A couple of ‘M’s summed up the Tarun Tahiliani-ness of the moment for us on Saturday evening at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. TT’s soul favourites, the Manganiars, and Ma Faiza. Distinct disciplines that came together to underline the harmonious magic of fusion. A unison that was so powerfully Indian yet international. A heritage aesthetic that reinvented itself for an even stronger contemporary punch. And, the aftertaste lingered on well after the lights dimmed near Dhyan Chand’s statue. The ‘global Indian’ had just seen TT’s ‘Global Indian’ take centre stage. There couldn’t be a better site.
And, what a sight it was. Rich and utterly decadent, Tarun’s luxe pret made us gape and drool. Yes, it looked ridiculously gorgeous. First came the golds. Saris, gowns, kurtas, drapes. Then the taupes. Blush pink and metallic greys followed. Then came the stripes and screen prints and in walked Tarun’s hippie princesses in dresses, jumpsuits and jackets. A line of velvets, black and gold and silver and black led the way for Kriti Sanon to stun in a black gown.
TT’s queens in their saris and sexy drapes with hair accessories were breathtaking. The collection shone in stunning simplicity. Maximal yet minimal. Statement-y yet understated. Royal yet for the real you and me.
“My heart lies is simplicity. There is a beauty in some kind of a simplicity. We hand-painted the prints and we got them printed. The pashmina saris woven, clean chic… we have done our new line of bags which you saw. Lounge pyjamas, the twisted crinkle….
We played with the colour palette and we have some new people who are as passionate about draping and when you have that then they understand the vocabulary and we also worked with much simpler fabrics that allowed me to breathe as well. I also simplified the production method. We now work with professional factories. I don’t want to sell a pair of screen-printed pants for Rs 30,000. How many would we sell? I want to make one section of the store hip…,” Tarun told t2, as we walked from one press conference venue to another, an attempt to complete his 10,000 steps, stopping for a selfie every now and then. From Noida to Nepal.
The Covid break gave him time to re-strategise. “They have been the most amazing years. I have had so much time to process things and redirect the direction of things I wanted to do and also really thought about...,” he shared. He said he was bringing back his jewel tees soon. Woohoo!
Ma Faiza said she kept it “playful and heartfelt”. “He puts in so many things… but it’s just knowing who he is and feeling like connected to him, I tried to put in as many different elements and tried to keep it playful and heartfelt because that’s what I think is the brand and also the clothes and I am excited to do some more projects,” she told us.
Those are the words. #heartfelt #playful
Like the man. Like the brand.
Pictures: Sandip Das
