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HT Brunch Cover Story: No nepotism in fashion?
Three celebrated designers on sharing their bastion with younger minds. And the young ones on the ideas they’ll harness, and the individuality they’ll champion
When your parents are legends in the fashion industry, the path for you can be lined with roses. But these millennial fashion designers aren’t afraid to take the harder route to make it on their own. We caught up with three designers and the Gen Z of fashion from their family to understand how they think out of the box.
“She said ‘Match’ before ‘Mom’!”
Neeta Lulla, 56, and daughter Nishka, 34
Ace couturier and legendary costume designer Neeta Lulla noticed an “initiative” towards fashion in her daughter, Nishka, from a young age. “While she had a strong coordination sensibility, her aesthetic truly developed when she reached her early teens,” says Neeta.
Accompanying her mother everywhere, Nishka took a keen interest in fashion. “The studio was at home, so I was always exposed to my mother’s work. Even as a child, I made outfits for my dolls. Little did I know that my first job would be making the actual Barbie outfit for Katrina Kaif through a contest I won at a Fashion Week!” says Nishka.
With easy access to celebrities and a readymade set up, what made Nishka create her own label? “Every person’s creativity is their own honest expression,” Nishka explains. “My vision was my own, to create a label that was minimal and easy to wear. It took me a while to get there. It was only after a couple of collections that I got to the point where my collections were a true expression of the designer and the person I am.”
This is very different from her mother’s label. As a parent, did Neeta think it would be obvious for her daughter to carry on the legacy?
“I stand for women pioneers. There is a sense of achievement when you do something on your own. I had experienced this and wanted Nishka to experience as well,” says Neeta.
Having a legend in your own house can be a boon or overwhelming. Nishka found a way to weave around it. “Initially, people thought I’d do collections that were similar to my mother’s work. But we are different and so are our design aesthetics,” she says.
Neeta adds: “The one thing our labels have in common is that both are truly Indian at heart.”
“He’s trendy, I’m the old uncle!”
Ravi Bajaj, 56, and nephew, Vikram, 32
Ravi Bajaj ventured into fashion designing when it was a profession unheard of for men. “It wasn’t considered a career. When I decided to go to the UK to study fashion, the person at the foreign exchange office stared at me, dumbfounded. He asked if I was travelling abroad for a tailoring course,” chuckles Ravi.
The only person in Ravi’s family who had supported his decision to study fashion was his older brother. Now the same brother’s son has taken to design.
“I enjoyed sketching and was always inspired by my uncle,” says Vikram Bajaj. “My first project with my uncle was working on an outfit for Amitabh Bachchan. That really set the ball rolling.”
But Vikram decided to break away and start his own label. “While I learnt a lot from him, I wanted to express my own creativity,” he says.
Ravi agrees, “He has his own take on fashion. He is contemporary, while I’m more classic. If he continued with me, his individuality would never blossom. Every creative person exhibits some unique characteristic.”
Do they share ideas with each other? “His label is more trendy, who wants to go to an old uncle!” laughs Ravi. “But when I started, fashion magazines were limited and expensive and these days, I don’t surf the internet and don’t follow international fashion weeks like Vikram does. Probably the one advantage I had over Vikram was that there were fewer designers in my time, so my competition was less. Today, the market is huge and there is something at every price point.”
Have things changed for boys who want to do fashion? Not a lot, it appears. “Even when I went to fashion school, there were only a couple of boys in design,” says Vikram. “Most of them leaned towards fashion management or retail.”
“Threads for me, sequins for her”
Reynu Taandon, 56, and daughter, Nikhita, 36
I always wanted to grow from a label to a fashion house. Nikhita made that possible,” says Reynu Taandon, an Indianwear designer.
“When your father has a business in exports and your mother is a designer, your childhood is full of creativity,” says Nikhita.
Did Nikhita Tandon feel the pressure of expectation when she became a designer? “It was about taking the family business ahead. When you are selling your designs, people judge your artistry, not your lineage. So for me, starting from scratch, taking my own stand and creating my own label was exciting. There is of course a benchmark, but that is a good thing. We are aesthetically very different, so there is no room for comparison,” says Nikhita.
Reynu agrees. “I work with thread and she with sequins. Nikhita was very clear that she wanted to do her own thing. So, it is now two labels growing within the same company. I saw her sketching beautiful outfits, primarily for parties, cocktails and receptions. So with my bridal and wedding wear, I was very happy, because now our labels are becoming a fashion house,” she says.
Having a veteran designer at home has its perks. “Administratively, it is a huge help. Also her knowhow on making my label commercially viable,” says Nikhita. “My mother is gifting me a legacy, not only professionally, but also in terms of values.”
Is there a generation gap in how the two of them work? “For over two decades, we’ve worked offline, understanding how clients like to buy,” says Reynu. “Technology is new for us, but we are learning. And of course, the newer generation is better at technology.”
Bharat Gupta is a fashion commentator, consultant and stylist
From HT Brunch, March 21, 2021
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