Aesthetic vision for expressing designs

MAJESTIC THREADS

Their creations can be described as rich, opulent, mesmerising and majestic. The who’s who of the celebrities don their creations. From the Bachchans to the Ambanis, from Dimple Kapadia to Madhuri Dixit, from Gauri Khan to Deepika Padukone — all love their designs.

International celebrities like Beyonce and Judi Dench too love to flaunt their attire.
Mumbai-based haute couture duo Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla has a client base that stretches across Europe, North America, the Middle East and South Asia. They have zealously worked to reinvent traditional Mughal  arts of chikankari and zardozi embroidery, thus helping the traditional karigars. In an interview with Deccan Herald, Abu and Sandeep talk about their journey in the fashion world. Excerpts:

The Indian fashion industry was still in its nascent stage when you started (1980s). Where are we now?

We have come a long way as an organised industry. From being unheard of and frowned upon, fashion design is now a much-respected and a coveted career choice. When we began three decades ago, we possessed neither any formal training nor were we in any financial position to ‘invest’ in a business. What we did have was an unswerving passion to create the finest — to reinvent and re-imagine the past and give it new, original expression. What we still lack is funding and infrastructure to take ‘Design India’ to its optimal level — both within our shores as well as across the globe. This is the next challenge and opportunity. We hope to see both the public and the private sector join hands with designers and take fashion houses and brands where they should be.

Was it a conscious effort to get into this niche of majestic design or was there any particular demand for such clothes?

Couture is always limited edition. It is entirely handcrafted and meticulously detailed and finished. This, of course, limits the audience who can afford it. It is our core too, as artists. We are driven by dreaming the wildest fantasies and bringing them to life in the form of fashion and interior design. So, it wasn’t a conscious decision to become couturiers; rather, it was our primal instinct as artists to create the finest that naturally that resulted in us creating couture. We also strongly feel that every man and woman deserves beautiful clothes as part of a beautiful lifestyle.

This is why we have launched our new label, Asal by Abu Sandeep, the label caters to a much wider potential audience. We have also become incubators for a new fashion collective and opened a store called, Fantastique. We are currently stocking three designers, all of whom work with indigenous fabrics and techniques but tweak them to create uber contemporary pret.

Not all can afford a Abu-Sandeep attire...

Each person is unique and special and deserves fabulous clothes. And we look forward to entering the world of pret too in the future. For now, our hands, minds and resources are fully stretched. But it is very much something we have in mind.

How should designers woo heavy spenders?

We cannot tell designers how they should design. We have never designed with a market in mind. Great design creates a demand, it doesn’t cater to it. Make beautiful things and they will sell. Our advice to the young is simple. Always buy the best you can afford. Keep experimenting and develop your own personal style, one that compliments your spirit and identity. Fashion icons ought to be inspirational not people you attempt to impersonate or copy blindly. Be original. That rule applies to both designers and the people who wear our designs.

What is needed to keep the dying art of traditional embroidery alive?

The restoration and reinvention of traditional craft techniques is core to our design philosophy and practice. We are mad about embroideries and when we began, we were dismayed by the degradation of the regal zardozi, resham and chikankari to crude expressions. We have spent years retraining artisans to create meticulous embroideries. If we do not safeguard and build upon our heritage, it will die.

Crafts die when craftspeople are not remunerated well and when their craft is treated and rewarded as if it was cheap unskilled labour. The public sector and private sector has a huge role to play here. As do consumers. We must support handloom through policy, infrastructure, training, employment and demand. Quality doesn’t come cheap. It never has. It never will. As consumers, we must be willing to pay for quality and support artisans via our purchases.

What goes into designing for big names from the film industry?

When we create a custom outfit for anyone, we spend time with them to understand their personality, their aesthetics and their spirit. This isn’t reserved for celebrities. Every client is a star in our eyes. Every ensemble we create is special. We give it our all.

How different is it to design for Indian celebrities from those from Hollywood?

For us, every client is unique and deserves our finest. It is about the individual. It is about our aesthetic vision and expression for that person. As for Hollywood versus Bollywood, we do not place one higher than the other. We are as committed to creating beauty for the domestic client as we are for the international one. We recently launched Jani Khosla in LA. This is a Red Carpet Label, designed and produced in India for the world client that has lots of dresses, gowns and tailored separates to be worn at big occasions.