“Listening to music while I work distracts me”
Looking at Amit Aggarwal the designer today, you’d never guess that the younger son of an engineer and a homemaker, Amit always excelled in his studies. “I would rush to tuitions after school. Afternoons and evenings were spent with the colony dogs and making homes for litters,” he says. Forever drawing in his colouring books or on the walls of his house, he was nine when he realised he wanted to do something with clothes. At 18, he left Mumbai for Delhi to study at NIFT.
Today, Amit is famed for his modern, unique designs seen on red carpets. Personally, you’ll only see him in casual oversized black clothes, as he likes “air between my skin and fabric. My arms need to be free to move, drape, sketch and hug!“
The wackiest request you’ve ever gotten from a bride?
A mother-in-law of a humble bride asked me to amalgamate five different concepts in one piece as it was a wedding of 4,000 guests and wanted it to be the most expensive outfit we ever made. I looked at the bride, who had her heart set on something the way it was. I politely declined.
Who was the first celebrity to ever wear your designs?
Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sonam Kapoor; they ended up wearing the same outfit, during Morphe.
What was your biggest fan-boy moment?
Meeting Mehr Jessia in 1993, at a trade show in Mumbai. I didn’t wash my hand for a whole week where she signed it!
List three things no one knows about you.
1. I am a private person to the world, but to my partner and family my life’s an open book. I share every little detail with them.
2. I have a very graphic sense of humour. I am actually superbly humorous.
3. I am a street food addict! It’s dipping my fingers into food that makes me weak in the knees.
What music do you listen to while working?
I don’t listen to music when I’m sketching or working. It distracts my thought process. In Bed With is a weekly column that puts personal questions to your favourite stars, and serves you a reminder: after Brunch, it’s time to go back to bed!