Shoe and tell!

My first exposure to sneaker subculture was in the early ’90s as a teenager living in New York City. The US, trying to heal its wounds after decades of racial division, had a new, somewhat indulgent passion for young people of colour: a love for shoes!

The day before Adidas launched a new pair of sneakers, a line appeared outside its stores. The interest was fanned from the front by black basketball players with rags to riches stories, and rap artists who made strong statements against all that was wrong.

Today, sneakerheads in India tend to come from an economically comfortable section of society. The passion for shoes may have existed long before, but it has come into the mainstream Indian mindset in more recent times.

Responsible for this are our three millennial cover stars: Actor Harshvardhan Kapoor, 31, says he developed an interest through his sister Sonam Kapoor’s husband, Anand Ahuja, whose store ‘Veg Non Veg’ is one of the first in India to cater specifically to this audience.

Karan Khatri (age withheld on request), a Youtuber who specialises in sneaker-related content, says being a sneakerhead is more than just shopping for ridiculously priced shoes.

And Vedant Lamba, 23, the smart, business-minded sneakerhead, wants to milk his first-mover advantage in India.

All three young men showcase a passion that is as unique as it is confusing (to many).

Purists may shun suits with sneakers, but they can’t ignore them any longer.

Tanvie Hans

(top) and Neelay Mehendale (above)

I pick sneakers for their practicality. As a teen, I was fascinated by the transparent cushion of air the new

Nike Air provided under my heel. As a runner in my 20s, I took to the ugly “Vibram shoes” that fit the foot like a sock, with an individual sleeve for every toe, then graduated to the “free soles” that mimicked barefoot running.

Our sneakerheads may shun me for my tastes, but do let them guide you through a passion that helps them feel more confident and accentuates their style. As I saw as a teen, the luxury of having a pursuit can spell liberation for young minds that seek direction. Let’s run with that!

Also in this issue you will meet more millennials doing things that matter. Tanvie Hans, 31, the first female Indian footballer to play in England, has started a venture to encourage women to partake in a more active lifestyle, usually an area dominated by men.

Actor Neelay Mehendale, 29, star of the coming-of-age film, Cobalt Blue, shows how ambition needn’t be one-dimensional; his interest in science and classical music make him richer as an artiste.

And HT Brunch columnist Rajeev Masand becomes the first person to talk about films at the Cannes Film Festival this year. Without dissing fashion, please allow me to ask: however stunning Aishwarya Rai looked in the Gaurav Gupta gown with the rising wave behind her head, tell me, would you want to be seated behind her in a cinema hall?

EDITORIAL

Jamal Shaikh (National Editor – Brunch and New Media Initiatives)

Urvee Modwel Karishma Kuenzang

DESIGN

Sunil Kumar Mallik (Art Director – Brunch)

Amit Malik Kishore Rawat

FOR ADVERTISING AND MARKETING ENQUIRIES: Ad Sales (North): Amit Gandotra

amit.gandotra@hindustantimes.com Ad Sales (West): Gautam Buragohain

gautam.buragohain@digicontent.co.in Ad Sales (South): Mockbul Haque

mockbul.haque@digicontent.co.in

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Email: htbrunch@hindustantimes.com

COVER CREDITS

Photographed exclusively for HT Brunch by

Subi Samuel

Hair and make-up for Karan and Vedant by Ashwin Shelar; Hair and make-up for Harshvardhan by Areej Shaikh;

On Vedant: Denim jacket by YEEZY Season 6; T-shirt by Fear of God; Pants by Garuda SS; Shoes by Adidas Canvas; On Karan: Hoodie by

Fear of God Essentials; Sneakers by

Jordan 1 x Fragment; On Harshvardhan: T-shirt by Amiri Shotgun; Jeans by Amiri; Sneakers by Jordan 1 x Fragment 1. Jordan 1 x Union LA Black Toe 2. Air Yeezy 2 Red October 3. Air Fear of Gods 4. Unino LA x Jordan 4 Desert Moss

5. Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1

It is rather simple. Restaurant pricing is a factor of food costs. Let’s take dairy milk as an example. For a procuring restaurant, conventional dairy milk, even at a very high quality, usually costs less than ₹100 litre. Soya milk, commercially sold, is fractionally higher in cost. Coconut milk costs more than soya. And quite obviously, nut milk (almond or cashew) costs significantly more, closer to ₹200.

Now, if a customer has a preference for a particular type of milk, especially if it is costlier for us than conventional dairy milk, we have to apply a surcharge to cover our costs.

It is not our intention at all to artificially create a surcharge for vegan options, but customers should understand this basic cost/price principle. Especially because we also work with small-scale cooperatives or artisanal producers, whose cost structure is higher than mainstream suppliers. We prefer working with such entities due to factors related to sustainability and fair-trade practices. We now have a national network of such suppliers, but they come at a premium cost. We feel, however, that the tradeoff is justified for the larger cause.

So, we are constantly looking to reduce our costs in various ways so that one day we can reach price parity. While we have made significant progress, we aren’t there yet!

Sakshi recently walked for some of the biggest designers during the Fashion Week

And in any case, my cousin, who’s in school, is still facing the same kind of bullying I did.

Bullying by peers is something I kept taking for years. Comments like ‘who will marry you’ came aplenty, not just because I was plus-sized, but also because I am tall. There were also comments about my face and asymmetrical eyes, which I am still not ready to talk about. I was in my second or third year of college when I decided I had had enough of the bullying.