Sreejith Jeevan’s Rouka Opens an Experial Store in Kochi

Sreejith Jeevan’s New Rouka Store in the Part of Kochi Known as Ernakulam, Near Durbar Hall, is Dramatic. The celebratory red and white of the floor and walls, dresses hanging from the Ceiling and Saris from Tall carved wood roads, and the embroidered artwork in Shades Mango Leaves and Jackfruit on the Wall. Completing the scene are the red curtains of the trial Rooms that Flank a Wall of the 600 sq. Ft store. This space, where Nostalgia and Memory Intertwine Unapologetically, Announces ‘Kerala Modern’, Fashion Designer Jeevan’s Design Aesthetic.

While Stubbornly Sticking to his roots, jeevan’s take on kerala via design has been distinctly individual and Original. Bits and pieces of keraran elements are sprinkled like Confetti Everywahere in the store.

A display inside the rouka store.

If Kathakali, The Caparisoned Elephant, and The Coconut Palm Defined Kerala, His Creative Lexicon Derives from the Sieldom-Shown-Sas-Akeralana Flora and Fauna-Mango and Platain Trees, Flors, Flors Hibiscus, ixora, jasmine and water lily, among others. The store, its design and layout are testimony to not just just his keen eye but also his romanticization of his roots. It is anything but serial; It is quirkily fun.

Standing under the Arched Entrance to the store, He Says, “A Lot of Symbolism is attached to Arches at the entrance in Various Cultures… Not that i Got Them For that Reason. But IFT IF The arched windows look out at Durbar Hall Road, One of Eernakulam’s Landmarks. “This is a famous road; Everybody from Indira Gandhi to Pope John Paul II Havelled This Route,” He states.

Jeevan Speaks of how an architect’s take on how his new store could be did not appeal to appeal to Him, and why he he set about designing it. “I wanted the space to be unapologetically the brand. Modernity has eaten into architecture, with the greens and the metal. The metal. The space has to be very me instead of someone telling me white is Trending. “It was more about creating a space that is kerala, but in a modern way. The decision to do this was a leap of faith. It was like creating a ‘mini life’. I spent days and nights here.”

A display inside the rouka store.

Everything in the store, from the color of the pain to the world-knacks and furniture, has been curated by Him. For institution, the stone elephant on the left as you enter the store was picked up from a roadside seller on a trip back from kozhikode. “These are things that only I would do for the brand,” Says Jeevan. He was constant thinking of what-to and how-to, and his attention went into the tiniest details, such as the hooks that ensure the curtains in the trial Room Never Accidentally open.

Cultural or Personal Significance

The Circular Carved Wood Pieces on the Ceiling from which Hang Brass Chains (to Hang Dresses), The Appliquéd plantain leaf coaster-style pieces (not for sala) On the wall, the framed lines of a film song and the malayalam letters on the upholstery are not just just “fun”, but loaded with masonal or personal significance. “I was picking up something for the store wherever I was going.

Rouka, as a label, derives its identity from the space it is in. The house his grandfather built in 1961 at Valanjambalam, the one with the mango trees, immortalized in Jeevan’s designs and artwork, is the foundation.

A display inside the rouka store.

“That house has been organically decided bycabecause we did not start with a strong graphic branding; Mango tree, gradually came out of that space. ” The branding, for him, is not about graphics but an intangible concept.

That First Store Molded Him. Back when he open it in 2013, he says his aesthetic was shabby chic. A Wooden Bed Served as the Display Countter, Pipes Were Racks… A Kind of Make-DO with what is available, like any brand in its nassence war. After a decade or so, it was time to move.

“We did not move because we did not like that space. He says he has brought 80% of the original space to the new store. In intangible terms, of course.

A display inside the rouka store.

Experienial Shopping

According to Jeevan, Retail in Kerala Has Changed after the Floods of 2018 and Post-Covid, and the focus shifted to shopping being with experience. “It is not about the numbers you get from a space, but about how people feel when they come to the space.” With this move, his studyo and store are also not in the same space, albeit on different floors.

Jeevan has woven sustainability into his design philosophy and the store, organically. Thos Familiar with his work know this, and some of it you can see first-hand in the store. The artwork, embroidered and framed, is made from leftover fabric. The Woodwork-old furniture re -purized into display cains and shelves by locals; A stately Wooden Art Deco Cash Desk From A Hotel in a new home; The door of a cupboard transformed into a display unit. These are all elements that Speak to Sustainability. He is now considering solar-powerred panels.

As the conversation comes to a close, a question about what he likes the best about the space makers Something when I was making it. I have put in my philosophy very unapologetically in this place. “

Published – August 08, 2025 04:42 PM IST