Guwahati: Pride is your individuality, it is everything, said designer Varun Bahl. The fashion designer was in Guwahati, Assam on Friday to participate in the Blenders Pride Magical Nights 2019 held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in the city. Incidentally, ‘Pride’ was also the theme of the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour and the evening was only an extension to that.
In an exclusive interview with EastMojo, Bahl talked about up fashion trends, his creations and what inspires them, among others. Excerpts from the conversation:
EastMojo: Tell us about your theme for the show tonight.
Varun Bahl: Today, we have started a new brand Varun Bahl Pret, whose basic theme is based upon nature largely, besides many other things. Flora and fauna are an important part of our creation. Few months ago, while I was sitting and sketching, I made a flower of five petals. Thereafter I started repeating the pattern and subsequently many beautiful patterns came up and it gave birth to the Varun Bahl Pret. So this is what I am showing tonight and the idea behind this was to reach out to a much larger audience. This couture is basically for weddings. As we see a lot of people look for wearing Indian clothes, so I thought of contemporising the whole Indian wear. This is the five petal story and every design and every print is based on it. It is contemporary Indian clothing.
EM: How will you define ‘Pride’, the theme for the evening?
VB: Pride is your individuality, it is everything. For me, pride is my journey — how I handled and I achieved it. My uniqueness is my pride.
EM: What inspires your creations?
VB: A lot of flora and fauna. In terms of detailing, I love the Victorian period — this is very costume type so we need to wash down and make it relevant for the 21st century and for 2019. That will also be showcased in tonight’s event — high necklines and all. I love the art nouveau period which was in the earlier 19th-century period, it is my favourite period. I also like Barukh though it is not showcased tonight.
EM: What do you have to say about the earlier and the present fashion trends — the way they are evolving?
VB: What is past fashion is past, it was relevant then what is at present it is relevant now. We should not think about yesterday. But in future, I think today we are in the best stage, one of the nicest stage of fashion. Many things are co-existing because individuals wear according to their style and personality. There are many changes nowadays. Like I have introduced many things in fashion industry, one being the use of very light and pastel colours in bridal wear. I was one of the few ones to start this and now everyone is using this. Today, at the show, you’ll see I have brought in contemporary Indian wear. You will see a lot of ‘shararas’ but they won’t look like a ‘shaadi ka sharara’. It is a trouser which cut in a certain way in which a sharara is cut and worn with a short kurti, which is slightly short. It may be a shirt or a jacket. So Indian wear is modernised in my creations tonight. The kind of clothing I showcase can be worn by women in any way and any where across the planet.
EM: How would you describe your personal style?
VB: My personal style is very casual, a T-shirt and jeans. I don’t think much about what to wear when I am working. But when I go out in evenings, I dress up and go.
EM: How do you unwind when you are not working?
VB: I live in a city called New Delhi and there is a lot of social activities happening in the evenings. I am a very social person and I like going out and meeting people. I also like watching movies when not working.
EM: We have heard that you earlier showcased your designs in Milan Fashion Week. Tell us about the experience there.
VB: It was many years ago. It was a wonderful experience. As a young designer to showcase the designs there and to show India anywhere, it was really wonderful.
EM: Tell us about your upcoming projects.
VB: I am working on my next couture collection that is coming up in July. And I also have to make this Pret reach out to more and more audience.
EM: Any celebrity/person you dream to design for someday.
VB: I have always dreamed to design for Madonna someday.
