Two big white terracotta lions stand guard on the doorway. As I step in, the late afternoon solar’s rays spin a swerving internet of sunshine from the chandelier above. By way of a stairway main down, a montage of vibrant pink poppies on the facet wall, I arrive on the touchdown, awash in crimson, extra mirrors and a headless model in pink, cheekily perched upon the desk. I gasp.
Ritu beri in her expansive workplace overlooking the greens
| Photograph Credit score:
Ashay Phadke
The sound of gushing water from a fountain close to a classic statue invitations my gaze to fall upon the intense pink façade of the mansion. The place is enveloped in a thicket. As I’m walked in by the gardens, we move what was a cave-like construction, now the bar. A couple of steps beneath is a amphitheatre-like area and the backyard café.
The intense pink façade of the mansion
| Photograph Credit score:
Ashay Phadke
A leafy retreat
I’m in Escape, a inventive, new vacation spot by dressmaker, Ritu Beri, positioned in a 200-year-old Portuguese villa in Socorro. It blends trend, artwork, and tradition right into a seamless expertise, providing extra than simply buying. “I didn’t select the place, it selected me”, shares Ritu Beri, “After I was supplied the area in January 2024, I immediately knew it was the proper canvas. The transformation occurred quick. Think about this place, surrounded by forests, the timber over 100 years previous!”
Escape is a sanctuary the place Ritu’s creativity flows freely. However, it is usually a no-holds-barred, maximalistic area. ”That’s simply me. It’s my fashion. I consider you do the whole lot, or nothing. There’s no such factor as in-between.”
The interiors of Escape
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association
As we move by this fantasy-land of glittering chandeliers, all 29 twinkling in unison, vibrant Uzbek kilims (Ritu Beri is the cultural ambassador of Uzbekistan in India), giant, white Baroque-style statues, and vibrant pop-art impressed cushion covers; all punctuated with robust accents of pink, it does carry out the whimsy and inventive fashion of the designer’s layered method.
The retail area homes Ritu’s resort put on designs, her ‘fashionable love affair with Goa’ as she refers to it. The kaftans, flowing clothes and stylish swimwear are playful and flamboyant; easy from seashore to bar. There are a couple of others who share area right here, like Jasbir Gill’s luggage, and an intriguing line of perfumes from Maison De Fouzdar, whose gender-fluid scents are charming.
Kaftans, flowing clothes and stylish swimwear are on show
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association
Bites and brews
Hidden in between the veil of lush greens, is the backyard café, open by the day, and the bar. The menu for each has been curated by Stanzin Namgyal of the erstwhile royaly household of Ladakh, now identified for Willow Kitchen & Bar in Leh. The café menu is tight and non-fussy, and you may anticipate the same old bruschetta, arancinis, quinoa salad, burger, serradura, chocolate tart and some pasta dishes thrown in for good measure.
The bar menu has no more than eight cocktails, with their very own twist on the signatures like picante and an Escape Negroni with the zest of mandarins, aged within the claypot. Though not an enormous whisky cocktail fan, I did discover The Prince somewhat attention-grabbing and with depth, with aged cheese-washed whisky, hazelnut, oak smoke and a chocolate rim.
Creative expression
Trying across the area and tracing her journey, Ritusays, “It’s been three a long time of an exhilarating trip throughout Paris, Dubai, Mauritius, Cairo and past. Each step has been about evolving, experimenting and pushing inventive boundaries.”
An exterior shot of Escape
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association
A part of Nationwide Institute of Trend Expertise’s (NIFT) first batch, Ritu was a recent of Rohit Khosla, the late Rohit Bal, Rina Dhaka, and Hemant Trivedi and even in these early days, had aced the artwork of private branding since her first present Lavanya in 1990. I ask her this, simply as I recall her cautious sculpting of her personal model story, “I launched my label Lavanya in 1990; no blueprint, simply ardour and persistence,” she tells me. “Trend was nonetheless a distinct segment idea then, and we had been moving into uncharted territory. With no roadmap, we needed to pave our personal method.”
And, now? “Trend is now a way of life, not simply an event. Persons are dressing for themselves; fashion has grow to be a every day assertion. However with that, the problem is to remain recent, related and fearless,” shares the designer, who appears to have finished that, on this clean canvas within the sleepy village of Socorro.
With Escape, Ritu Beri has gone all out when it comes to inventive expression. And, surprises.
Revealed – February 17, 2025 12:47 pm IST
