmly believe in Sue Mue’s values and strongly feel that it’s one of the top fashion houses in the Indian fashion sphere today.

Embroidered linen kurta paired with pants from Sue Mue

Tell us something about your contribution towards Sue Mue. What kind of designs appeal to you?

Though I am not a designer myself, I manage the strategizing and planning team for Sue Mue’s marketing and promotional activities. I have been actively involved in it’s rebranding this past year which ranges from the marketing collaterals to event management and curation of seasonal product shoots.

Alexander McQueen Clutch & Delhi Boutique Kolhapuris

I do however enjoy sitting through design meetings and brainstorm on the upcoming collections. My design approach at Sue Mue has always been an eloquent mix of ethnic Indian textiles and motifs with functional western silhouettes and modern surface ornamentation techniques, as that is what has always appealed to me.

Currently, I am extremely fascinated by our Indian hand looms and the various ways one can style the same.

Earrings from Turkey

Earrings from Turkey

We were looking at your Insta-feed and it seems that you love travelling. Tell us more about this passion of yours.

My father shares a love for photography and he has a knack for exploring cities and sites, growing up I really admired this about him. We used to go on road trips when I was younger to Shimla, Jaipur, Mussorie or destinations in Asia or Europe in our summer holidays and he would always pick places, which would be away from commercialism, and held a strong bond of culture and beauty.

Gingham Dress

And I grew to love the idea of finding yourself in a new place, exploring cultures, the way they live, their cuisines and the scenic beauty that our world has to offer.

SUE MUE Ensemble

I have the happiest feeling when I am in a new city, most of the times the locals don’t speak my language but there’s a certain joy in it conversing and mingling with them. My personal favorites are quaint beach towns! I am a major sucker for blue waters and cliff side beaches.

Now that we know about your love for travelling, what’s your travel style?

I believe in comfort while travelling hence my style is casual, jeans or a pair of denim shorts with a leather jacket and flip flops.

Tank Top from TOPSHOP

What, according to you, are a must have travel essentials (apparels, accessories, jewels)?

Denim Shorts! You can never go wrong with a pair of shorts specially denim unless you’re travelling to a cold place then it has to be your favorite pair of jeans. A jacket or a cape for your flights as it always gets pretty cold in there. I have a cape which I recently purchased from Abercrombie and Fitch which is perfect for long flights.

ALLSAINTS Leather Jacket & CHANEL Pearls

Carry lots and lots of earrings to accessorize your outfits with – I love collecting earrings. A Hat is a necessity! Straw hats for beach places and for colder places there is ample out there to accessorize your outfit with like a beret or a beanie. Sunglasses, a backpack and a quirky mini sling for dinners and night outs because you don’t want to lug around a heavy shoulder bag and lastly a camera!  – with all that in your bag, you are set to head to a new adventure.

Mahima Gujral

And what is your personal style like? Do you fancy cocktail silhouettes, or being laid back is what kicks for you?

I enjoy mixing comfort with style. So you can call it laidback, may be.

Cat Eye Sunglasses

What is the biggest fashion faux pas that you’ve come across?

Oh there is so much! Socks that stick out of your loafers! Tights with hideously placed zip, which seem to be quite a riot in India! But majorly, I feel people should give more importance to being comfortable in their own skin.

Mahima Gujral loves collecting Vinyl Records.

With the growing brand culture in Delhi, year on year, it is sad to see that people only associate luxury brands with fashion or style and ignore exploring smaller vintage boutiques or quaint stores in and around the city which are so much fun too!

Mahima Gujral with Milo, her favourite pet.

Share your Top-5 favorites from your fashion locker!

1. My All Saints Leather jacket

2. J brand Photo-ready jeans

J brand Photo-ready jeans

3. Miss -En Dior Earrings

Miss -En Dior Earrings

4. My Pandora bracelet, which I got as a gift, I now love collecting charms for the same wherever I go.

Pandora Bracelet

5. Chanel Bag

CHANEL 2.55 Bag

We are totally digging Mahima Gujral’s amalgamated style of Rastafarian & Couture wardrobe. Are you?

About Locker Style Diaries

Locker Style Diaries presents to you a sneak-peak into the fashionable wardrobe of India’s fashion influencers. This is an association between Kalapalette and Faizan Patel Photography. The idea is to feature Indian fashionistas, their lifestyle, their personal style and what really clicks for them.