Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/PARIS: Indian fashion designer Gaurav Gupta made his highly anticipated debut at Paris Haute Couture Week on Thursday nearly 20 years after launching his eponymous brand.
Gupta’s acceptance in the prestigious event reflects the rising international status of a couturier who has long been adored by his Bollywood clientele.
The designer’s profile has risen dramatically in the last year, with his sculptural creations being worn by global A-list celebrities such as Cardi B, Lizzo, and Kylie Minogue.
Last year, rapper Megan Thee Stallion wore a slate-blue, body-hugging gown custom-designed by Gupta with a dramatic train flowing out like delicate waves to the Oscars. The media attention it received was “so beautiful,” he said earlier this week at his temporary showroom near the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
Haute Couture Week is a biannual spectacle in which the most exclusive fashion — garments painstakingly made by hand and sold at exorbitant prices — is paraded down runways in front of star-studded audiences. Gupta recalled being on a plane “about to take off” when he learned that his brand had been chosen to exhibit at the event.
He described it as dramatic because he was alone on the plane and spent the next two hours crying and staring out the window. We were just this couturier, and this is history unfolding in front of my eyes. This dream has been brewing for the past 25 years since I began working in the fashion industry.
Building brand as a fashion designer
Gupta founded his brand in 2005, after graduating from London’s Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design. His brother Saurabh joined the operation early on. They grew the business together, opening five boutiques in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Hyderabad and dressing Bollywood stars, Indian socialites, and brides.
Gupta’s high-concept collections began with more subdued palettes, subverting what was being sold in the Indian market at the time. It took some time to figure out how to turn what he showed on the runway into commercial sales.
He stated that being a very concept-driven brand in a very traditional market was not easy. I’ve found a happy medium for creating wearable concepts over the years. The label describes itself as “Indian at its core,” combining what it calls “indigenous Indian construction and embellishment techniques.” Gupta’s high-fashion sari gown is one of his most popular items. His version transforms the traditional Indian garment, which is essentially a rectangular fabric wrapped around the body in various styles, into something much sexier, he explains, with a Grecian-style drape and detailing like knotting and plaiting.
A global outlook
For the past six months, Gupta and his team have been working on the Paris couture presentation, from developing concepts and sketches to sourcing, dyeing, and embroidering fabrics. The label has also been preparing for buyer visits to its Paris showroom, which will feature its eveningwear collection, which is currently sold through Moda Operandi. The brand’s designs will also be available at the American retailer Neiman Marcus, and Gupta is looking forward to the challenge of expanding his presence in the West.
