Issue / Cover Story: Elegant, Modern & Timeless: A Peak Into Varun Bahl's 14-Year Journey

by Anokhi Admin

Cover Story: Elegant, Modern & Timeless: A Peak Into Varun Bahl’s 14-Year Journey

Mar 08, 2015

“I always wanted to be a designer,” says the suave Varun Bahl. Even as a schoolboy, he was attracted to clothes, colours and embroidery. A chance meeting with Rohit Bal, an Indian fashion designer of repute who lived in the same neighbourhood as him in Delhi, affirmed his decision. Bahl was in 10th grade when he visited Bal’s studio, fell in love with his designs and decided to follow suit.

“I started working very early, almost immediately after school,” Bahl says. Working for his family’s garment exporting business, he sold his ideas to some of the biggest international brands. “It was tough but exciting and it taught me a lot,” says the Delhi-based designer. After a few years, he started attending the National Institute of Fashion Technology and completed a degree in fashion design.

In 2001, Bahl launched his first collection, a menswear line in India, but his mind was on Italy. That same year, he worked on a new line for Milan Fashion Week and it was chosen as the best of the season among 20 competing designers. The award came with its share of recognition and gave him the confidence to introduce his own brand. Varun Bahl, the label, was launched in India and Italy in 2001.

Bahl’s designs are carried in 20 stores across India, South Africa, Singapore, Milan, Paris, Japan and the Middle East. “One of our buyers is the contemporary South Asian woman who is elegant, non-conformist, experimental and avant-garde,” Bahl says. “She is not bound by tradition; she celebrates it. So we consistently try to take the amazing traditions of embellishment from our country and modernize them for her.”

The sari gown he designed in 2013 for his Flight collection gained an almost iconic place in fashion circles and is a favorite among celebrities. The dress maintains the integrity of a sari by having all its tenets — the pleated skirt, the choli and the pallu. But the choli and the skirt are attached discreetly so a little extra action on the dance floor, for example, doesn’t create embarrassing moments for the wearer. There is no chance of the pleats being undone. “The idea behind creating a sari gown was to provide comfort to the wearer, at the same time wanting to give a traditional sari a modern twist,” Bahl says.

Known on the fashion circuit as one of India’s favourite bridal wear designers, Bahl has been a pathbreaker in many ways. He has designed bridal wear in black, a colour traditional Indian brides would refrain from wearing on their wedding day. But, he explains, black is classic, fashionable and chic and its flattering and eternally elegant appeal makes it a favourite with women. “I also feel there are fewer rules today when it comes to dressing, and the modern day bride is opting for hints of black in her wedding and trousseau ensemble,” he says. Bahl also introduced wedding wear that can be worn as separates. His anarkali suits slit up to the waist so they can either be worn for a wedding with churidars and elaborate dupattas or paired with trousers for a cocktail party.

Talking about the India Moderne collection he showcased at the 2014 edition of India Couture Week, he explains how he reinterpreted the anarkali by “discarding the de rigueur panels, or kalis, and achieving the same fit-and-flounce with circular-cut patterns.” Bahl’s show, which marked 10 years of his career on the ramp (his first show was at Lakmé Fashion Week 2004), was highly appreciated. It had rudiments of some of his beloveds — the elaborate gota-work, the layered look and the rose motif — and an interplay of his favourite colours such as silver, gold, black, fuchsia and duck egg blue.

The Varun Bahl label also designs for the astute modern man who cares about the way he looks and the way his clothes make him feel. Back in 2009, Bahl got together with good friend Karan Johar, a Bollywood producer and director, to create a menswear collection that included bespoke prêt-a-porter clothing. Johar, the producer of popular films such as Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham and the recent 2 States, is one of the best dressed celebrities in Bollywood and has a strong penchant for designing. He collaborated with Bahl to bring to life his creativity and the Karan Johar-Varun Bahl label was born. “When the collection is being put together, we brainstorm multiple times on the look and feel of the garments and the execution of the show,” Bahl says. “It's difficult to tell where my inputs begin and where Karan jumps in. It's an organic process between us and we explore many ideas from each other and with each other.”

Bahl is intuitive and works on instinct. “The inspiration for me directly comes from my clientele and what they want and how they evolve with time,” Bahl says. The bird motif, a recurring element through his Flight collection, signifies the freedom of Indian haute couture from traditional platitudes. “That is exactly what my clientele has evolved into — embracing tradition away from clichés, but with a punch of modernity,” he says.

BY: PRITI SALIAN /PUBLISHED IN MARCH 2015/ THE FASHION & STYLE ISSUE
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF VARUN BAHL