This unlikely duo has come together for a collection of limited edition men’s shirts

Bharat Flooring & Tiles and Bombay Shirt Company come together to celebrate ‘made in Bombay’ craftsmanship

It is often said that Mumbai is a city while Bombay is an emotion. In the cases of Bharat Flooring & Tiles (BFT) and Bombay Shirt Company (BSC), the city plays a vital role in defining the identity of the two labels. Collaborating on a collection was a result of an alignment in their thought and inspiration. It materialised at the perfect time too—BFT celebrates its 100th anniversary this month. 

A two-way street 

It helped that Akshay Narvekar—founder and CEO of Bombay Shirt Company—and Firdaus Variava—Vice-Chairman of Bharat Floorings & Tiles—had both been each other’s customers for a long time. “BFT’s design sensibility matches ours seamlessly, and this idea had been on our minds for a long time. We reached out to them in November last year, and were on the same page since the very first meeting,” says Narvekar. “I’ve always admired BSC. The timing was a catalyst, as we wanted it to coincide with our centenary,” adds Variava.

Therein began the research for the 10-piece limited edition collection. The premise was to dig into BFT’s repertoire of iconic prints, and reimagine them on BSC’s handmade satin shirts. Both the design teams worked in tandem, referencing and sampling several prints. Some designs that made the final cut are not only archival patterns used around Mumbai but across the country—such as the tiles used at Fabindia’s flagship store in Fort, at the 180-year-old Bowring Club in Bengaluru and Mumbai’s Colaba Social, among others. “In fact, the shirt with the mismatched tile print from Colaba Social is my favourite as it represents what we do with our surplus tiles. Customers often pick these up and make something beautiful from it, much like Riyaaz (Amlani) did at Social. It’s a very conscious way of using waste material,” reveals Variava. Meanwhile, Narvekar’s favourite is a white shirt fashioned after BFT’s Egyptian print from the 1920s, even though its origin is Italy.  

City as protagonist 

Mumbai is at the heart of not just the collection but also the heritage of both these brands. “Our roots are in Bombay, even though we are now in Goa, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Dubai. There was a time when our legacy of printed tiles had been forgotten. It was while working on the restoration of heritage buildings ahead of the first edition of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in 1999 that our brand and these tiles saw a revival of sorts. They then went on to be ordered for buildings like the Cathedral and John Connon School, the BMC headquarters and the Bhau Daji Lad Museum. The city gave the company its second inning. Without it, we would probably not be around today,” shares Variava.

For Narvekar, the city is a confluence of the old and the new, and it reflects in his brand’s ethos too, where old-school tailoring techniques passed down over generations are used to make shirts by hand. At the same time, technology is used to streamline the process for the modern customer. “While our goal is to be a global, western wear brand from India, our provenance will always be Bombay. That will never change.”

Variava feels the city’s craftsmanship doesn’t get its due. “There are so many embroidery houses in the city that supply to designers all over the world. Craftspersons from every field come to the city to make a living. We have 150 workers who hail from different parts of India. So Bombay is a pivotal engine where people come to find work.” Narvekar, too, feels that while talent may be spread across the nation, it particularly congregates in a city like Mumbai, and that is why the BFT X BSC collaboration, in essence, is an ode to the inclusive and inviting nature of the city both brands call home.

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