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With the first bridal exposition in 2009, Tarun Tahiliani paved the way for a spectacle that would captivate the whole nation and entice brands like De Beers and the World Gold Council to his shows in search of deep-pocketed clientele. Five years later, Tahiliani continues to impress. At the Indian Bridal Week 2014 in New Delhi earlier this month, even the untrained eye could not but marvel at the sheer elegance of Tahiliani’s collection, aptly called Modern Mughals, that reinvented traditional clothing with modern tailoring.
Dispensing with the traditional bridal palette of red and green, Tahiliani’s bridal show started on a startlingly noir note, prompting a friend to quip, “Is this the Black Swan’s wedding?” The fashion designer responded with a witty riposte later, “Well, no one’s a virgin abroad and they continue to wear white! Some traditions for the sake of being traditions can and should be played around with.”
Tahiliani’s men’s collection was dandy in shades ranging from moss pistachio to a “wider punk palette” and styled in not just kurtas, sherwanis and classic tuxedos, but also experimental get-ups such as jodhpur-churidars and pre-draped crepe dhotis, all adorned with bejewelled buttons and cummerbunds. His collaboration with Savile Row’s Whitcomb and Shaftesbury was an attempt both to bring the subtle fineries of men’s tailoring to India as well as to “Indianise” them. “Even men have some curves, some assets need to be played up and some parts need to be concealed,” laughed Tahiliani a few days later during an interview in his Chhatarpur couture studio.
One day, he watched his statuesque wife Shailaja, or Sal, who had pursued modelling for a short while, walk the ramp. Seeing her, Tahiliani decided he wanted to design beautiful clothes. In 1995, four years after completing a course in design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, he designed one of the outfits that Jemima Goldsmith wore at her wedding to Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan, heralding the arrival of his eponymous brand on the world stage.
Years later, at an after-party of the first Indian Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2011, international pop queen Lady Gaga turned up draped in a classic ivory sari by Tahiliani, screaming at her adoring fans, “Look at what the ***k I have bought — I love Tahiliani!” But Tahiliani had long become used to such adoration. From being the first Indian to showcase at Milan Fashion Week in 2005 to dressing A-listers like Sting, Oprah Winfrey, Elizabeth Hurley, Deepika Padukone, Shilpa Shetty and Katrina Kaif, Tahiliani today is known for his unique synergy of design that blends Indian aesthetics with European craftsmanship. Tahiliani dismisses all celeb-talk with a nonchalant wave of his hand, “I don’t really design for celebrities, they just pick up my stuff and get it fitted themselves. I understand that it gets me recognition but it’s just not my game,” he says.
Arjun Sawhney, his former publicist, calls him a true “man of the world”. The charm and diplomacy are evident during our meetings, peppered as they are with playful banter and philosophising about our shared Sindhi heritage. He has an old-school pomposity about him, which may even be well-earned. “Intelligence coupled with the ability to converse on any topic under the sun — food, fashion, politics, music, literature, art — is a winning combination with his clients,” says Sawhney. A patron of the arts, Tahiliani used to write a monthly column in First City, a Delhi city magazine.
Other designers might draw inspiration from different periods in time, but the design process, for Tahiliani, is a visceral “collage-like” exercise. He even went to the Mahakumbh mela to study how the sadhus draped themselves — an influence noticeable in his 2013 collection. “I was in a trance at the Kumbh, mesmerised by all these people whose creativity was enhanced by opiates. This structuring of clothes is in our DNA — I drew inspirations from a vest and a dhoti-clad swami to the turban of a Haryanvi, people who do it every day but never the same way twice — that’s couture.” Bored sick of all the Great Gatsby-themed parties that have been the rage in the past couple of years, Tahiliani now wants to see the rise of a modern aesthetic where nobody tries to be anybody other than who they are. “The women I admire for their style — Gayatri Devi, Laila Tyabji, Elizabeth Taylor, Rekha — they have a trademark, understated elegance. You can’t be Jodhaa Akbar one day, Bajirao Mastani the next day, Choker Bali the day after that!”
A typical Tahiliani bride, then, must look like herself — “the best version of themselves. The only people who overdo it are nouveau (riche).” A source once close to the designer claims that more than fashionable clothes, Tahiliani is in the business of selling confidence. “He’s a very astute businessman and most importantly, he understands human sentiment. He knows the psychology of marketing, that before you know it, the client is convinced of tripling her budget to get the perfect look for her big day.” The same person suggests that Tahiliani is known to drop people from his life as soon as they stop being useful to him.
Tahiliani admits he was nudged into designing bridal wear due to a high demand in the market. However, he has also designed interiors for hotels, restaurants, hospitals and private residence, events, jewellery, footwear, watches, even a TV. “It’s the way to put your stamp on a lifestyle — it interests me and it makes business sense,” he says.
Tahiliani wants to explore his passions beyond bridal wear. The sari needs to be constantly reinvented, according to him, so that it won’t be relegated to tradition the way the kimono has been in Japan. He is currently in the middle of a collaboration with the Singh Twins — British Sikh sisters who paint traditional miniature paintings with contemporary ideas — for his next show. “Fashion is a serious thing, and it is my mission is to keep our heritage alive in a modern way,” says the father of two sons. “I don’t think it’s cool for Indians to wear western outfits on a daily basis and then suddenly become maharajas and maharanis on their wedding day. That’s where we as Indian designers have failed.” Failed? Somehow, the word does not sit well on Tahiliani.
