HYDERABAD: “I love Hyderabad I wish could come here more often. I used to come here a lot as a child and would spend three or four months visting a close aunt who lives here,” says fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani who will be in the city today to showcase his specially curated collection at his store.
Sharing more memories he has of the city, he recalls, “Banjara Hills used to be a very rocky place that time. I also love the Secunderabad Club and I have spent some wonderful times there. The city has the most special culture in the South because of the Nizams and what they did. The Turkish influence and architecture is just spectacular making it quite different from the other colonial cities.”
The designer does have one grouse with the city though and that is cutting up of the rocks.
“I wish I could see more boulders that is the only thing I miss when I come here,” states Tahiliani.
Known for marrying Indian patterns with European craftsmanship, the couturier will be showcasing a collection which will boast of carefully selected pieces from his pret and couture collection.
“We have also done some special pieces in Kanjeevaram in the Indian modern. When we go somewhere we want to take the most popular thing in that culture and here it is Kanjeeveram shown in a new way in draping and new patterns. The colours are exquisite,” adds Tarun who went for a definite shift in his Spring-Summer 2015 collection which was inspired largely by the Singh Twins from UK who are slowly carving out a niche for themselevs in the art scene with their miniature paintings in contemporary styles.
Zesty digital prints in a riot of colours which held the spectator captive with its imaginative silhouettes made the collection a talking point at the fashion week. “I had seen their work previsouly and it’s very original. I took the license to cut it up and reformat it into the show in October. We will be repeating it later in the year. I’m very inspired by their work, by their Indianess, by the way they have carved out their identity and what it means to them,” says Tahiliani of the twins work.
With his line being quintesentially Indian coupled with a keen understanding of the woman’s body, Tarun’s structured drapes went well along with his ideal of creating “something Indian in its identity yet contemporary.”
Be it utilising artisanal techniques like chikankari, shibori, chinoiserie embroidery, dori wrapping, bandhni, jacquard weaves and velvet appliqués, his ability to make the fabric work in tandem with the Indian sensibilities in mind, is what sets him apart. Indeed, a shift towards the confluence of tradition and functionality in his Modern Mughal collection which incorporates fabrics like reshmas, tulles is an epitome of that.
Though his work has received accolades from world over and celebrities adorn his collections, the designer remains unaffected by all of it. “I go back to work; I’m more interested in the next thing. I’m more interested in people who have true style and are very classy yet carry themselves the way they like. I like to go to work and be engaged in the next project, I have fun in my studio desinging with my designers than anywhere else in the world.”
With more and more designers tying up with e-commerce portals paving way to bring luxury to masses, he opines, “It’s natural that the lines will get blurred. I think it’s getting more democratic. There is nothing more democratic than the internet. The important thing is not to take way from the experience of luxury. For me, luxury is something I don’t get often. If I know something I like I can reorder on the net. Sure if I like a sweater from a brand, I will buy it from the net and wear it. But it’s how you wear it and carry it which is important. As long as they don’t ruin the experience of the fit and the finish, I think it’s okay.”