The glam magnates

Avanti & Yash Birla do some plain talking with Marina Pereira-Correa about living life on their own terms

Could there be another couple in Mumbai with a more original style than Yash and Avanti Birla’s? Think about it: Yash Birla scion of one of India’s most respected and conservative business houses, splashed on billboards with torn cleavage- revealing tee and prominent tattoos;,

Avanti the daughter of good middle class Maharashtrian stock in billowing ball gowns and bouffant — and just when you are ready to write them off as incorrigible airhead style victims there’s their spiritual side and their love of family values: a deep and abiding commitment to the non-material, the eternal and the ethereal, and a clear-headed faith in the simple and the basic. Is there any doubt at all that this couple breaks every stereotype ever constructed?

So on the heels of their glam-on- steroids photo shoot for the L’Officiel March issue we catch up with the free-spirited Fashionistas, and have a few more preconceived notions knocked out of us!     

“I dress for myself and not for the cameras. I pick clothes that catch my eye and don’t necessarily shop for labels.” says Avanti.

As if on cue, Yash says he’s never one to follow trends but goes by his mood while dressing. “If people like what I wear it’s good. If they don’t that’s also fine. I don’t mull over what people say.”

This duo is a confluence of opposing influences: theirs is a world that combines bhajans with trance, the Upanishads with Jack Welch and meditation with gymming!

And above all quality time with their kids — Nirvaan, Vedantvardhan and Shloka — takes precedence over everything and the couple can be found lounging around as a family at their palatial home on Malabar Hill on lazy Sunday afternoons.

You'd never find Yash or Avanti Birla following a rule — they’d rather make their own! Superna Motwane, editor, L’Officiel, says: “It was an absolutely fabulous experience shooting with our good friends Yash and Avanti who are passionate about life, so full of fun, and such non-fussy people.” She adds in the same breath, “And yes, they are real people — warm and natural.”

So what are the fashion rules for a couple who constantly make their own? “Avanti and Yash carry off Bohemian chic as well as Dior, Prada or Gucci with equal flair and flamboyance. They understand fashion totally and know what works for them because they are passionate about fashion,” says Superna.

Ask her about her most enjoyable moment during the iconic shoot and she recalls the time when Avanti dressed in Christian Dior’s Spring/Summer collection complete with make-up disappeared a moment before the shoot on Avenue Montagne, the Mecca of fashion in Paris, “The two of them fled the place and went shopping at the most stylish of boutiques leaving everyone guessing about their whereabouts. 

That was an absolutely fun experience and we totally freaked out,” recalls Superna laughingly. Now if that’s not free-spirited and Bohemian, then what is? The iconoclasm doesn't stop here.

Though Yash and Avanti are better known for their jet-set lifestyle and flamboyance in dressing, they have a serious side to them.

This duality couldn’t be more pronounced than it is in their business interests. Engineering, power, chemicals, finance, metals, electrical appliances may seem at odds with the couples fashionable identity but it’s these businesses that form the cornerstones of their enterprise.

What's closer home are their lifestyle offerings which fall under the Birla Lifestyle fold. Yantra, the furniture salon, showcases internationally-renowned brands such as Fendi, Cappellini, Kartell, B&B, Dema, Driade, Fiam, Foscarini, among a host of other big names. Articulate, an eclectic space for contemporary art was born out of the duo’s love for art.

Their most-recent venture in the lifestyle space has been Raih, the beauty salon and spa, which they plan to take national and are scouting for high-network areas in metros and mini-metros.

Anuj Batra, CEO, Birla Lifestyle, says “We are looking at getting into the wellness space and have drawn out plans for medi-spas (beauty treatments administered by dermatologists)”.

Known to be lifestyle icons we would like to bet our currency on Birla Lifestyle storming the home interiors spaces, setting up personal grooming workshops, high-end malls and a lot more in related spheres.

But of course with Yash and Avanti Birla’s hitherto maverick, highly individualistic track record — there just might be another Ace up that well toned bicep sleeve!