There have been several turning points in my life which have determined the direction it has taken. 

I studied political science at St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, and graduated in 1988. I was always creative and a pianist for a while, though I was not sure if I would take it on as a career. I enrolled at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) where I was a part of the second batch that graduated in 1990. In 1992, I joined fashion designer Rohit Khosla, the man who set the ball rolling for the Indian fashion industry. The following year I went to Paris for four months to get a feel of the fashion scenario in that stylish city.

But I took a break from the fashion world from 1993 to 1998. During this period, I dabbled in a lot of things. I did freelance projects with the National School of Drama where I designed theatre costumes. I also worked on advertising projects and artworks — all in the pursuit of understanding textiles, colours and life in general as any design school can only teach you that much. My subsequent fashion collections reflected, and were a culmination of, the journey that I had undertaken.

I launched my label, Sanskar, in 1999 and made my Lakmé India Fashion Week debut in Mumbai in 2003. It was an important turning point in my life as my collections were different from what the others were doing. They had a definite Indo-Oriental thread running through them.

In 2003, I did a show at the centenary celebrations of Sasha, an organisation that works with 100 marginalised craft producer groups and communities based primarily in West Bengal and other parts of eastern India. This was the beginning of a relationship and I was introduced to the different embroideries as well as the weavers. It was important for me as it enabled me to understand textiles better and also enter into the world of traditional crafts. Recently, I did an exhibition called Tsutra with Sasha in Delhi.

Another important turning point for me came when I showcased at the Australian Fashion Week in 2006-07 along with designers Narendra Kumar and Nandita Mahtani. This was the first time that India was represented at this fashion week. Moreover, my collection was received well and praised by some of the biggest names in fashion journalism.

Between 2006 and 2008 I collaborated with Fiona Caulfield on her Love Travel Guides. The collaboration helped me understand my own fashion sensibilities. I now see it as a travelogue, which is inspired by different places.

(As told to Saimi Sattar)