One of India’s most iconic and influential fashion designers, as well as, among its pioneers, Tarun Tahiliani shares insights into the phenomenal evolution of his fashion empire.
By Nichola Marie
Tarun Tahiliani entered the Indian fashion scene when it was still in its infancy, earning the moniker “Armani of India” for his inherent elegance and sophistication. As his career progressed, he revolutionised traditional designs, merging them with modern sensibilities while maintaining high standards of quality and expanding production. Today, he leads a team of over 1,000 designers, craftsmen, and seamstresses, all while staying captivated by design, which he views as both “evolutionary and absolute.”
Excerpts from the interview…
With a mother who was the first woman engineer in Maharashtra and a father who was an admiral in the Indian Navy, plus an MBA from Wharton, what ignited your unexpected passion for fashion and design?
One day, this big fashion show by Pierre Cardin came to Bombay (Mumbai). My wife, whom I had met in college in New York, went to see if she could be an usher or help out in any way, and she got picked to model in the show. And that is how I saw my first fashion show. I was fascinated. I thought: My God, I have always sketched, but I never knew this existed. It was lyrical, poetic, effortless and utterly beautiful. It really was perfection. I came back and sketched and sketched. Simultaneously, my wife started modelling. I accompanied her to a campaign she was involved in. There, this famous makeup artist Mickey Contractor; Rohit Khosla — who was the designer in charge of the campaign and had just returned from New York — and I talked about how there was so little being done in fashion in India; there was so much talent that was going outside.
We saw beautiful things abroad, but we couldn’t find anything in India. That night, my wife had the idea of starting a store to promote Indian design. Women in our generation were finally switching to jeans and dresses.
Our family business had an abandoned warehouse space which we were permitted to use. That is how the idea of Ensemble was born, which was the first multi-designer store in India. It was a nice big space — bare, minimal and modern — and it was shocking when it opened (1987). Everything was made in India and the clothes looked like they belonged in a gallery or a museum like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
What inspired you to pursue an associate degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City?
Once, there was this big French festival in India with Yves Saint Laurent, who was a genius of his time. There would be a competition and they were going to take back three people — one designer, one model and one photographer — on a three-month exchange fellowship to France. I made it to the finals, but then there were some dynamics where someone was trying to get someone else in, and the French got cheesed off. So, they decided to take two models and drop the designer category. And I really went into depression. I thought, forget if I never got in, but is there really no Indian designer good enough to go even for an apprenticeship for three months? Finally, my wife told me to stop moping. “If you want to do it, then go and learn,” she said, and that is how I went to study design for a year at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York. I would have otherwise fallen flat on my face. I was very lucky to have someone like my wife to push me and believe in me.
After enhancing your technical expertise in design, you moved from Mumbai to Delhi in 1995 and founded the Tarun Tahiliani Design Studio. How did the city of Delhi help shape your creativity and define your design style?
We settled into an “urban village” in Chirag Dilli, with a design team of six tailors and four other members. Delhi’s close proximity to the crafts belt in Lucknow, Bareilly, and Jaipur also provided easy access to a vast variety of artisans and a plethora of fabrics. While Bombay (Mumbai) was an important starting point in my journey as a designer, it was Delhi that fuelled my creativity and shaped my design language. It showed me a new India – away from the Anglicised schools and clubs and military establishments. For me, this was the real India.
As the studio grew, we shifted operations to a more expansive space in Mehrauli, located adjacent to the Qutub complex. This was an important period for me as a designer: While my style continued to reflect a particular Indianness, my structured designs were a break away from tradition. And in 2010, we moved to our current atelier in Gurugram, which is a 45,000 sq ft space that houses a trusted 1,000+ team of designers, master craftsmen, tailors, drapers, and seamstresses.
Along with six other designers and a businessman, you founded the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) in 1999, launching India’s first Fashion Weekcum-trade show. What motivated you to be part of this groundbreaking effort?
Setting it up came from a sense of creating a belonging and it was the need of the hour. It came from an interest of the designers to create a marketplace for fashion in India. The whole is always greater than the sum and we wanted to create a platform that represents Indian fashion and celebrates innovation and design.
As the first Indian designer to showcase at Milan Fashion Week in September 2003, what did you bring to the event, and what new insights or learnings did you gain from it?
We were there at a good time too; the world was finally paying enough attention to the talent and versatility of the Indian fashion industry. We showcased jewel trompe l’oeil T-shirts with medieval Mughal miniatures, tone-on-tone chikan separates, saris and bridal lehengas to an audience sitting in the Palazzo della Permanente. For us, this was the birth of the signature ‘India Modern’ Tarun Tahiliani design aesthetic.
In the course of your career, what are some of the significant techniques and structures that the Tarun Tahiliani studio has innovated and brought to the forefront?
Over the last 25 years, the studio has developed techniques and structures that are synonymous with our brand. Our signature drapes, our world-class corsetry, the sheer bridal veils, structured fluted blouses, intricate kaashida, and the craft of chikankaari, and fine crystal work are a few of the elements that are integral to the studio.
With over 1,000 artisans, designers, and craftsmen working in your 45,000 sq ft atelier, what’s the vibe like during a regular day at your studio?
A normal day is very much like that, as I would imagine most people get to work between 8 and 8:30 a.m to avoid the traffic. By this time the factory is buzzing, and so I do one walk around just to look at all the pieces that are on the floor, which I might not see normally, and through the two-three ateliers that are doing new things, and by that time I am pretty much in my mood board room carrying on from the day before. I really like to keep my mornings for design meetings because once I get into more admin or other stuff, it is hard to go back. Some days, we have fittings; normally, I have lunch at 12:30 – 1 p.m, and I try to leave by 4:35 p.m so we have missed the traffic coming back into town. I normally carry stuff back with me so that after my workout, I can do a couple of hours if I need to. However, today, with WhatsApp and emails, you are at work constantly, just not physically in the studio. There was a time I spent a lot more time going out to embroidery units and all, but now it comes to me. On days that I do TASVA, I go across to the TASVA building, which is threefour buildings away, and there are always a million things to do with our stores and the new factories. At the moment, we are completing projects, but otherwise I would go to the architectural office and work over there. (TASVA, a joint venture between the House of Tarun Tahiliani and Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL), was launched in 2021 as a more released and affordable alternative to celebrated menswear.
Is the quest for growth something that can ever be completely satisfied, or do you still have aspirations yet to be realised?
Unfortunately, in this sort of business, unless you stay very small and couture, I think you are only going to keep great talent if they grow – and you have to grow for them to grow, for everyone around you to grow. So, it is a very, very competitive environment. Unfortunately, it is also viewed as a relative game, so without dropping standards, which is the easiest thing to do, one has to see how one can find the right balance between growth and quality. I keep telling everybody that my lifestyle is not going to change, no matter how much we make. I loathe to give up things just for the sake of growth.
How has the involvement of your wife, Sailaja (Sal) Tahiliani, and sister, Tina Tahiliani Parikh, enriched your design journey and the growth of the brand?
I think the biggest contribution of Sal was that she got me into fashion and literally led the way because I was clueless, and Tina kept it going when we went off to study and partnered with me for many years. Now, of course, she has her own retail company, which is ENSEMBLE, and we run it. Sometimes, you need people who will just tell you the brutal truth, as Sal does. That is invaluable, apart from everything else.
Are your sons Jahan and Anand considering a future in the fashion industry and potentially joining the Tarun Tahiliani Design Studio?
Jahan and Anand are not interested in stepping into the design studio from a design point of view, but I suppose by being around it, there is some level of osmosis. I think that I have many great people being groomed in the company whom this company should logically pass on to for its future, just as European brands have shown to be possible. They will be the real custodians of the brand.
How do you manage to juggle the demands of work and personal life?
I probably did not strike the work-life balance, and let me tell you, even at this stage, I work harder than I did before, but at this point, I barely go out, so I think I have the balance, have the time to exercise, have the time to read, and since I am not very social, I do see the few people in my family.
To you, what is the essence of design?
…evolutionary but absolute!
