We're a modern, mindful, design studio from India.
We're a company that believes in culture as much as commerce, and that journeys are usually as worthy as destinations. These are the stories we’re telling through our product and through a community.
Raul's Note
We're not trend-led and we never will be.
It was not an easy decision to create yet another lifestyle brand. We asked ourselves, ‘Do we really need more products?’, but ultimately Nicobar is a vehicle to communicate a philosophy of living. We felt the fast fashion pendulum was swinging too far and yearned for products that are designed to last, not trend-driven, and inspired by natural design and materials. We wanted to design the products we’d use ourselves but just could not find here in India, ones that reflected our history yet were global in their appeal.
How Nicobar Was Born
We believe India is filled with design talent that has not scaled and we wanted to create a culture that nurtures creativity. Plus, the journey of Royal Enfield and Good Earth is very inspiring: there’s so much to learn from the Lals, the founding family of those companies, on thinking long term, doing things out of passion, and building brands.
Naming our brand
We already had a name and identity designed for our brand and launch was 4 months away. We brainstormed over 90 names associated with the Indian Ocean; Nicobar was not one of them! As is always the case, serendipity intervened (via my passion for golf). On a golf trip with seven close friends, a friend said ‘how about Nicobar’, and I just knew that was it.
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
Our aim has always been to create a line that champions easy, effortless style; clothing that can be worn for years and homeware that’s with you for life.
Fabrics matter, as do fit and form. Whether in clothing or homeware: simplicity, versatility, and the ability to layer (and no big logos!) are the cornerstones of our collection. That’s where quality comes in.
We love details…little bits of whimsy to make our guests smile and to elevate the everyday. Look under the collars and the cuffs, at the thread in buttons… It's the little things that make the ordinary extraordinary.
MINDFULNESS
AT NICOBAR
We are our choices
Over the years, we've built a mindful, nature-derived material library which means every time you pick one of our designs, you buy into an ethos that honours our resources, your wardrobe, and your home. Our e-commerce packaging uses 85% less plastic: we've moved to crumpled paper and egg trays instead of air and foam pouches for fragile items, and our product tags use seed and elephant poo paper instead of paper from trees. Our jewellery pouches are made from completely biodegradable raw fabric intended for repurposing. Plus, our partnership with Grow Trees on a tree planting initiative has enabled us to plant more than 7,505 trees to date across India. Small steps, we know, but we’re committed to making more of these every day.
WORK WITH US
We already had a name and identity designed for our brand and launch was 4 months away. We brainstormed over 90 names associated with the Indian Ocean; Nicobar was not one of them! As is always the case, serendipity intervened (via my passion for golf). On a golf trip with seven close friends, a friend said ‘how about Nicobar’, and I just knew that was it.
KNOW MORE
COLLABORATION
IS AT THE HEART OF WHAT WE DO
We handpick the people and brands we collaborate with, and we’re delighted to have partnered with organisations like WWF and The Elephant Parade to create products that give back to causes we care about. We’ve also worked with brands like The Postcard Hotel, Bira91, Masterchef’s Gary Mehigan, design studio NVMBR and designer Suket Dhir, as well as many more partners whose values align with our own.
