The Quirk Master

He’s the first and only menswear designer from India to win the International Woolmark Prize, but Suket Dhir is far from compartmentalising his work into the gender spectrum, or shying away from the fact that he loves being called a ‘fashion designer’ more than anything else

- Samreen Tungekar

Suket Dhir’s clothing has been synonymous with eccentricity. But most of all, Dhir equates everything he does with emotion. Yes, design is important. Of course, the aesthetic is priority, but what matters the most is how your outfit makes you feel. As a personality too, he’s open-hearted, he will chat with you about his life, in an instant, but when it comes to his fashion decisions, he’s exactly that particular. And that’s why, when he wanted to weave his ikat wool for his Woolmark entry at a time when weavers were either used to cotton or silk, he got his weaved ikat wool. And onwards and upwards, he went.

What's a quintessential Suket Dhir piece of clothing?

My philosophy is to make clothes that can transform a person, according to their mood. When I design clothes, I like to see how the person makes the garment look. A quintessential piece would be something that would remind you of your value system. It would adhere to the belief of buying less, but buying the best. A product that you can wear over and over again. In fact, because I use natural fibre, every time you wash the garment, the material evolves a little. It becomes a different kind of beautiful, just like human beings evolve. I have a jacket, made of polyester, with lining, that has lasted me 12 to 13 years. I took inspiration in my life from this, to make clothes with natural fibres that can last long. I have worn clothes that have been passed on for generations, that’s how we are, as Indians.

What are your principles of design that you absolutely never compromise on?