When Tarun Tahiliani was in Calcutta a couple of months back, he had shared with t2 his plans of launching OTT, his luxury ready-to-wear brand. He unveiled the same at Lakmé Fashion Week in partnership with Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), in Delhi, on October 12, at a show presented by Nexa.
Effortless glamour was the mood. As it is with all of Tarun’s creations. This was the first glimpse of the sub-brand from the house of Tarun Tahiliani. Aditi Rao Hydari walked as showstopper in a “concept sari”.
The collection was made of easy separates that could be dressed up or down. Think trousers, jackets, draped skirts and lots more. We loved the gorgeous golds and the stunning metallics. There were lots of flowy silhouettes, rendering them to various moods and interpretations.
Art by Ram Kumar, Ravinder Dutt and Tarun himself added the cool to the classic, which then translated into hot, young styles.
t2 caught up with Tarun post-show on the making of OTT, and more.
The show started with a video and a timeline. Could you decode that for us?
What the video was saying is since we did Milan (spring/summer 2002), I have been obsessed with the idea of ready-to-wear because I see how free and fluid it is for people to mix and match and make their looks and not just what we sell from the collection, but also what they have from their own (wardrobes). I feel we even need more so today because the same thing can be made to look different if people were to feel pressure that they are wearing the same thing, which is a silly pressure anyway.
In 2006, we thought we’d have a (ready-to-wear) brand. It was TT back then. We kept doing luxury pret but it had started to get heavier and heavier because the stores would ask us to make it heavier because they had the mindset of the customer going for the wedding. Then I finally said, listen, this was not actually what was behind the idea. The idea was that I wanted beautiful, fluid and in many cases structured drapes and international silhouettes mixed together for today’s lifestyle for Indians who are travelling abroad and eventually for people abroad to wear. They are not going to wear our lehngas. They might wear it once at a wedding. Then the saris... but it looked a bit costumey. I wanted real fashion that reflected India and our crafts but in a simpler and clean, toned down, beautiful way. I finally said that if I really wanted to make this, I have to make it separate and give it its own story. So, there you are!
How long back did you start working on it?
It’s been on my mind... I think towards the end of last year and the start of this year, I thought I should do it. When Nexa spoke to us and the colours matched, it forced the issue... you are forced to finish, otherwise, you can go on and on. It’s a very different approach and I think I have also learnt and felt a bit confident after doing Tasva (the menswear brand from the family of ABFRL, a collaboration with Tarun that was launched two-and-a-half years back) because whatever our price points are, the principles are same. What we are doing in luxury and bridals is very different and the couture is another story altogether.
You will see a lot of references to the past. We’ll only do the sampling for OTT and it’s going out to professional top-end factories and you need to do certain numbers. You’ve seen it through the years. The luxe was not down, but the prices will be down because there is a plan to sell it on multiple occasions. It’s a different ballgame. Some of the designers have got a big couture brand and then something which is relatively cheaper. I feel that it’s a bit of cannibalisation because the silhouettes are the same. One is done by machine and one is done by hand. OTT has nothing to do with that. You are not going to see a lehnga here. You will see skirts that you might wear with a jewelled T-shirt, as a lehnga, but there is a modern twist to everything. There were many draped pants, jewelled tees and oversized shirts. Shoes will be available in times to come.
Yours has been an aspirational brand. Do you see OTT as an entry point in the brand for a lot of younger consumers?
Absolutely. Look at Chanel. They do couture and they’ll do their expensive lines but they also have espadrilles (shoes) or do other things. They are such a powerful brand.
When I was a student, I used to buy Giorgio Armani from the clearance racks. That is all that I could afford at that point. Then later, I started buying Emporio Armani because I liked the simplicity of it. It’s what you enter with and then you go up the ladder. I felt just doing bridal and couture, it felt a little isolated to me. It’s just that India happens to be a very big world because of the way we celebrate weddings. I am not really a salwar kameez designer. I like simple cuts, but I always like it to be mix and match. Many years back, I started showing satin shirts with lehngas to show how you would use your (wedding) lehnga later. I think it (OTT) will have a vitality that just selling sets doesn’t have for me, personally.
Now that you are doing ready-to-wear, how do you think the market has changed and how have you tweaked what you are doing for OTT, vs what you would have done earlier?
I had one or two T-shirts that were actually done before and now that I look at them with my OTT lens, I am like, what the hell was I thinking? There is so much Swarovski and this and that... that is truly ‘OTT’ and the irony of OTT is that it’s not OTT! (Laughs) Now, it’s much more streamlined and pared down. A lot of the new India is now much more secure, educated and self-assured. So, there isn’t that much of a huge difference in their day, night and weddings. You are still the same person and identity.
I will do a little more embroidery, but I want it to be very controlled and use Indian crafts in a minimal way so that it’s wearable.
