JJ Valaya has the biggest hugs and the kindest words every time we meet him. A conversation with the king of reinvention, infinitely inspirational, invariably travels beyond the trajectory of fashion. It’s how he sees life, with a calm acceptance, almost through the lens of passive objectivity, that’s truly worth taking lessons from. When we met him a couple of weeks back in Mumbai, minutes away from the 25 Years Anniversary Gala of Lakme Fashion Week partnered by FDCI, he said he was excited to come back to the city of dreams with two new stores at Jio World Plaza. Once we got chatting, the veteran designer took us on a journey back in time and shared candidly what needs to change according to him. Excerpts.
You are coming back to Mumbai...
...after 24 years at Jio World Plaza and this time with both brands. So there are two stores... the JJ Valaya couture one as well as the JJV, bridge-to-luxury. So we’re kind of quite excited. Twenty-four years is quite a while. Officially we’ll launch in season, but we’ll open it for business in the next couple of weeks. As you know, the mall is also still kind of developing. I think it should be interesting to see how it becomes a centralised sort of fashion.... I was in a store called Vama. I had a shop-in-shop inside Vama, on Nepean Sea Road. The other day I saw a cue sheet somebody posted of our show from 1993 of Ensemble... the invitation sheet with the designers, Rohit Khosla, me, Rohit Bal, Tarun (Tahiliani).
So, a lot of nostalgia...
Frankly, I really can’t believe that it’s been that long. I mean, in another couple of years, 2027, we’ll be doing 35 years of the brand, which I find very hard to believe. Doesn’t seem like it. I feel like I just graduated from NIFT.
What was Mumbai like back then?
A very different city. See, back then, everything was different. We were six or seven designers in the entire country. There was one fashion institute, 22 graduates in the country in fashion, as opposed to, I think it’s 12,000 today.... Just imagine, nobody writing about fashion, no TV channels... only Doordarshan... no Internet. So, forget about social media. No fashion weeks, because we created the FDCI (Fashion Design Council of India) seven or eight years later, and that’s when fashion weeks began. So it was a different era. I remember my first show, there were two stores competing against each other, Ensemble and Glitterati. Glitterati was in Om Chambers, in Kemps Corner. They were forever at loggerheads, who was outdoing whom, and there used to be a couple of stores in Delhi. So three or four fashion stores in all, in the country. Most importantly, we didn’t have clients. We had to create clients. Yeah, so different era. Bombay was different. Mumbai and Bombay are two different cities.
What are you expecting this time around?
I have no idea. We’ll just open the store and make nice clothes. I can’t think of a better mall than this in the country, but the only thing is that I think it’s going to take its time to pick up. Slowly, new spaces are opening up. I think I’d give it another year for it to really take off.
Actually, the last two-three months have seen a major store-opening spree. So we opened a JJV store at a very famous mall in Gurgaon called Ambience. We opened a JJ Valaya store in Ambawatta, Delhi. Now opening these two here. So four new stores in three months. In another two months, we’ll have around seven stores across the country.
JJV Kapurthala has done very well...
For me, you know, it was like literally starting all over again with that big sabbatical in the middle. I’m enjoying it so much. I think it’s been quite a journey. Hard resets are very important in life.
You are showing archival pieces at the 25 Years Anniversary Gala...
I believe it’s called the finale of finales, which basically means all the ex-finale designers are showcasing all the archival pieces. At least the seniors are showcasing all the archival pieces. We’ve just pulled out what best showcases the brand ethos. So, there are two masterpieces in jamavar, but the embroidery is to die for, the fineness. Those jackets have taken five-six months to make. So we are all about, you know, fineness and craft. It’ll be good to see older pieces on the ramp.
We are celebrating 25 years of fashion weeks in the country, and your brand will soon turn 35. The legacy is quite extraordinary...
I think the Indian fashion industry is about 36 years old. Not more than that. 1986 is when NIFT (was born)and in 1987 Ensemble opened, which was the first fashion store, and Ffolio in Bengaluru. So that’s when it all started. My first commercial show was in your city (Calcutta).
At The Oberoi Grand...
Yes, at the Oberoi. This was after I’d graduated... with Rohit Khosla and Rohit Bal.
Brands like yours are still so relevant... on a par with the younger designers...
That’s how brands are made. We are no longer individuals. The brand must live on. That’s what we try.
How do you look back at this whole journey?
I’m just glad that we have been able to sustain a platform where so much new talent has emerged, that in itself is incredible, and it has had its highs and lows. It split in the middle, becoming an FDCI Fashion Week and a Lakme Fashion Week, with Reliance and RISE, but coming together was a great idea, so at least there’s no confusion, and there’s a lot of interest. I just showed as a grand finale designer at Colombo in Sri Lanka, and I met the CEO of Whiteshow in Milan, which is a very important part of the Milan Fashion Week. She was very keen to come to Lakme. I’m just saying the interest is there. India is a country of interest now, especially with the kind of things happening all over the world.
Has the relevance of fashion weeks changed though?
Totally. Who thought of India? India was an inspiration for foreigners. They came here, got inspired and did amazing things. Somehow, Indians never did it, but they did. This was a sad reality. We kept on making our cheap stuff... ke saasta banao, handicraft, one little duck, one box, papier-mache. Whereas the foreigners used to come and say, ‘Oh my God, look at this country’. Indians are bizarre. They don’t do anything with it. And now it’s reversed, because the Indian designers are inspired by India and all those crafts. Everything is kind of having a new moment.
But for designers, do you think the relevance of a fashion week has changed?
I think there’s two things happening. So thankfully, there’s (India) Couture Week that takes care of all our fantasies and dreams, and then commerce kicks in, where Lakme (Fashion Week) comes in. So I think the best of both worlds is happening.
Frankly, I need to get JJV to start showing at Lakme again, because I’ve only done invitation shows here. I’m seeing a lot of good work this time. I think in the middle, there were some weak weeks, which, of course, now seem to look better. I don’t know what the buzz is, because the last time I came here, I felt the buzz was a little low. Maybe that venue was very large, yeah, and people get scattered, but in the end, what matters is whether there is credible work happening and whether there is credible business. Fashion weeks are meant to generate business, while showcasing new talent.
So, you think it’s still relevant to showcase at fashion weeks?
I think it’s very relevant for new people because they’ll never get a platform like this. They can’t afford to do their own shows and they can’t be seen by so many people. And now I’m seeing quite a comeback, actually, of the older brands showing, which is a good thing. You know, in the middle, I think it was only largely the finale or opening show, maybe one show in the middle, but I think this time there are quite a few good brands. I guess it’s on a roll again.
What have been the learnings for you from so many years in fashion?
I think we need to be a little more serious in terms of the industry and fashion week interaction. So typically, until a few years back, everybody showed a line that would come out six months later. So at this time, they would show the fall-winter, but I think that’s got mixed up now. People just show whatever they want. So that I feel is a bit of a bummer, because then if you’re getting serious buyers, they are coming here to order. They would like to order now, to get it then. But if you’re already selling what you’re showing, that defeats the purpose. Other than that, I’m assuming everything is hunky-dory.
Do you miss the family feeling that was there before in the fraternity?
That was another era. We were all super buddies, and it was all so composite, so tight. So yeah, things have changed. That has definitely changed, but it’s bound to happen, from 22 fashion students to 12,000, from one institute to, I can’t even count the number of institutes. So change toh aana tha, but if it’s for the better or not that I can’t say. The quality guys are still there.
What has been the biggest game-changer?
I’ve never thought of this, because we’ve been at such an evolutionary sort of pace. I can’t really think of any one instance. There’s been so many things happening. I mean, I could say FDCI being created was a game-changer because the concept of fashion week started. There was no idea of couture week. That started. We used to have our solo shows. I could say that the onslaught of digital is a big game-changer.
What are the areas of improvement?
For starters, I think the editing of fashion weeks should be tighter, and there should be very strict control on what kind of talent is showing. The moment you forget about quality and start just doing something for the heck of it, there’s bound to be a downfall. So I think that is very important.
And the second is that sense of discipline, that if you are doing a fashion week, intrinsically other than couture, they are meant to be for the next season. Why did we change that? That should not have changed. So that needs to be back, and then we’ll have serious interest from all the people around the world, because they know, okay, this is a serious week. Go anywhere in the world, all fashion weeks are for the next season, but we’ve suddenly become hybrid.
If that comes back, there’s no stopping us, honestly. I’ve seen lehngas being shown in Lakme. That doesn’t really make sense. It is meant to be ready-to-wear. Unless it’s a finale... then you do whatever you want. That’s more like a celebration.
Also, how many of them showed Indian clothes? Let’s go on a percentage of all the shows you see, what percentage were Indian clothes? That is another big problem. We are sitting in a country which is going to be and already is the biggest market for fashion, indigenous, and we are so stricken by proving ourselves of our acceptance in the West that we just continue to do stuff to appease the West. And I really have a serious problem with that.
What happened to your country? Look at these tons and tons of people who will still wear Indian clothes and feel great. Yes, modernise them, but this whole advent of gowns and dresses and this thing, great for the European market. So that means we are primarily ignoring our own market. It’s like you go to Milan Fashion Week, and they do sari. Dosen’t make sense, no?
They will show what they are. They know that they’re in that country, and that region resonates. So I suppose within the heart of every Indian designer is that I have to be accepted in the West to be really accepted. That whole gora hangover since the colonial days hasn’t gone. It’s still there. Why do we belittle our own kind of ethos and culture? I don’t get it. If you ask me, my one lament, it would be that we are not embracing our own audience enough. First, you tackle India, then take the next step, like some of the good designers have done.
Which direction do you see Indian fashion taking in the next 25 years?
I can only hope and pray it is the best direction possible. As far as we are concerned, we’re very clear. We love India. We celebrate India. And yet I realise that it’s very important to modernise the past. So we’re doing little gentle nudges. We don’t go in for radical, you know, sort of thing. It’s going to be that little bit of spice which works, which is great for us. And let’s hope that I have the right belief. That’s all I can say.