Troy Costa

He dresses India’s top industrialists, Bollywood royalty and the PM too, but the designer stubbornly continues to shy away from the limelight, even as he approaches the biggest step in his career – showing at Paris Fashion Week.

- Shweta Mehta Sen

We’re at Troy Costa’s studio in suburban Mumbai, photographing him for this feature, and the notoriously reticent designer struggles through the first few bursts. “Don’t worry. I’ll get comfortable in five minutes,” he apologises, sheepishly. Sure enough, we have our shot soon.

Costa has always been media-shy. Knowing fully well that a great PR or marketing machinery can significantly boost even a mediocre designer’s career, he’s steadfastly remained an exception to the rule – staying behind the scenes, and focussing on his work instead of harping about his achievements.

The afore mentioned accolades are many. Costa has dressed pretty much every male celebrity,prominent businessman or politician in the country. He’s one of the only Indian designers who can boast of crafting bespoke suits in the true sense of the term. Yet, one barely hears about what he’s up to.

“I’ve built my business purely on the fact that if your product is not good enough, you just have to work harder. I’ve been offered huge sums of money to do shows sponsored by water or suitcase brands. Who says no to Rs 20 lakh? I don’t think anyone but I would. It just doesn’t seem correct to me,” he says.