Celebrated fashion designer Gaurav Gupta recently unveiled his brand's debut couture store at Galleria 1910 in Kolkata. In a chat with our correspondent Souvik Ghosh, he opens up about fashion, his brand and more
What is your view of Kolkata fashion.
I think Kolkata is a very interesting city. It is a cultural hub in general. It has a lot of rich literature, detail to thought and design and appreciation of design. Fashion wise, I think Kolkata people have an attention to detail and fine things. Fashion here is not an experimental thing till now but like the rest of the country, the city is undergoing a change.
Kolkata will be in festive mood in few days time with the commencement of Durga Puja. Was it a conscious decision to inaugurate the store now?
Our clothes are very timeless and not obviously for the Indian market in general. We don't give the market what it wants but we change the market. The market changes with us.
Why you chose Kolkata as the venue to open the store? Any special reason?
The special reason to open the store in Kolkata is the fact that we were approached with this beautiful property. We loved the property and the proposal. We felt Kolkata is really ready now for such a store. I have been in Kolkata quite a few times. With the newest generations, a big cultural shift is happening in the whole country and Kolkata is one of the main cities. So we wanted a bigger footprint for the brand. This is such a beautiful, surreal place to open a store.
Is the fashion trend changing in India with time?
I am a part of the change. I am changing the fashion trend in India.
What kind of clothes people are looking forward to nowadays?
People are much more open to like making new choices. Now a bride wears a gown at a wedding function. All brides across the nation are now open to wearing gowns, saree gowns or hybrid lehenga gowns. It is not just about embroidery but also silhouettes and couture school of thought and colour. It is a whole look and the brides want to make a statement. All people are more individualistic now. People know what they want to do. There is much more individuality in the air.
Is it challenging to come up with new, improvised ideas time and again?
It is not challenging for me because I am full of millions of ideas, I think it challenging for the market to keep up with me.
How do you see women in your creation? Is there any perfect idea about a lady?
I don't have a perfect idea of a lady. I think there is a Gaurav Gupta side in everyone and that side is an experimental side. When everybody want to try something different and be still very beautiful, is when they are ready to try Gaurav Gupta.
Do you follow any trends?
I don't follow any trends. I have made all the trends. I don't like the words "trends", "seasons" anyways. Whatever I make can go for the next 100 years.
How do you define yourself as a designer?
Earlier I used to describe myself as a future primitive sensibility or the new global Indian couture sensibility. I don't follow any rules and sciences of fashion. I am from the new school of post-modern couture. Gaurav Gupta is a very defining brand that has made Indian people see the Indian clothes in a very different way.
(Images by Avishek Mitra)
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