‘I’m just a bloody tailor’

Designer Rajesh Pratap Singh says his first clothing collection for a Bollywood stage is no big deal

Reclusive designer Rajesh Pratap Singh is primed to make his Bollywood debut. He’s not thinking of a career in acting, but the artiste will showcase a special collection at this year’s International Indian Film Academy awards in Toronto, Canada. It will also mark his first fashion show in the Canadian capital.

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Ask Singh if he’s excited about this new milestone and he says, “All I’m thinking about right now is how to finish this hem.” On his new collaboration, he reveals, “Everything I do is for a specific reason. The organisers liked my autumn/winter collection and wanted me to expand on that for the show. The event won’t be a simple fashion show, more like a theatrical production, which will be on a larger scale.”

The show is expected to include musicians, dancers and other performance artistes, all of whom will be outfitted in Singh’s clothes. While the designer is known to shy away from Bollywood and its glamourous trappings, he explains, “I was very interested in collaborating because the last time I did something like this was for an opera show in Paris. I have nothing against Bollywood. It’s just that my aesthetics and design sense dont match theirs most of the time.”

Ask him whether this debut, sponsored by Grey Goose, will expand into him possibly designing for films and he responds, “I’ve helped costume characters before for a few directors, who were friends of mine. But right now I’m more interested in theatre. There are other people who do film styling much better than I do. I’m just a bloody tailor.”