Tarun Tahiliani has been designing for close to three decades now and it’s remarkable to witness his relentless passion every time you meet him even today. One that keeps him going. One that convincingly thrusts him into the daunting task of pulling off two full-fledged fashion shows in a span of a couple of days. Both strikingly alike and yet different, injected with that TT romance for the dynamic and the need to reboot, but always drawing from heritage. That unending pursuit for cutting out the flab from fashion, taking off the weight of the expected and making it trimmer, smarter and India modern. Present and thriving in the now.
If his ready-to-wear showcase on Day One was all about his signature contemporary glamour, his collection for Tasva, the brand that was launched in collaboration with Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. in 2021, on Day Four, had the same vein of understated unabashedness. The most handsome lineup of men walking in crisp kurtas, pyjamas, dhotis, bundis, sherwanis and achkans, Indo-western looks and dinner jackets. In a TT classic beige followed by mustard, pink, camel, pistachio, baby blue, navies, blacks and burgundy.
Tarun’s staple layering was an effective accessory. There was subtle shine and resham, aari, and dori work, zardozi threads, pearls and French knots on silk blends and jacquards, among others. The line had many a wedding occasion in mind. “There is one for festive, pujas, rokas and simpler things, then a big category that we have been missing has been the dinner jacket. I am a little against bow ties because I find it a bit like Mickey Mouse and Donald! So, we have done our bandhgala variations. New modern things,” Tarun told us post-show.
Looking back at a time when the brand started, Tarun felt “today what happened was a result of dogged perseverance and a belief”. “We started at a difficult time during the pandemic but we stayed focused,” he smiled, his Tasva head designer, Bhanu Dhingra, by his side. “I have a thousand ideas a day. He runs the team that makes it possible,” he added.
We told TT how smart and cool all the men looked. “Indian clothes are versatile. You take sportswear and take things from western fit. Men keep telling me that they didn’t know Indian clothes could be so comfortable. Why? Because you are wearing the wrong things,” he said.
And when the dapper bunch broke out into a jig at the end of the show was when memories were made. The music was a whole lot of fun with tracks like Mere sapno ki rani and Jee karda setting the mood. “I only insisted on Mein shayar toh nahin. Energy is infectious and it wasn’t choreographed in the end. We were just going to walk out but it became so pumping backstage that I said let loose. It was amazing. Let me tell you, my own baraat wasn’t this much fun!” laughed Tarun.
Yes, there’s never a dull moment with Tarun around.