Manpreet + Arjun
BANGALORE, INDIA
What do you do? What inspired you to pursue the path you are in right now?
MANPREET KAUR: I’m a fashion stylist and art director by profession. Although art/creative direction has come to me fairly recently or I’d say by default of my work and what inspires me and how I visualize colors, elements, people, and frames entirely. I’ve studied design in leather but my heart was always in fashion and most of my time would go into dress-up games or exploring ways to put myself out there as a stylist. Determination goes a long way so here I am doing close to what I wanted to do and learning new things every day.
ARJUN DUTTA: I am a professional model/artist, content creator, and semi-pro athlete and I run a bespoke footwear company called the shoe factory. I used to play tennis competitively growing up in my teens into my early twenties when I was 17, modelling was a job opportunity that appeared in my life and I ran with it, I’ve come a long way since then and now I run a bespoke shoe company. And with my hectic lifestyle with work I try squeezing in marathons, and cycling races across the globe.
ARJUN DUTTA (LEFT) & MANPREET KAUR (RIGHT) IN OUR ELECTRICAL IMPULSES SWEATER
How would you describe your style?
MANPREET: Me and my style have evolved a lot through these years. Proud to say that it has come to a point where I only buy pieces I see myself wearing a 100 times and in 100 different ways. My heart goes all out for denim so needless to say I’m on a constant quest for classic yet statement styles to add to my wardrobe and eventually my everyday looks. The key is to balance.
ARJUN: I take inspiration for my style from sport, the 80’s, and refined tailoring. So love mixing up prep and sport most of the time. The cornerstone of my style now is investing in some classic and timeless pieces. I don’t believe in following trends so the key is to find something to wear that makes you feel your most “you”. I’d like to feel comfortable, effortless, and still very put together in what I wear so it’s mostly all about the balance of colors, patterns, and styles for me.
If you could time travel, where would you go and what is the one item from today’s world that you will take with you? Also, what would be the ‘soundtrack’ to your time travel journey?
MANPREET: If I could time travel I’d go straight to Japan in 1985 when they founded Studio Ghibli. Or maybe 1983 or 1984 in the hope of being able to contribute to anime and feature films from that time. My journey would play all the best musical pieces from ‘Spirited Away’ starting with One Summer’s Day.
ARJUN: Umm tough question, so many great decades to choose from, but if I look at it from the fashion/sport/lifestyle/music/film part would be the 80s for sure. I love my Netflix, but I actually felt sick once after watching it for 12 hours straight. This was impossible to do in the 80s. At some point, you would get bored and have to go outside. It was inevitable. There was no Amazon delivery. Only the postman or pizza would show up at your door. Probably the south of France, a perfect balance of the countryside, and the French Riviera where so much style inspiration comes from, tour de France to roland garros back in the day would have been super interesting too. And I would probably carry my garmin gps watch.so I don’t get lost in the number of trails and routes I would love to run and hike on. The most apt song would be 'Turn Back The Clock' by Johnny Hates Jazz.
Are you reading any books or listening to any interesting podcasts at the moment? What do you feel people need to read or hear right now?
MANPREET: I stopped reading after Harry Potter. I am a very “visuals” person so if they made a show/movie/series/documentary about it I’m ALL FOR IT. For suggestions on podcasts, I’d go straight to Arjun. I swear by it and you all should do.
ARJUN: I read a lot of fiction like Stephen King, John Grisham, Danielle Steel, and Dan Brown. But lately, with a very hectic schedule, I end up doom scrolling through social media than actually ending up reading anything exciting lately. Yeah, I’m listening to podcasts about how to prevent injuries as a runner and athlete because I’ve been breaking down quite a bit lately and I need to take it easy and go step by step, and while in transit I listen to dansplaining, it’s quite a popular podcast in the UK about a mix of emerging talent in the field of sport/fashion/business/architecture which I find quite interesting and the economist to keep up to the day to day stories of the financial markets to the economy and business.
What project are you currently working on? Where can people find your work or learn more about you?
MANPREET: I’m in multiple styling projects simultaneously but most importantly working on my brand together with Arjun where it’s all about shoes- exclusive from modern to classic. Currently working on the brand model and how we want to grow with it. Stay tuned. Also, you can learn more about me through me- so meet me, DM me, or call me, and don’t blindly go by my social media accounts. It is only 90% true.
ARJUN: Currently I’m working on a new line of products with my shoe company which will focus on a lot of one-of-one pieces, where I will work with a mix of upcoming brands and individual people to come up with shoes that have a story to it. Otherwise, the usual keeping up with the content creation and picking up good meaningful fashion projects are a part of it too. On Instagram, my footwear brand is called @theshoefactoryindia. Otherwise, if I have potential clients who are interested in my modeling/influencing side of the profession can always reach out via email and I can share my portfolio which is over a decade of work with them.
Finally, if I visited the city you live in tomorrow, what is the first place I should go to for a good cup of coffee, a wild cocktail, and the best meal in town?
MANPREET: If you’re visiting Bangalore (where I’m mostly shifting out of and moving to Bombay this year) then you might not enjoy or like all my suggestions. I’m no coffee connoisseur so I take what I get where I go. I don’t drink but the last I drank was at Toast n Tonic- had great gin cocktails so try it and let me know. For food, I go to Copper + Cloves quite regularly not because it’s vegan but because my gut feels good every time I eat there. I also have a major weakness for sushi for which I have no good recommendations here.
ARJUN: Currently I’m based in Bangalore, I cannot cook so I literally have one or two places I eat on a daily basis. One is Copper+Cloves and if you want something fancier, I would say Farmlore. I’m not a big coffee drinker but I love sitting or working out of Humble Bean and Araku.
PLAYLIST
CURATED BY MANPREET + ARJUN
