A chat with Tarun Tahiliani on any given day is almost guaranteed to drive away your blues. You will guffaw if not go ROFL. His irreverent and self-deprecating humour, which he describes as a “very deranged sense of humour, for sure”, is always a reminder not to take yourself too seriously. Rather live every moment of it and in it. Passionately. Passion is, in fact, a keyword in his life. A driving force that makes him head to work early in the morning irrespective of whether he’d pulled off a show the night before or headed to his son’s wedding festivities immediately after a show. The zest is enviable, even after nearly three decades of being an OG Indian designer. One that can put most of us, struggling to maintain a work-life balance, to shame.
The same passion has seen him adapt to the times marvellously, constantly reinventing the dialogue of India modern. His joie de vivre, creative spirit and experience have blended seamlessly with the thought process of his younger team members to keep the brand in sync with the times. He is a keen listener, we feel, and observant of what each team member brings to the table, all working around the unmistakable TT signatures, but novel in aesthetics, resulting in contemporary-timeless pieces.
The TT drapes, chikankari, Kasheedakari, Byzantine art, Egyptian jaalis, art deco, Persian motifs and men’s tailoring. All of these were sent out in over 90 looks that made up ‘For Eternity’, Tarun’s bridal couture collection, at Hyundai India Couture Week, in association with Reliance Brands, an FDCI initiative, at Taj Palace, Delhi, on Saturday. And, which a handful of us got to experience at a preview at his sprawling 45,0000sq ft Gurgaon headquarters earlier that day. “Couture is a very special process. It doesn’t have to be dressy. People think if it is expensive, it’s couture. Couture just means that you fit the body in the process. You need couture more as you get older because the left and right sides of your body are different... to make it mould so that it’s like a second skin. I take that seriously.... There has to be purity to adhere to the principles of couture… you know the pleasure when something is just perfect on your body. It goes beyond how it’s made. It has to understand the personality of the person and allow them to be themselves,” Tarun had told us once, on one of his visits to Calcutta. Up, close and personal, the neat glamour of it all bowled us over. “We fit seven times,” Tarun told us post-show. With the drapes being done on a “live model” to achieve perfect flow and fall.
His muses floated in and out of a jaali-like structure, a TT signature and reminiscent of his recently launched decadent, contemporary and laden with a sense of intrigue menswear studio in Dubash House, Ballard Estate, Mumbai, a piece of art that’s reflective of his interest in interiors over the years. The romantic lightness has become the signature of the brand too. In the lehngas, ‘hand-painted prints’, shararas, gilets, jackets, saris, structured drapes, jumpsuits, dhotis and more. “One of the huge issues today which we hear all the time is that people are miserable in the clothes they wear. Men more so. They are like, we didn’t know clothes could be so comfortable.... I have seen people crying that they can’t walk and we think that is so passe... it has to be light. What’s the point of spending all this money if you are going to change into some little dress at 10 ’o’ clock and come down in Keds? It’s crazy. There is a huge market of people now who just want to dress for themselves. That’s the kind of luxury emerging in India... finally luxury is for yourself, on your skin,” said Tarun as he took us around.
Tarun Tahiliani took a bow with his team post show
He encouraged us to “touch the clothes, turn them inside out and feel them”. The impeccable finish was a delightful highlight. “Everyone loves chikankari because it is so light but the market is flooded. We started the technique of painting the fabric and printing it and then doing the chikan on top so that we don’t block-print in Lucknow... you get the depth of colour that you cannot get normally. We are trying to keep the clothes soft because that’s another way people will repurpose and re-wear because it is comfortable and soft on your skin,” said Tarun.
One of his team members recollected how the inspiration for pichwai came from a “net pichwai” in Tarun’s house. “We have updated it and made it monochromatic,” said Tarun. The marvellous intricacy of it all made it one of our favourite corners. “To keep the Indian clothes light, we are also gravitating towards a lot of aari work. The veils are cut in panels. It’s soft and one pin and the whole thing stays up. Everyone thinks of India as colour and embroidery but India is the home of drapes... people still wear drapes here. Men also. So, we do structured draping because most people have forgotten how to drape,” said Tarun.
Tarun Tahiliani’s ‘For Eternity” showcased at Hyundai India Couture Week, in association with Reliance Brands, an FDCI initiative, at Taj Palace, Delhi
The ready-to-wear and bridal sections led us to menswear and the red room of pleasure done up exquisitely to house Parsi gara pieces. “Sticking to TT signature elements like crafts and embroidery, but bringing in a sense of ease, wearability and freedom... comfort is the first focal point. We are trying to break from stereotypical groom-like-things,” said one of his team members about TT’s "new man", who was so hot in his dhotis, shirts, cummerbunds, sherwani, ‘plunging cowl necklines’, and jackets. “There is this Indian sensualness. We don’t have to ape anything in the West. We just got to have more faith in ourselves and connect to ourselves,” Tarun told us post-show, himself sporting a dhoti.
A blouse with semi-precious pearls, kachha resham and normal resham was no less a piece of jewellery. The set came with a veil with armholes “that could be worn as a cape”.
We loved the “woven brocades with a molten effect” and well-crafted jewellery. “You have got to see the emeralds tonight....” said Tarun. His store will now have a curation of jewellery called Tarun Tahiliani Tijori.
Tarun Tahiliani’s ‘For Eternity’ showcased at Hyundai India Couture Week, in association with Reliance Brands, an FDCI initiative, at Taj Palace, Delhi
On our way to the sumptuous brunch with the inimitable Tarun, our last stop was a Kasheedakari station, with two gentlemen relentlessly at their jobs. “The show will be a lot of the same thing, but on a much bigger scale and different ways of styling and appropriate beautiful jewels. We are a country of great taste and a lot of it is coming from people who have no money and are not even exposed and we have no business behaving like this. It’s become a beautiful dialogue. I am nothing without them and I can help them. There’s no ego,” said Tarun of his “insane” embroiderers.
And, it’s perhaps this sense of the egoless that made his bow post-show all the more special. “It really takes a village to bring a heartfelt vision to life and it can never be done alone,” he wrote on Instagram, after walking with his team. The same team he had lovingly introduced to us, never taking away their spotlight, but always guiding them like a parent.
Glimpses of Tarun’s Gurgaon creative den
Deep down, Tarun’s secure celebration of his aesthetics perhaps made him give us an intimate glimpse of his creative universe. “We thought it would be fun to take you behind the scenes because unfortunately at a show, you can’t really see detail. Couture is about very subtle details like hand embroidery... touch and feel,” he said.
Glimpses of Tarun’s Gurgaon creative den
Indeed, we were moved by the treasure trove called Indian craftsmanship, filling us with awe and respect. And, a combination of the overwhelming and the emotional too. At Tarun’s sheer honesty and fearlessness in baring a part of his soul, he so deeply loves, secured and nurtured by his conviction.
A maverick.