The world of fashion calls for observant eyes that can understand the trends and also think beyond the obvious to forecast the future. Mahika Yadav, Founder, SITCH, is one of those women who has this skill and decided to turn her love for fashion into a profession and establish a brand that helps small boutiques with a wider platform to reach the masses. For the unversed, SITCH is a Delhi-based multi-designer fashion house that showcases exclusive curation of prét wear outfits and accessories from a few top to the most talented upcoming designers. The core ethos of the brand lies in promoting and showcasing young and dynamic homegrown talent and designs that are one of a kind. Mahika says, “With SITCH, we curate small brands under one roof and give them a platform so that they can reach out to a wider audience and retail at ease.” On the completion of three years of her brainchild, Mahika talks to TMM about her journey, market, and how pandemic has changed the ecosystem of fashion.
Congratulation on completing three years! How has been the journey and how has fashion 
evolved in the last three years?
Thank you so much. To be frank, it has been a rollercoaster ride but it has been educating and fulfilling as well. From fighting the stereotypes of a female-led and woman-oriented company to now completing 3 years in the industry, it has been full of challenges and accomplishments. Fashion evolves every day and constantly. When we started more formal outfits for parties and events were the focus, now during the pandemic, we noticed a shift towards athleisure and casual. However, with the situation evolving once again, we are seeing the earlier trend coming back. For us, it’s all about adapting and delivering to the ever-evolving trends. As a brand, it’s important to be agile and adapt otherwise you will not survive in today’s day and age.
What was the idea behind launching SITCH in 2018 and what is so unique about the name?
I have always loved fashion. Finding small and unique shops that sell clothes that were not mainstream and ethically produced was something that I was always on the lookout for. The idea for SITCH came to me during a trip to Mumbai. I was in and around the Bandra area and I came across such amazing stores that were not mainstream, however, they sold the kind of clothes that everyone was looking for. These boutiques did not have the exposure apart from their retail address and it is then I decided that I can actually curate these brands under one roof and give them a platform so that they can reach out to a wider audience and retail at ease.
SITCH is the millennial slang for Situation. We have outfits for every occasion and situation, be it an office meeting, beach vacation, workout, girls’ night out, date night, and so on.
Give us a glimpse of the brand philosophy of SITCH.
SITCH is about feeling young and fresh fashion. We want to reach out to fashion enthusiasts who love to experiment and keep up with trends. Our target audience starts from a young woman who is starting to have fun with fashion to someone who is looking to revamp their closet. Fashion doesn’t have an age and nor do our clothes. We cater to every woman who wants exclusive looks for work, dinner, lunches, parties, and other occasions but have little to no time to shop and style their looks.
Your studio features a blend of celebrated designers like Kanika Goyal and Siddharth Tytler and young talents as well. What is the process of selecting and categorizing designers and labels?
When we started out, we wanted to have a curation of established and upcoming designers. We didn’t just want to go for the cliché. It was so heartwarming to see such established designers collaborating with us and provide insight. We try not to overlap a designer’s USP with another designer. The designers are very carefully selected, and we analyze whether our customers would resonate with this particular designer’s clothing or not. We offer worldwide shipping from this year onwards so the styles have been added keeping them also in mind.
In recent times, there have been cases where fast fashion brands have been copying small designers. What’s your take on it?
That is unethical and puts the entire industry in a bad light. It takes a lot of effort and time to come up with a design and manufacture it, especially for a small business but when you rip something off and bulk manufacture it, it is just pure unethical and wrong.
You started with an offline store and now SITCH is available online as well. Which one is more fruitful in terms of business and why?
We always started as an online store, we had our Launch at Arth with Ami Patel & Akansha Ranjan Kapoor. That is when we went LIVE. The offline model happened by chance to be honest, as there was a family-owned space that was empty, so we decided to set up the shop there. If I have to choose one, then it would be the online platform because it interests me more as given the uncertainty of the situations we are currently in, it is not as impacted as the offline platform. It’s a big upward downward swing for offline.
What is Mahika’s personal fashion and style statement?
Comfort is key for me! Whatever I am dressing in has to be comfortable for me, be it a dress or loungewear; it has to be good fabric, smart & comfortable. Mostly I prefer smart tops or co-ords.
Pandemic has impacted every industry badly. How are you coping up with the gap and what is the key strategy going forward?
The pandemic made our offline store take a hit, but the online platform boomed as everyone was shopping online be it for casual t-shirts or lockdown birthdays. Of course, it wasn’t as per our usual business and we did take a hit. The strategy going forward is to be able to adapt more efficiently and faster to the situation and be prepared for the future.
What are your future plans in the industry?
Our future plans are to get more talented designers on the platform and venture into more avenues that would enhance our customers’ journey on the website. We are already into clothing, swimwear, shapewear, jewelry, footwear, belts. Would love to expand the horizon and add more categories.
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