RAMP DIARIES
JJ Valaya “I was training to be a CA when fashion happened”
Fashion is in the air in the capital, with PCJ Delhi Couture Week 2012 having concluded recently in the city. SIMPLY DELHI caught up with the city’s fashion design stalwarts, JJ Valaya, Manish Arora and Shantanu and Nikhil for a tête- à- tête where they shared their views on the Couture Week, their personal fashion styles and their inspirations.
Q. What led you take up fashion as a career? Did you always know that’s what you wanted or was it something that happened out of the blue?
A. I was actually training to be a chartered accountant. I didn’t know what I wanted to be or what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to do something creative and fashion just happened.
Q. What would you consider the one event that was your ‘ big break’ into the world of fashion?
A. I was living in Chandigarh in the late 80’ s when somebody told me about this new institute that had opened up in Delhi. At a time when fashion institutes were synonymous with tailoring colleges, the National Institute of Fashion and Technology ( NIFT) came into the scene and completely turned things around. For me, enrolling into NIFT in 1988 is what I consider ‘ divine intervention.’
Q. What has been your idea behind this season’s designs?
A. For me couture is always about timelessness and I don’t think that trends always work.
I want my designs to be passed on through generations. For example, recently I had a client for whom I had designed bridal wear more than two decades ago. She came to me a few days ago asking me to alter the same dress to fit her daughter. This to me was an amazing feeling.
Q. Has the line been inspired by something or somebody? Our couture displays have been titled, The Azrak collection, The Realm of the Sultan. The collection finds its inspiration from the Ottoman Empire. Azrak in Turkish means ‘ rare and uncommon.’ Its a fitting title for this collection as it stands inspired by some exceptional arts from the Ottoman Empire.
Q. Any particular aspect of the designs you would like to highlight?
A. We do the finest embroideries in the country and this is one of our greatest selling points. I also nurture a great interest in Indian arts and crafts and I want to revive these craft traditions and make it relevant to the modern world.
Q What’s your personal fashion style?
A. It’s simplistic with a lot of attention to detail. I like neutral colour dresses with an occasional pop of bright coloured accessories.