Haute Couturiers have a dark reality of broken relationships, sleaze, jealousy, drugs, and orgies, confesses Ruchira, having covered the fashion beat for five years – an exclusive for Different Truths.

The Haute Couturiers (aka high fashion designers) are a different breed altogether. I make this statement based on my first-hand experiences. Well, during my three-decade-long media career, I moved around and explored fashion circles for almost five years. And I have garnered exciting impressions. A sizeable number of trendsetters display a penchant for dressing in a bizarre manner that will inevitably set them apart from the aam admi (ordinary person). Often you are bound to come across the craziest hairstyles, hair highlighted in psychedelic shades, body art/tattoo, pierced lips, navels, ears, eyebrows, nose septum, beards with ponytails, and what have you! I also shudder to realise how they inhabit an unreal world. Their days and weeks are choc a block with dazzling ramp shows, wealth, glamour, glitz name and fame. But this outward veneer conceals sordid reality: broken hearts and homes, sleaze, jealousies, drugs, orgies, and perversities rule the day.  

Call it chance or sheer coincidence, but a sizable number of designers I had to interact with our alums of NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology), a premium government-run institution in India. Its multiple branches exist countrywide. The name is a testimony to their talent, skills, and attributes. As the years flew by, the country’s fashion industry witnessed an explosion of privately owned fashion designing institutes galore. However, NIFT still retains its dignity and aura. 

Travelling back in time, one of my earliest interactions was with the lovely, graceful Nalini Sharma, who also happens to be a trained classical dancer. The interaction was short but sweet. Around the same time, I had occasions to interact with Neera Nath. I still remember her as a gentle, soft-spoken individual with an eye for detail in everything she said or did. The warm air was unmistakable.

 Lest I forget, Ashish Soni, though a tad reticent, was extraordinarily well-mannered and media-friendly. Naturally, conducting interviews and surveys with him for diverse publications was a cakewalk for me. Ditto for Ravi Bajaj. Notably, he had an incredibly efficient PR team that was fun to work with. The tall, lithe Ranna Gill was out and out a very matter-of-fact and down-to-earth professional.

I still can’t get over my dislike for one gentleman couturier who has lately been in the news for all the wrong reasons. His master craftsmanship notwithstanding, Monsieur presents himself as arrogant and downright rude. I was acquainted with one of his relatives. Moreover, I had a chance to visit the garment workshop the family ran. He treated the workers and artisans shabbily. Even my little interaction with him made me squirm rather than leave me with a nice feeling.

Then there is a trendy and well-known lady designer, but her behaviour on a particular occasion was abominable. I had made an appointment with her. I arrived at the dot only to find her engrossed in gossip with friends over cups of tea. She noticed me but did not bat an eyelid. After half an hour, I reminded her secretary about the appointment. “Madam is so busy”, came the rejoinder. Another hour passed. The “business” showed no signs of ending. So, I walked off in a huff. When will someone remind these so-called ‘celebrities’ of the age-old saying, “Courtesy costs nothing.”On the contrary, it enhances their image in people’s minds. The designers may be influential and affluent, but they have no right, repeat, no right, to mistreat their not-so-fortunate brethren.

Jattin Kochhar was the friendly-neighbourhood designer with no airs or whimsies whatsoever. Call him at any hour of the day, and he will help you with quotes or other helpful information. Several times I would trundle to his studio-cum-residence in west Delhi’s Naraina and be always warmly received. When the Millennium had just arrived, younger couturiers like Payal Jain and Manav Gangwani (who later garnered global fame) were fledgling in the industry. Naturally (with an eye on the future), they would go out of their way to build a rapport with the media.

Vijay and Shobhna Arora were courteous, homely, and warm-hearted. They were always appreciative and thankful for the coverage the magazine (I was writing for) provided for their range of apparel. The nanad-bhabhi Jodi of Aashima & Leena Singh also deserves mention. They would invite me to their exhibitions and shows regularly. In addition, Leena was featured in one of my feminist storiesas a woman who faced the rough and tumbles of life and … triumphed!    

I would rate JJ Vallaya the best of the lot. Whether at various press meets or in the precincts of his office, he always came across as an affable, genial good human being. And if my memory serves me right, the guy has always remained scandal-free. Moreover, his gorgeous live shows, lavish parties and gifts were laudable. 

Picture design by Anumita Roy

Ruchira Adhikari Ghosh

Born in Guwahati Assam, Ruchira grew up in Delhi and Punjab. A product of Sacred Heart Convent, Ludhiana, she holds a Master’s degree in English Literature from Punjab University, Chandigarh. Armed with a P.G diploma in journalism in Journalism, she has been a pen-pusher for nearly 25 years. Her chequered career encompasses print, web, as well as television. She has metamorphosed as a feature writer, her forte being women’s issues, food, travel and literature.

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