‘I’m just a jacket tailor’

Are you tired of being called ‘The Prince of Pin-tucks’ already? It’s almost as if your running stitch,leathers,appliqué and tapered cutting go unnoticed?
It’s what people buy. It’s one commercial technique that’s clicked and I’ve slutted myself doing again and again. But I shouldn’t say that as it’s a classic. It’s allowed me to do the stuff that brings me most joy,like develop a new cotton. But yes,essentially I’m a jacket tailor.

You’re also newly exploring colour—there are now reds,pinks,purples and that fabulous canary yellow.
I just felt like doing it. But my colours are a little more solid,maybe just one or two colours. If there’s too much colour,the form and engineering become secondary. Clean things come naturally to me.

There’s a lot of intellectualism in your work; it’s very concept driven.
Not at all,it’s all last-minute. Each time it’s from the gut. I wish I was more commercially driven but that’s not me. I never made clothes for people who went to clubs. I tried it but I was embarrassed.

What’s in your fashion show today?
It’s a tribute to rural India and it’s still a very modern collection. It’s inspired by the gamchas. A rustic man’s life depends on his gamcha; he wipes his brow with it and folds it into a pillow to rest on. It’s all about Mohammed Rafi and the paan-chewing people.

Menswear in India has always been more sophisticated and organised than women’s wear; customised tailoring has always existed on a mass level. So why are menswear designers putting together a fashion week so late in the day?
I absolutely agree and I wonder why it took so long. I’m very excited about the Van Heusen India Men’s Week. Fashion should be about the masses,it shouldn’t only be about five stores.

Menswear designers,those who don’t do sherwanis,compete with a very strong retail market. How can you match the reach and industry-level machinery of the Van Heusens and Allen Sollys?
There is a point in that,but designers bring in an element of individualism that branded products can’t. The beauty of men’s fashion is that it treads on a very fine line. Everyone wears a two-button double-breasted jacket but how you are going to twist it,to engineer it a little differently,will set you apart. Menswear is more exciting because it has less to do with surfaces and colour and more to do with tailoring. A person who knows how to buy his jacket will never touch something that’s not good value.

Name some men who you think are well dressed.
Rakesh Thakore,the designer from the Abraham & Thakore duo. I’ve known him since I was a kid and he’s always been impeccably turned out. Jivi Sethi has the most amazing collection of cufflinks. And a few of my personal clients; there’s Manoj Chaudhary who lives in the Kumaon Hills,whose personal style is very pure and original.

You’ve never been in a controversy,you don’t party. Are you sure you’re in the right job?
I’ve had my moments. I have been young and gotten into fist-fights. But yes,I am a misfit in the industry. It’s just that I love to make clothes and develop fabric.

Maison Martin Margiela is a label built on the designer being a recluse; he never has his picture taken and never comes on stage either. Is this a business decision for you too?
I don’t care about my image,but it’s a language I speak. My customer is one who doesn’t want to be seen shopping. I come from a small town in Rajasthan and I don’t like big cities. I’d rather be in Nashville than New York City.

Whose clothes do you wear?
I have a lot of shirts from own factory. I wear denims from April 77,an underground French label. I have a T-shirt from Abhishek Gupta and he also sweetly gifted me a shirt. Rohit Bal gave me a shirt too.

Your inspirations come from very personal spaces: science fiction,space age comics and motorcycle racing. Every collection has a little bit of your personality. Does that bother you?
It has to be that. Anything else is dishonest.

Tell us about your family; your wife Payal works with you.
We’re a regular family. Rudra’s eight and Manya’s five. I see them in the evenings and weekends,and we do two family holidays a year. My daughter likes coming to the factory.

Why aren’t you going back to Paris Fashion Week?
It’s hurting me that I can’t. The markets are not doing well and I cannot afford the risk. But I am sending clothes to a showroom where buyers and merchandisers come to,near the Pompidou. But yes,Paris will see me soon.