Tarun Tahiliani had only 48 hours between his show for Tasva to mount the Lakmē Fashion Week grand finale, on Sunday, in Delhi. When we met him later that night at the after-party, TT had the energy to do a couple more. He often reminds us of the diligent batsman who values his wicket like it were his life. And, he has been doing so for the last three decades, with exceptional aplomb. When we called him a day later, he was back at his desk, working on his next big hush-hush project. We got a sneak peek and are already excited. That’s what a conversation with the inimitable couturier does to you, every single time, filling you up with enthusiasm for life and learning. Excerpts…
The first few pieces of the finale collection were a departure from your signature style…
I wanted it to be a brand presentation, and you know, earlier I did a lot of simple texture things, but now I’ve started doing them in silk, chiffon. I have all those colours made to my palette, the grape and the beautiful amethyst. So, I take one warp and do many different wefts, and I’m experimenting with it because you know, I’m some kind of a workaholic, and I like to do clothes that go from day into night. And, Indian day is much less dressy because people don’t dress up in the day so much because our clothes are different and they have to be washed every time. We have a different climate. So, it’s not so much about tailoring, it’s just about fluidity. All those day pieces, a lot could be worn in the day, and it could be worn at night also, in the first 18 pieces. It’s very good for a holiday and a resort.
Then we got into the more classic drapes. There’s now a kind of grey area between OTT and TT. It’ll be very clear next year. And it gives me great pleasure to not just be stuck doing bridal.
Your clothes fall so effortlessly. Tell us how you construct the silhouettes...
We fit everything at a toile stage. So, we follow the classical way that Western designers work. More in Europe, not so much in America, necessarily. We make everything in kora kapra. We fit it, and then we make it, and then we keep fitting along the way.
And you know, actually, this show gave me a lot of pleasure because while we do a lot of embroidery and all, I’m so into modernism that I’m beginning to feel that something’s got to give. You know, like you look at what this gentleman (Matthieu Blazy) did for Chanel. He took the tweed and he gave it a new shape (at Paris Fashion Week), and that’s fantastic. That set was, of course, extraordinary. I also like what my friend (Pierpaolo Piccioli) did, at Balenciaga. You had his signature, and you had classical Balenciaga.
The accessories were so pretty…
Because my clothes go down from day wear to casual to this thing, when I think of accessories, I need to think about accessories for everything.
When I think of a look, I think, ‘Oh, this would be nice with the headbands. This would be nice with this’.
There were all those coloured pearls, they’re salt and freshwater pearls that I bought in China. Then we do silver with accessories because a lot of people need that to travel. You know, people can’t travel with their big jewels now. And then we do real jewels. But I like, again, old-school. You remember that girl (in the show) in the emerald with just one emerald choker? That was one of my favourite looks.
There’s so much overkill, you know, right now, and I keep reading about Armani and Brunello Cucinelli because these are the people whose value systems inspire me. And you admire different people for different things. I want you to watch the Jane Goodall interview… (Famous Last Words). I just watched it… she did an interview to be published after she’s died. So, they’ve just put it on Netflix. So, curl up with a cocktail and watch her. The journey of life is to learn. Not to keep dressing up and projecting yourself on Instagram, which seems to be a problem now.
Were the sets inspired by your visit to Calcutta during Durga Puja?
I had come for the Durga Puja, and I said, I’m in Calcutta and they have these things all over. So the original comes from Venice. The Italian lights in the circus. And I kept asking for an Indian shape, you know. In Durga Puja, they do all sorts of different things. I like it more when they do the shape of an Indian temple. And, it’s bejewelled.
Tell us about your grand finale showstopper, Aneet Padda?
I told her: ‘Don’t let all these people around you ruin you!’ (Laughs) She was a lovely, sweet and innocent girl. And she was so nervous. I became like a yoga instructor backstage. I kept making her deep breathe in, hold it, and deep breathe out. So, we were both doing very deep breaths backstage, holding hands. It was quite cute. And she hasn’t got affected. I said, ‘Aneet, don’t ever lose this quality of yourself’. In a way, I feel Madhuri (Dixit) is the one actress who never lost it.
How many male models did you have for the Tasva show?
We had 90, and one guy was 78. Tasva is now moving into more experimental things because they’ve got more confidence. They were very scared in the beginning, and they were trying to map themselves against the biggest competitors, saying, ‘Oh, they do this.’ I was saying, you can never grow by doing what the other person does because they already have that. You have to do your own thing. So, I think it was just to show energy. And, a baraat is all about fun.
You’ve done ‘bejewelled’ all your life. But has the meaning changed for you over the years?
So, I think, in the beginning we were a little more literal. And now, it’s much more quirky, you know. And it can be jewellery, it can be clothing. And finally, why do you wear jewellery? You get a lustre, right? So when you see a woman in diamonds, it’s almost like those little sparkles happen around the face. That’s what the eye picks up from all the facets. And I think we’ve come to a stage, as an evolution, and maybe we were there before, where the real luminosity also has to come from within.
What is beauty for you?
I do find beauty in so many things. And you know, there’s no standard definition. And there’s no right or wrong. And that lovely adage or the cliche, it’s always in the eye of the beholder. I happen to find beauty in many things. I like it in textile. I like it in painting. I like it in architecture. So I’m never bored. I mean, when someone says they’re bored, I simply don’t understand. Because if I had one wish to God, I’d say, ‘Can my day be 36 hours?’ And I still need to sleep only six hours.
Beauty can’t run skin deep only. I think beauty for me is when a person is connected to an environment of culture that has nurtured them. Of course, you grow from there. But there’s no need to abandon. What are we doing it for? And I feel that has happened too much in India with the elite. So, you know, there are many different kinds of beauty for men and women. And finally, someone’s just comfortable and cool in their skin and has their own thing, nothing is more beautiful.
You’re constantly teaching yourself. What drives you?
It’s just a joy. I think that the journey is so much more important. What is the destination in this? The destination is really going to be what you’re worth. What you sell out. How many stores you have, right? Because in the end, from the outside, a lot of people will look at it. But there are designers who didn’t care, like Vivienne Westwood, and they did beautiful things and stayed true to themselves and still cycle to work. And I’ve always admired that. Not that I don’t admire Miuccia Prada. I love the way she’s running up the stairs of the MET (gala) trying to hide. While everybody else is preening like, you know, some new species of bird that was born yesterday. So I just love that.
I want to see beautiful things. I want to educate myself. We work and we have many R&D things. I have fun. So, my adventure is every day. And I thank God for that.