ART OF FASHION
Subodh Gupta and Rajesh Pratap Singh in a freewheeling conversation
THEY SAT FACING EACH OTHER and told stories that were almost like parallel lines and yet, as when you are looking out of a train window, they seemed to merge. In the early years, around 199495, they lived in the same neighbourhood in Mayur Vihar in Delhi; young strugglers in a fractured city. Subodh Gupta, the quintessential contemporary artist from the badlands of Bihar, used to live in a tiny flat which he shared with Tigmanshu Dhulia, a confirmed Bollywood misfit, Raghubir Yadav and such others. He had a view of Rajesh Pratap Singh’s flat, from where he could sense the bonhomie of all- night parties. At the time, Singh, now an iconic designer, shared a flat with designer Manish Arora and had graduated from NIFT Delhi just a few years ago in 1990.
That was their f irst encounter in the city. Gupta went on to become a f amous artist with his steel installations, including a tree made of vessels at the NGMA. And Raj esh Pratap became a designer who would bend steel to make garments that mastered the art of suspension. At Art Basel in June 2017, their worlds converged yet again when Pratap designed the aprons for Gupta’s “cooking the world” installation.
One September night this year, at Gupta’s Gurgaon home, the two men spoke about the old days, steel, fashion and their “determination” to hold on to their core despite everything. Pratap, shy and reluctant as a narrator, shared his love for the mountains. Gupta, forever inquisitive, kept asking for a back story.
Gupta “How did you come to Delhi?
Pratap “My story is not as fascinating as yours, I have done everything from being a strategiser for a ‘ kidnapping’ we carried out for the sake of love for a friend ( they are happily married today), to painting a horse in a Muharram procession at the request of a friend who promised to make me meet an important person so I could do my exhibition,”
Gupta “But your life always seemed very interesting. You had parties with really cool people coming to your house. Now, I know a bit about fashion; I like Dries Van Noten. But in those days when I was a student and later as a struggling artist, I used to buy these shirts for ` 5 from carts in Jantar Mantar. I loved them and spent hours selecting them. Why did you become a designer Rajesh? You say you feel like an outsider in the fashion world.”
Pratap “I like creating new things. I like the challenge. But then, I don’t understand the business side of it, which my wife and sister in law look after and for which I am grateful. I want to climb mountains that I couldn’t earlier. I want to do things I like.”
Gupta “But why can’t fashion be art? Why don’t you create your own art?”
Pratap “Art is free from considerations of commercial viability, which we can’t be for the sake of our tailors and other staff. I provide employment to them and it means I have to keep the business going. Fashion has to have functionality. Sometimes, the lines blur but art is about having time on your side. It is luxury. Fashion and art are different worlds.”
Gupta “Let’s create something together”
Pratap “That would be lovely. Every time I make a steel outfit; I mean when I use steel I always think of your works, your installations.”
Gupta “I love your clothes. I love the aprons you made for me for Art Basel.”
It’s 5 am by now and they are both smiling, reminiscing about the days gone by as they promise each other more such nights of conversations. And in the lobby, a steel sofa— a signature piece created by Gupta, glitters. At his next show at Amazon India Fashion Week barely a month later, Pratap created an homage to steel yet again, with his woven jackets and structured drapes. Both are men of steel; creative and burning with a desire to fashion the best.