Luxury driven & loving it

It is a pity really. Because what designer Tarun Tahiliani says off the record is way way more interesting and delightful than it is when we are discussing the business of fashion. There are interesting photos of Halloween parties and adventurous holidays shared, wicked jokes cracked etc, but fact is, light banter aside, when you are having an audience with a master couturier of the likes of Tahiliani, fashion is the subject you want to talk about. Because the man knows what he is talking about, and makes it sound like fun just the same. 

Not often enough
"Bangalore is a small market for us, and that, I suppose, is why I don't visit the city that often," he says, commenting on his rare visits to the city. "You know, we are one of the few people who do ready-to-wear, and couture, and menswear, and so we never leave our base for too long," he adds before listing out all the various projects he's juggling currently. "There's so much stuff to do, we are into accessories now, we just launched a gold jewellery collection yesterday, there's (interior designing) work on hotels... there's no time!" he exclaims but his answer leads us on to the next question. Whether expanding one's base from just clothes to accessories and the lifestyle space is the best way forward for Indian designers today.

Lifestyle. Lifestyle
"It is a great way," he says in turn. "When I started my watches I did so because you had women wearing beautiful Indian clothes but they didn't have watches that matched." The right formula then, as he chooses to succintly put it, is to "define a lifestyle and then design everything around it."

Talking about defining lifestyles, the Tarun Tahiliani lifestyle in his words is, "A wonderful India-modern style where we are not stuck in the past. Instead, we take from our past and yet, we are conscious about what it is to be Indian; to take what this country has to offer and combine it with western sophistication, instead of doing it the other way round, which is to take a tacky dress and then add kitsch."

Company matters
With top-of-the-line designers in India ruing about the absence of corporate investments in Indian fashion industry, we ask Tahiliani if he subscribes to the thought as well, to which he responds in a matter-of-fact tone, "Corporates have not been interested in investing so far because they've not seen designers building solid distribution, and proper team, and a real growth story here. They haven't seen that. Also, just because you are selling for two people or dressing the super rich and movie stars, doesn't mean corporates will want to invest in you. Corporates want to invest in business that will grow, outlast us, like Chanel or a Dior."

The big business
While that statement might come across as cynical, Tahiliani in fact is quite optimistic stating that things are set to change. "We are on the cusp," he states revealing, "Anita Dongre has recently gone in for public subscription. She started her business all on her own. I have private equities coming after me but I have said no right now." That choice, he explains, is because he is happy being a `400crore business. "I like luxury, that's my taste. It might be simple, but because I like it, I am contented with being in the space."

As someone who's been in the industry for more than twenty years, one would think he's done it all and would take it easy. Far from it. "I've done nothing," he emphatically states. "I've made mistakes. I could have run my business better. But I've learnt my lessons now, and we are changing our business plan and turning our business around." So what does that mean down the next five years?

More for women
"Many more collections, more ready-to-wear, better price points," he rattles out a list before pausing to elaborate more on his next big project, namely, designing clothes for fuller women. Without mincing words, he says, "I hate the fact that Indian women who are voluptuous are made to feel inadequate about who they are. Why should they be made to feel any less? We are not a western society where people are tall and thin." "Good design must address the needs of the people," he philosophises before revealing, "I have found a large woman who is going to be my model, so right now, it's my challenge intellectually to make her look amazing. I am excited about my work."

QUICK 5
1    Keeping the creative mojo alive: I read, I write, I spend time by myself, I travel. I love the creative process of designing, so it never fatigues me. Interviews fatigue me (laughs)

2    A young designer who's work I like: My ex-student Amit Aggarwal. I think he is doing   wonderful work with his label Morphe.

3    Social media's impact on fashion: I think it is good but it is a dangerous medium when you have fake people who don't know anything about fashion writing about it.

4    Real women who are my muses: Mehr Jessia, Binal Modi, L'Wren Scott and Maharani Gayatri Devi.

5     My inspiration on bad days: My wife, Sailaja. I draw my strength from her. I love her and I consider her my intellectual equivalent. She constantly tells me, "Do this as long as you are happy, as long as you are enjoying it."