Established in 2003, Singapore’s premier one-stop curated lifestyle store has now arrived in India, poised to revolutionize the sneaker scene with its exclusive and stylish footwear offerings. We talk to founder Mandeep Chopra as they open their new store in Gurgaon.
Where and how did the story of Limited Edt begin?
The seed for Limited Edt’s birth was sown in the early 2000s out of a combination of me working in my family sporting goods business, my love for sports and sneakers and being influenced by what I saw around me. My visits to Tokyo and New York were eye opening and was inspired by some cool store executions and this burgeoning niche sneaker subculture. We started bringing some exclusive retro classics to one of our general sporting goods stores and the relative success of that convinced me a specialty sneaker boutique would work and in Jan 2003 Limited Edt was born in Singapore.
What motivated you to expand the company to India, and what opportunities do you see in the Indian sneaker market?
20 years down the road and we felt the time was ripe to spread our wings outside of Singapore. The logical choice would have been one of the neighbouring Southeast Asian markets but having family based in India who muted the idea and my intrigue with the undeniable potential of the Indian market made it such an exciting proposition. With the store finally open we hope we can add to the growing Indian market by bringing in product ranges and brands which were not here before. If we can add our voice to convince the big brands to put more attention on the India market and be a catalyst for more exciting product, community activations and even sneaker collaborations coming out of India then we can feel that this potential can be realized.
Streetwear and sneaker culture have seen tremendous growth and popularity in recent years. What factors do you think have contributed to this?
The growth has been staggering and I guess one key factor is streetwear and sneaker culture is part of youth culture and very brand in recent times wants to reach out to them including the luxury brands which used to shun away from streetwear. Its part of popular culture now and not just sports stars endorsing the shoes but the biggest names in arts and entertainment eg Kanye, Travis Scott etc. Social media also has a big part to play making the dissemination information so seamless – its no longer an underground or niche culture but very much engrained in the consciousness of the masses now.
Limited Edt is known for its exclusive and rare sneaker releases and collaborations. Are you working on anything similar currently?
Yes, we are and can’t reveal too much but we will launch our New Balance Urban Islander collection which we just launched in Singapore, in india very soon very soon and by mid-year will have another exciting collaboration with Asics. The rest are in the works so stay tuned.
Your stores are known for unique concepts and interactive design. What is the inspiration behind these?
The idea has always been how to house the product in interesting conceptual ways – we have taken inspiration from all over for our “Vault Room” is inspired by actual bank Vault or a Gentleman’s club. "A Hall of Fame" sneakers where people can also learn about these iconic sneakers to our Sci Fi and space inspiration of our first store in India.
What is the curatorial process of the sneakers/products at the store?
It’s a painstaking one where we select every individual product and mix commercial product with innovative or below the radar product which may not appeal to everyone. We hope to have a nice mix of accessible product as well as designer or cutting-edge premium products.
Lastly trends in fashion are cyclical, and more often than not, do make a return after a while. Do you foresee any trends in sneaker culture making a return this year?
Very true and we have seen our fair share of cycles, I don’t have a crystal ball, but I do think the more sleek silhouette will make a strong showing again after the recent chunky and 2000 runner boom we are seeing now. However, what I hope to see is innovation or cutting edge technology coming out from the brands. That has been lacking for me that they are not building the future classics but relying too heavily on archival models. It’s great to see retro classics being reissued but I think many brands have realized that going back to their DNA of innovating , focusing on tech features and sustainability elements is vital for future success so I think we will see more of that.
Words Shruti Kapur Malhotra
Date 13.02.2024