Indian Designer Profiles
(May 2002)

TARUN TAHILIANI and his wife realised there was a growing demand for haute couture Indian fashion and opened 'Ensemble' in 1987, the first boutique in India. This provided a platform for other young fashion designers to design under their own label. Style, craftsmanship, quality and refinement are the defining symbols of Tarun's garments, resulting in him being one of the most sought after fashion designers in India.

ROHIT BAL, who draws upon history, fantasy and folklore as his inspiration sets the trends for the Indian fashion scene. His high profile clientele are celebrities from India and abroad that includes Uma Thurman, Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell.

SHAHAB DURAZI, the designer who put Indian women into tailored jackets, returned from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York in 1989 wanting to create a new look for Indian women. His slick cutting edge women and men's collections are designed and cut by himself without assistants to guard his trade secrets.

MANISH MALHOTRA, costume designer to the leading stars has been associated with most of the last decades most successful Bollywood films. His ability to spot potential in an actor and create 'a character' has earned him his place as the fashion guru of Indian cinema. The award-wining designer has managed to achieve an even balance between designing for films and his own haute couture collection.

RAJESH PRATAP SINGH is based in New Delhi having graduated from the National Institute of Fashion Technology in 1994. After working at KB+T where he was sent to Italy for intensive training at the Design Studios of Marzotto, he set up his own studio and launched his label 'Pratap' in 1995. Six years on he is one of the first Indian designers to have exclusive retail outlets in India and exports his label to Italy, Canada, South Africa, Australia and the United States.

AKI NARULA has been involved in the fashion business for four years and is the recipient of the Damania Fashion Designer Award. Sold throughout India in premium stores, Aki's designs are understated with the accent on drape and texture. He designs for both men and women, Indian and Western wear. Narula has more recently designed costumes for theatre and a national award winning Bengli film.

ABRAHAM & THAKORE'S signature style draws from the wealth of India's ancient weaving and craft traditions to create exclusive textiles. They work intimately with weavers to create top quality fabrics at competitive prices for their fashion and home collections.

'A SMALL SHOP' was launched in December 1998 by Anshu Arora Sen, after completing a fashion design course at National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in Delhi. Using a varied palette of colours, Anshu creates a vibrant collection. By using simple, interesting shapes combined with traditional hand crafted detailing work Anshus creates clothes with a contemporary feel.

OGAAN is a Indian family run Couture house that provides a base to establish fashion designer names and a platform for up coming talent. It houses the creme of Indian design talent.

GEETANJALI'S career began in 1986 after an intensive course at NIFT. She is primarily self taught and is credited with having started the trend towards hand brushed painting on cloth, a feature which remained part of her collection for many years.

MONISHA JAISING began working in 1989 as a designer cum manufacturer of womens clothing, after graduating from the American College of Applied Arts in fashion design. Renowned for her consistency and skill in styling, Monisha contours a clean and body conscious silhouette for women, drawing together elements of East meets West.

RINA DHAKA has been part of the Indian fashion scene for the past 15 years, beginning with her innovative designs being used for Miss India events. She is best known for her theme collections; spider web motifs, sheer trousers, crochet and stretch jersey all of which emphasise shape and silhouette. Rina feels that "fashion for women is about giving options, its about severity and seduction"

ROHINI KHOSLA'S shop 'India Styles' offers the quintessence of Indian style. It offers a limitless variety of ethnic handcrafts, costumes and artefacts, and epitomises her signature style: 'Indian kitsch'.

ROCKY S built a strong technical foundation by designing at the reputed department store 'Roopam', through which he received the required exposure and contacts in the film industry. He now designs for the top stars in Bollywood and has a strong influence in the Indian fashion world. He also runs a stores retailing exclusive mens and women's designers in Juhu under his own name.

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