I am mad, I am certainly mad, but I like to be mad. It is so much fun because you live in multiple dimensions,” designer Tarun Tahiliani told The Telegraph in a pre-show conversation as he talked about the visual experience awaiting us for his show ‘Indian Modern’ at The India Story, a Neotia Arts Trust Initiative presented by Chivas Glassware, in association with The Telegraph. The 30-minute stellar sartorial showcase that unfolded in front of our eyes post our conversation, reiterated his thoughts and projected the ‘mad’ passion that went behind putting together the multidimensional visual storytelling experience.
Making it a soul-soothing melange of various forms of art and craft, and also incorporating literature, the presentation aptly fitted into TIS’s theme for this year — ‘Dimensions’. Produced and choreographed by Indrani Dasgupta Paul and directed by Vahbiz Kersy Mehta, models from Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta walked the ramp in three sequences — fashion, bridal and couture. The 100ft ramp made in the open-air space at Raajkutir Swabhumi had different dimensions, too. Models walked out of a cubical-shaped entrance illuminated with red lights, walked down a slope and used a flight of stairs to get to the centre stage after completing a round. The performers and models made it an interestingly interactive show for the audience as the ramp meandered through the space occupied by the audience.
“Bringing the Indian element and modern element was truly multidimensional and it was Tarun’s vision. It was just not a fashion show. One of our inputs, as producers, was to decide the optimum time that should be allotted to engage the audience with the different performances and where to place what so that it is not too much or too less for the audience to get distracted. There’s a colour story and there’s a mood,” said Indrani, show producer and choreographer. Show director Vahbiz said, “It had to be free-flowing, engaging and interactive. It was not a fashion week runway where the models had to walk deadpan. It had to be more personal. The dancers and performers were not used as props but were elements of the show. The audience was seated in different pockets, so the challenge was to make sure there was a model in front of the audience no matter where they are seated. We had to make sure that it was 360 degrees.”
Fusion is a TT signature and the show — a blend of traditional and modern elements — conveyed that. Displaying fusion styles through his signature drape drama, Western cuts in silhouettes and the heritage crafts of India in his design detailing, the designer’s showcase championed the cause of sustainability through their timeless appeal. “Rather than being Western one day or Indian one day, I would do fusion. Let it be a fusion to suit our lifestyle, otherwise there’s something fake somewhere. We don’t need to pretend to be someone else. Our exposure gives us the power to express ourselves in multiple ways. We have many selves and have to live in multiple dimensions but with a sense of coherence or alignment. Technology has helped us to expand our minds and live in multiple dimensions,” said Tarun.
Rooted in ‘Indianness’, the show highlighted the finesse of Indian craftsmanship through fashion, India’s rich heritage of art and culture through the audio-visual display showing Uday Shankar’s dance alongside a design story, literary quotes, India’s architectural heritage, paintings of Raja Ravi Varma, Ma Faiza’s music and many more elements complementing the live performance on the ramp of models walking, chhau dance and khartaal players. “The audio-visual in the show is a stream of consciousness of my thoughts. There will be models, Nataraj dancing, questions, heritage architecture, V.S. Naipaul and Alice in Wonderland quotes...” said Tarun.
Raising questions like ‘Can we extend our past into the future?’, ‘What do we owe to our heritage?’ on the audio-visual, the designer answered it through his creations. With a futuristic vision of emphasising easy movements, flowy silhouette styles and ‘lightness’ of outfits, he amalgamated the past by incorporating the Indian heritage crafts of chikankari, pichwai, kashida and zardozi along with hand-painting and printing on luxe fabrics as a part of the design details. Talking to t2 about blending couture and comfort, he said, “Why would you spend lakhs to be uncomfortable? The new generation of Indians doesn’t think like this. They’ve grown up more secure with money. I think here we talk about sustainability. It is not just handmade but you have to wear your clothes multiple times. For me, 30 years were a big learning experience because we were all brought up in this foolish Westernised way. But now, I would rather be in the bylanes of a city like this (Kolkata) or Murshidabad. I find it more authentic rather than going abroad like people want to most of the time. I meet so many people who say they have seen the North Pole, South Pole... I ask have you seen Qutab Minar and they say no. I am not judging, each to his own. But this is how I think about it.”
After our conversation, the designer sent me to check his outfits backstage before the show as lights on the ramp may not give their detailed view. For me, exploring the masterpieces backstage will always be a moment to remember. A subtle colour palette in the fashion sequence featuring gowns with draped detailing featured details like pearl, sequins, zardozi, and aari on the fine fabric tulle and vintage floral print on velvet. The bridal lehngas were masterpieces of pichwai work telling stories through its multiple motifs and intricate handcrafted design detailing of jaal, stones, French knot and zardozi. Moving on from the subtle shades of the fashion line towards more enhanced tones in the couture range, the outfits of this sequence featured stone detailing on tulle, the exquisite craft of chikankari and various intricate handcrafted detailing. “Whether it is a small Indian wedding or big, a lot of brides want to underdress these days as compared to their guests. They say they don’t care. That’s the ultimate freedom. They are doing it for themselves. What is luxury? It is not a logo to show. But how it feels on your skin, that’s the feeling. People are expressing themselves. I think people like to have fun. How can people have fun if they don’t move? That’s the basis of fashion. As fashion changes, fashion is here to enhance your life and fashion is many different things. For some people it is to show, but how can comfort be negotiable? That is what I don’t understand. It is not modern. If you look at 200 years of royal Indian costumes in the Ritu Kumar book, brides used to not move and not wear heels. Nowadays, brides like to dance,” said the designer.
So, who is a Tarun Tahiliani bride now, t2 asked. “They are all extremely secure and confident. They wear natural make-up. They are fine with things being cut to enhance them. She is exposed to everything, she understands comfort and wants to dance till six in the morning. The brides I dress are secure people. They own their beauty. They don’t rely on their beauty to come from outside.”
Couture jeweller Raj Mahtani’s stellar winter line consisting of white gold and diamonds for bridal, emeralds, rubies and a mix of Westerns designs for cocktail looks complemented the outfits in each sequence. “I know Tarun’s colour palette. I had an image of what he would put out at the show. So, in the beginning we used lighter stuff like cocktail wear and then went heavier into the evening wear and bridal. Tarun’s clothes were the perfect canvas for our jewellery. It was a match made in heaven. We gave a beautiful mix of colours. At heart, I am a modernist and minimal in my design sensibility. I keep it minimal and it is very important for me to make the brides look contemporary,” said Raj.
Talking about his muse, Tarun told t2, “Because we live in so many dimensions there can’t be one muse. There are so many facets to a person’s personality. I think we have a long way to go. Everything here is too colloquial... I don’t have a muse. There are multiple women who make up the multiple dimensions of this person. For different collections, I have different people in mind. But in my mind, it is all cohesive at the end.”
The show ‘India Modern’ paid tribute to the heritage and culture of India in more ways than one with its cohesive elements. The immersive vibe created throughout the performance concluded with the models and performers taking positions on the centre stage, signifying a union of the different performances that made up the show and a state of the Sufi ‘fana’ portrayed on the screen. Sitting in the audience, I could feel the vibe reverberate in my mind and heart as I watched the show spellbound.
“I think India Story hosted many fashion shows and every show has been superb but Tarun took us to another level. It was spectacular, dramatic and fun. We were engaged with the performance and fashion happening simultaneously. The audience was almost hypnotised. It was beautiful to work with Tarun and Raj’s jewellery complemented the outfits very tastefully. In every way, it complemented the theme that we had planned,” said Madhu Neotia, the heart and brain behind TIS.
Pictures: Pabitra Das