Imagine starting from ground zero after carving out and establishing your identity in a profession and ruling it for three decades. Imagine taking a sabbatical one fine day, a decision born out of a creative compulsion and backed by truckloads of faith and conviction. Only to come back stronger, always with a smile on the face and a heart full of gratitude and humility. The intrepid JJ Valaya. You chat with him and you will be tempted to borrow his fearlessness. Only if for a fleeting moment though. The couturier spoke to The Telegraph at The World of Valaya located at the JW Marriott Hotel in Aerocity New Delhi that opened doors April 9.
You never come to Kolkata!
The land of mishti doi! I have so many clients in Kolkata and they all come to Delhi, but I haven’t come to Kolkata forever. I may have flown in and out for three-hour meetings which was about one-and-a-half years back, but before that I would have come 5-16 years back.
Interestingly, my first ever commercial show was in Kolkata at The Oberoi Grand with two other designers who I deeply respect... one was Rohit Bal and the other who is no more, Rohit Khosla, and Gitanjali Kashyap.
I was an award-winning student (from NIFT, Delhi) and I did a complete line in whites. The next day we had to sell the clothes and nothing was sold. At that point, I felt I should have worked a little (before venturing out on his own). I thought maybe it’ll sell in Delhi but nothing sold there either. That line was a disaster. I asked myself where am I going wrong? What I did was I worked on a line of jackets as a second line, in black and white. I did that show in Ffolio in Bangalore and that sold out and then there was a sigh of relief. (Laughs) From there after I discovered colour and embroideries, brides, grooms. Then India started unfurling. At that point, there were only a handful of designers... six or seven of us. We were learning from our mistakes and there were no benchmarks to follow. Who do we follow? We stumbled, fell and learnt. Beautiful memories. Kolkata always has a special place in my heart.
JJ Valaya at The World of Valaya, the flagship store that opened in Delhi on April 9. Located at JW Marriott Hotel in Aerocity, New Delhi, the ‘experience’ is spread across 12,000sq ft and two stories and brings together all the loves of the master couturier — fashion, home, and photography.
The World of Valaya looks like your fantasy world. Did you keep this aside for your 30-year milestone?
Nooo... 30 years happened because of Covid. This was supposed to be launched in 2020, but then everything got pushed to now.
So, a happy coincidence?
A very happy coincidence. I always believe that when adversity happens, it leads to something special. As a matter of fact, when we were opening in 2020, this was not the place. We were opening in another place. Then Covid happened and everything fell through and we found another beautiful location which I absolutely love and it’s got an environment of luxury.
I went into sabbatical from 2017 to 2019, just to hard reset myself and relook at exactly what I want to do. I shut my stores and factory. This was the second decision I had taken when everybody thought I had lost my mind. The first time was when I quit chartered accountancy and in those days... I didn’t know what I wanted to do but I did know what I didn’t want to do. For my parents, it seemed this fellow is gone. I said it’ll come to me and sure enough it did. Both my hard decisions have led to a very nice place.
Live fearlessly and take the right call even if it is difficult. Otherwise it will kill you internally. The irony of it all was we had massive celebrations of 25 years of JJ Valaya and two-three months later, I decided to take this step. Nothing happens without faith. The irony is all the magic exists within us. We don’t realise that. I am just grateful.
I did some international projects as a creative director (during his sabbatical), but the time was used for a lot of internal retrospection. It is very difficult to talk about those two years, but it has gotten me to a stage where I am absolutely clear about what I wanted to do.
So, this is the first store to open after that and hopefully, god willing, next year we’ll do Bombay and we’ll see where it goes. In July, we will do our nice big show, celebrating 30 years.
Chandeliers and flowers are leitmotifs.
So, this is like starting from scratch?
Totally. We said if we have to do it again the right way, let’s do it at the right scale.
This gives it another dimension altogether...
Of course. Of course. It required a lot of guts. I had to be honest to myself and I have been fortunate enough to have a spiritual master and I tend to become a spectator and look at my own things in an unbiased way. There came a time when I said I clearly love what I do but why is it that I am not feeling right about it at this moment. So, then I had to kind of step back, look at everything, reset my entire way of working. I had to take myself back to literally when I was in design school and get the whole perspective right.
Nobody else has done it in India and a very few have done it globally. I said, let’s do it and let’s see what happens. Either we’ll vanish or we’ll come back with a bang. So, it was a break.
How was this experience versus when you had opened your first store?
I have always done things which were industry firsts. In 1996, I opened my first flagship location in Delhi in a farmhouse, which was spread over one acre, a huge place, which was called JJ Valaya Life. At the launch event, everybody had come. They said it’s a nice place but a white elephant... you can’t survive. I had the most successful 15 years of my life in that farm... beautiful space and ambience. We had fashion and were curating home. There was also a restaurant and art gallery, florist, everything in one place. In 1996, I was way ahead of my time. The (now) famous Mehrauli, that whole area did not exist. There was only Qutab Minar there! Gurgaon did not exist. I am talking about that time.
I don’t think I belong in a place where there are lots of people. I like to be a little away because then I can give the customer the experience I want. So, it’s not alien to us, but this one has been exciting. It’s come up against all odds. Covid hasn’t been easy on anybody.
The World of Valaya welcomes you with his new bridge-to-luxury line JJV. On the ground floor you will also find a line of consciously made jewellery, his books on photography and accessories such as pocket squares, cufflinks, scarves and belts, and a bit of Valaya Home furniture.
What are the various stories we get to see here? Home, it seems, is a big part...
Technically the entire space has been designed by Valaya Home, but half the space is fashion and half of it is home. It’s my core which runs through everything, be it my interior furniture lines or my couture or the new bridge-to-luxury label that we have launched or the jewellery, accessories... this year we will be launching JJ Valaya carpets, with Obeetee, a Kolkata company. So, all these things are on the same plane. It’s not that I have to struggle to create something new. That’s exactly what I wanted to redefine. I do not want to do anything which will not be intrinsically who I am and what I do.
The fact that you shut everything and then this, is giving us goosebumps. You have a lot of guts...
It’s the sardar thing (laughs). If nothing else, the courage factor!
What is your world now vis-à-vis the world you were born into?
I was a fauji kid. I was born in Jodhpur and I have travelled the length and breadth of India. Army kids grow up differently. We are taught to be resilient. Three years, make your friends and then forget them all. Defence kids are used to such jolts. Also that sense of discipline and honesty and integrity towards what we do. If nothing else, faujis are honest. All that kind of seeped in being a part of cantonment life. Cantonment life can also be wonderful. When I came to the age when I could understand what’s happening around me, my father had reached very senior positions. So, he used to get these big houses with orderlies and sevadaars, 20-25 people running around. When a phone call used to come, one sevadaar would run across five rooms with the phone with the wire trailing behind him. Then the horses used to come home for me to ride. I have seen this beautiful regimented life. I strongly believe that some Rajasthani royalty blood seeped in and then banjara elements seeped in and then I have a penchant for art deco. So, these three elements came together and created just the way I think.
The couture museum showcasing ‘single-edition masterpieces’ was the first spot JJ Valaya showed us around. The display lent it a feel of romantic mystery. Besides womenswear and menswear, there is also a precious jewellery corner, a private lounge for bespoke consultations, Le Salon du Musee, at the store.
What is the story behind your name? You were born Jagsharanjit Singh Ahluwalia...
I just couldn’t understand why anybody would wear that on their clothes! It all happened during NIFT (1989-1991), which had 150 students in all and there was only one NIFT, in Delhi. NIFT opened in 1987. I was very clear that I didn’t want to work for anybody and that I would graduate and launch my own thing.
Jagsharanjit became JJ. We did away with Singh. Ahluwalia normally becomes ‘walia’. ‘Walia’ was boring and we thought of respelling it. Therefore Valaya. I am the only Valaya in the world and now my children.
Your parents were okay with it?
Yeah yeah... karte raho jo karna hai. That’s an army thing....
What are the different worlds you inhabit?
Fashion is the core, where it all started. Home is big now. Photography is something I greatly enjoy. I moonlight as a photographer. 2011 is when I discovered that since my photography seems good, let me enter the world of fine-art photography. I did Decoded Paradox. In fact, my core reason to travel has become photography. Most of my travel photography is always smartphone but most of my fine-art photography is DSLR.
Decadent tapestries leads you to the breathtaking Valaya Home zone, of which, The Telegraph took many a round of. There are ideas galore for your living room, the bar with a dedicated lounge, the dining room and the bedroom. The inspirations are ‘Royal Nomad with a penchant for art deco’. Furniture, fine art, vintage picks from the Far East, Turkey, ‘the orient’ and parts of India, Valaya’s fine-art photography, capture the spirit of the brand.
Do you see the world differently when you are photographing vs when you are creating?
I don’t think so. As individuals we have strong ingrained DNAs. You cannot segmentise yourself and become different people. In fact, when you do that, you lose yourself. That lesson also I have learnt the hard way. When I tried to please everybody, I displeased myself and then I displeased everybody. You have a core strength. People come to you for that. Take that to the nth level. There are 100 customers in the market, but I get only 50. I want the other 50 also. Then you start changing to please the other 50 and you lose the original 50. If you had nurtured yourself and grown and evolved within your own style, those 50 would automatically start increasing and you would have been a happier person. So, these are all little lessons we all learnt.
What is the world like for you and what would you like to see?
You have to take the world in its moment. That moment. You don’t have to think of what it was and what it’ll be. What you are seeing and embracing is your present moment. In this present moment we should appreciate whatever we are seeing. Gratitude therefore is a must. If I give my all to that moment, it will give me everything.
Post your sabbatical, is there a difference in how you create?
I am clearer and more focused and I am excited. Any good creative initiative comes out of a fair degree of excitement because there is a yearning to do something more special, not by doing gimmickry but focusing on your skill and taking it to the next level.
The store also stocks shoes for men, cufflinks, pocket squares and buttons and scarves, belts and headbands for women.
Are you launching something new with the World of Valaya?
So many things. JJV is a bridge-to-luxury hardcore sustainable line. We are doing a line of beautiful clothes using fabrics which are completely eco-friendly. It is the need of the hour and I believe as responsible designers, we need to act on such issues. Other than that we are using our precious jewellery. I design and then this jeweller crafts it. Then Valaya Home is all new. That whole world we had downplayed a lot.
You have done home before...
We are the only people who do wall tapestries. The Leela Palace in Delhi commissioned 33 of them and they are all over the hotel. All that we have done, but to holistically put it together, will be happening for the first time and we have partnered with an architectural firm so that we can execute. Everything you see in this space apart from the carpets and the chandeliers are designed by me. Art is from a gallery.
Do you design at a particular time?
There is no time. I refuse to follow rules. It happens when it has to happen. There is no preset formula. Anybody creative goes through waves. There are times when you want to design a lot and there are times when you don’t want to. Like others I also go through my waves.
Tell us about your personal world that people don’t know about...
I am an extremely private person. I have two daughters, aged 24 and 14. We have two pets. I like my solitude as much as I like my work. I need my space. I love movies. No fancy life. Two years of Covid have planted all of us in our homes. I am missing travelling. I haven’t been through immigration in two years.
What are your milestone memories from JJ Valaya 1.0 and 2.0?
Oh god! So many of them! I don’t know where to begin and end. One of my fondest memories was just getting into NIFT. I was this kid in Chandigarh who had quit chartered accountancy and didn’t know what to do till NIFT came along. While at NIFT, I became the first Indian student to win a major contest in Paris. I still remember that day. It was amazing. Working with Rohit Khosla as a summer internship. A beautiful experience that took me to another level. The entire journey of fashion. So many shows, store openings. Huge roller coaster. Being a part of creating the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI). In 1999, six or seven of us used to meet in each other’s offices to decide how to create a body and we did it. Becoming the first global brand ambassador for Swarovski was special. Most recently, being inducted in the couture Hall of Fame by FDCI was momentous. Validation by your fraternity is always special. My life is full of special things. The list is too long....
What is your vision for the brand?
In couture, I strongly believe that in terms of workmanship, the level of quality craftsmanship we do, we are amongst the finest. We intend to take that as high as we can. I am wildly excited about my bridge-to-luxury line. Now, with that line, I am more accessible. Valaya Home is a very exciting space because I enjoy doing spaces as much as I like dressing people. Of course when I get a moment, I do my photography. What more do I need? I have my children and pets and movies! Life is beautiful.
No retirement plans?
Definitely one of the most boring things to do! I cannot imagine sitting around twiddling my thumbs, doing nothing. Yes, slow down of course for the simple reason that I’d like to travel more and photograph. Look at Giorgio Armani, Valentino, Ralph Lauren... in their 80s! This is a profession which keeps you alive... it’s buzzing all the time. And, the joy! Every single time you develop that little piece from scratch, to see the end result... that gasp... very important.
How are you so humble?
Faujis. You can’t go wrong with faujis.
Pictures: Ashish Sahi
Three people I would love to photograph:
The Dalai Lama
Gal Gadot
Tom Hanks