Gorgeous yet with an element of the understated. That’s a line of kurtas, lehngas, saris and shararas called ‘Mahaaba’ from the house of Simar Dugal that is now helmed by Arjan Dugal, Simar’s son, after we lost the model-turned-designer in 2020. We chat with Arjan on his “first full collection” for Simar Dugal after taking over and how it’s “good pressure” to carry on the legacy of his mother.
Take us through the process of making Mahaaba...
Mahaaba was a culmination after the previous two collections, Sahar and Ziba. Sahar was my first collection where I gave some of my inputs and it graduated from there to Ziba. Mahaaba was when I felt I am in charge and can take the creative decisions after understanding so much more about womenswear. It was definitely an emotional experience but I felt like this is what I am supposed to do and this was a natural progression and I felt very comfortable in my own skin designing what I was designing. So, emotional, happy, relieved definitely, as every designer is once the collection is out.
I do feel we have been scientific with our approach in designing this time. We’ve got our price points and colours right. There is something for everyone.
What does Mahaaba mean?
It is a common word among many dialects. In Arabic, habibi comes from Mahaaba. In Swahili, it means love and romance. It is a romance between the embroideries we do and the fabrics we do it on and how they create the final garment, the fall, drape and touch of that garment sort of extends out from that.
The clothes are contemporary with lots of geometrics, which are your signature. So, what have you blended from the Simar Dugal school of aesthetics and your aesthetics?
Yes, absolutely... it is contemporary, yes, but it is a little bit of the new stuff that no one has seen, like we have this new technique we have developed and utilised across one or two collections, a special heating and thread method. What Simar Dugal actually stood for was a revival of embroideries that had been going on for hundreds of years and mom’s take was always to revive it with fresher colours. The techniques don’t change, but the application does. We have taken that as an extension and amalgamated it with her other brand value which is the use of gota in a subtle way and given it a little bit of my touch. The colours are similar to what I would use in a menswear collection, but I have a little bit more creative liberty in putting those colours together and creating a story for the Indian woman to celebrate her delicate nature and how a lot of my clientele wants to experience being a bride or while shopping.
What is the Indian bride like through the eyes of a menswear designer?
The beauty is, after dressing a lot of Indian grooms, it’s the exact opposite. It’s the special day for both, but it’s the bride’s day. The groom has to stand there and smile (laughs). For the bride, this is her big day, she has imagined this day since she was five and if she is getting an outfit from you, it is your responsibility to ensure that you create that vision for her that she wants because she has been dreaming about it for years.
Dressing women is a lot more intimate, thoughtful. Dressing men is more functionality. You have to understand who she is. How she likes to conduct herself. And, overall, it is a celebration of feminism and that feeling that she is going to leave her house and that outfit she is wearing is going to be in her wedding album forever and that responsibility falls on me.
So, challenging?
Challenging yes, but fulfilling too.
When you took over, did you think anything needed to change?
We are still at a nascent stage of exploring what Simar Dugal is. So, what mom did, we have kept intact, but we have another dimension to it. Instead of changing, it’s more of adding on like younger silhouettes, different colours, a little bit more delicate work, a lot more hand-embroidery, a lot more lehngas and the amalgamation of a few things meant for a younger target client, that was something which was not there in mom’s time and was primarily for slightly older ladies and we have had tremendous success with that.
As someone who has grown up in fashion and now runs two brands simultaneously, how do you see the evolution of Indian fashion?
I think Indian fashion globally is the most underrated. I know from a perspective of what we create for men and women today is just unprecedented, from everyone in the business, smaller to medium to bigger designers... and celebrating India with it... the bandhej and Kutch embroidery from Gujarat, bandhni, shibori, Chanderi and how we as Indians have taken Indian fashion and evolved with it (is great). If you ask me, there is no French or Italian fashion, there is Indian fashion. If tomorrow, we tweak our silhouettes and make something more appropriate for the Western clients, they’ll be flabbergasted as to what we create on a daily basis.
So, Indian fashion is evolving quick, fast and is doing absolute justice to the name Indian fashion. We are so rich in cultural heritage and we are acing it.
Is it pressure for you to carry on your mom’s brand?
It is definitely because you still have the name on the door which says Simar Dugal, but the pressure is good pressure. I thrive on it and I like it. I do feel very comfortable. I have done menswear successfully and after doing that for seven years, I have understood clothes a lot and I have been trained by mom, actually. Everything she likes and collects, I like and collect... the old jamavar shawls or the dori shawls to the Pichwais, the Tanjores, the old paintings, it’s an extension of her aesthetic. I do feel the pressure because I have to build it up to the name, but, I do feel that sense of ease because I was trained by her for a good 10 years before she passed away (in 2020).
Arjan Dugal
How are you balancing both the labels?
I am greying sooner than I thought I would. It is definitely a lot more work, but I like the work. My wife is a brilliant support system to me. She comes from a lawyer background and for her, the operations and being on top of things is second nature. It is a perfect amalgamation. We run the company together and she is my senior operations head. It has taken a big load off me... Simar Dugal making a buzz on Instagram is because of her... that’s her behind the scenes and what is been put out there is me. Also, figuring out each other and our internal married life, which is also great. Yes, work is double, but it is holistic.
Do you see the brands coming together?
No... Simar Dugal is an eclectic heritage brand that celebrates vintage India. Arjan Dugal on the contrary is a modern, eclectic take on menswear. We do everything that is edgy and different. I do foresee Simar Dugal having its own menswear and Arjan Dugal having its slightly different womenswear label as well. I love the job and I feel tremendously lucky in this world to be able to do what I love.
And you have launched your second official store...
In DLF Emporio and we have totally revamped our Bharat Nagar (Delhi), which is our own studio. It looks beautiful. They are both our pride and joy.
Pictures: Courtesy the brand
