Drape fantastic

Ten years ago, Tarun Tahiliani was working on a grand expansion strategy. His trompe l’oeil jewelled tees had become very popular in Japan and other countries and back home, the affluent Indian bride obsessed over his couture lehengas - about 30 were made each winter. As the first Indian designer to showcase at the Milan fashion week, and backed by sound business sense and a degree from Wharton, Tahiliani seemed to know exactly where he was headed. Today, the Sindhi designer is living the dream - Oprah Winfrey made her first public appearance in India in his orange Kanjeevaram, Lady Gaga is a fan, a couple of 100 couture bridal outfits are created each wedding season and he is well-represented in every metro. He has a team of 750 people working for him and later this year, an iconic Tarun Tahiliani bridal store will be launched in Hyderabad that is supposed to set the benchmark in the industry. But the articulate designer is not as jubilant as one would expect him to be. He has other plans. At 49, he says he wants to scale back, stop awhile to read, to paint, to do the things that give him real pleasure. And yes, he also hopes to redefine luxury in the country.Not a mass brandWith a renewed focus on India, Tahiliani is leaving global expansion to other fashion rockstars like the celebrated Manish Arora or Prabal Gurung. He belives that the market here is more than enough to sustain and inspire him but the next step is crucial, in that it will help him create something beautiful and timeless and precious. ‘‘Honestly, I believe that living in India and trying to market yourself abroad will result in you falling between the cracks. We’re very disconnected from the needs, the fabrics and direction of that world (the West). We don’t have the fabrics for winter and it becomes too expensive to import. I’d rather be more realistic and right now, I want to live a wholesome life, ’’ says Tahiliani, adding, ‘‘I’ve tried the whole mass market game. You have to be true to your craft. I can’t bastardise what I do. I’d rather get off the treadmill and focus on my core strength.’’ And that happens to be fine, beautiful things, with painstakingly perfected embroidery, fabric and Turkish and Indian motifs. His bridal line is arguably the most coveted in the country and Tahiliani believes his modern bride is, in his words, highly educated and cosmopolitan. ‘‘She wants to be Indian but not drenched in embroidery. She has a highly developed sense of self and to her, fit and finish are very important,’’2 he explains. Beauty from within This is the designer’s focus. With over 2,000 hours spent on each work of art, he ensures that his bridal lehenga or sari is flawless from the inside out. The translucent white sari worn by model Lisa Haydon (above), for instance, saw each .6mm glistening stone soldered with an iron, and without a single thread. ‘‘I know it’s crazy, but it’s beautiful,’’ he chuckles. Understandably, the sari was an instant hit and retailed at Rs 5,50,000. His admits that his priorities have changed. ‘‘I’m no longer obsessed about becoming the biggest company, but about setting the bar,’’ he concludes.