Karan Johar + Varun Bahl: Men’s fashion in India gets a jump start
Posted by Lucky on Jan 12, 2010
Film producer Karan Johar and fashion designer Varun Bahl have joined forces to outfit the Indian man with luxe, understated and bespoke tailoring with a splash of Bollywood dash.
Fancy being dressed by one of Bollywood’s most influential people? Now you can with the new Karan Johar + Varun Bahl fashion label for men, a move by these two male icons to create classy clothing with just a hint of Bollywood chic – a high-end line of menswear for the new decade.
Following a star studded show at 2009’s HDIL Couture Week, Bollywood film director/producer Johar and Bahl , the acclaimed fashion designer from Delhi, came together to form the new label. Its debut winter-spring collection can be found at luxury fashion store Muse in Mumbai, this month.
The pair describe it as world-class couture both in product and packaging. The collection, hand-crafted in Italy, is both bespoke and prêt-a-porter clothing in classic, understated designs with a bit of a rock-star edge, a genre Bahl describes as Twisted Classics. “Expect subtle surprises like superfine wool jackets with unobtrusive leather pockets.”
“I started making clothes for Karan two and a half years ago,” explains Bahl. “Our fashion sensibilities are very similar, and he’s always been drawn to fashion.” Bahl counts Johar as one of India’s best-dressed men, along with actor Shah Rukh Khan, Tikka Shatrujit Singh (advisor to the chairman of Louis Vuitton) and fellow designers Rohit Bahl and Rajesh Pratap Singh. And Johar says, “This label in collaboration with my close friend Varun Bahl allows me to bring to life my ideas and thoughts for the stylish urban male.”
In that sense these clothes are designed for modern Indian men by modern Indian men. In other words, stuff you can strut off the ramp without feeling like a satin covered clown. Most shapes are available in a variety of sizes — a rarity for ready-to-wear Indian menswear — with great attention to fabric, finish, cut and color. Western and Indian trousseau lines, smart casuals and formal wear are bolstered by carefully crafted accessories including scarves, shoes, belts, wallets, cuff links and key chains, with sunglasses and fragrances in the offing as well.
“Indian fashion has come a long way, but can go much further,” feels Bahl. “If you saw what Indian men were wearing fifteen years ago in Connaught Place in Delhi, I mean, we’ve definitely evolved a great deal. Indian men now have a sense of personal style. They care about how they look and what they wear — they want clothes to match their fit bodies, they want to be asked who designed their incredible shirt.”
But be prepared to pay handsomely for your tailor-made couture. The Karan Johar + Varun Bahl shirts start at Rs 6,000 up to Rs 25,000, jackets begin at Rs 35,000 and suits at Rs 55,000. This is definitely clothing for the well-dressed well-to-do but whether they know it or not Karan Johar + Varun Bahl are the beginning of a quiet fashion revolution for men in India.
source:http://www.cnngo.com/mumbai/shop/mens-fashion-india-gets-jump-start-bollywood-188902
