Fabric meets freedom

Celebrated as the ‘master of drapes’, Tahiliani has reshaped the language of Indian fashion. As label Tarun Tahiliani marks 30 years, he tells Akshara Srivastava about his enduring fascination with movement, fluidity and the quiet power of fabric in motion

- LUNCH WITH BS: TARUN TAHILIANI, DESIGNER

It is a lunch that does not quite end with the meal. On a sunny Saturday afternoon, something of a rarity in smog-engulfed New Delhi these days, I arrive at Qla, the charming European restaurant tucked among designer studios in Mehrauli. This is the city’s well worn fashion high street, a curious mix of couture ateliers and heritage stonework, with the Qutub Minar looming in the background like a silent witness to reinvention.

The central courtyard has already been claimed by early arrivals, and so I settle into a quieter corner indoors to wait for Tarun Tahiliani. Over the last three decades, the fashion designer has come to be known as the “master of drapes”, a title earned through an unwavering commitment to fluidity, structure, and an unmistakably Indian way of dressing the body.

Tahiliani is currently gearing up to celebrate a significant milestone: 30 years of his eponymous label. The anniversary will be marked with a show at the British Residency in Hyderabad, a setting that mirrors his own sensibility: Historical, layered, and quietly grand. So when our lunch ends not with dessert but with an invitation to his studio in Gurugram, to observe fittings in progress, I cannot refuse. But more on that later.

“I'm very excited about it,” he says as we settle in. “In the context of designers abroad, and even our own history, this is still a very new industry. Thirty years is a big milestone. And I think when you reach moments like this, it’s important to push yourself to stretch the limits.”

Before conversation takes over, we decide to place the entire food order in one go. We begin with Darjeeling style chicken dumplings, followed by a morel and white asparagus soup for him, and a porcini mushroom pasta for me. Tahi-liani also orders a pink gin with tonic water, cucumber, and ice.

“Large or small?” the server asks.