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I HAVE been a long time fan, client and friend of designer Monisha Jaising. A season’s greeting call turned out to be a great opportunity to interview her – Mumbai girl Jaising is in New Delhi opening a new store here in the coming days in the capital’s Defense Colony neighbourhood. Her previous store in Delhi was in the DLF Emporio Mall, closed during the pandemic and she just couldn’t find the next perfect space.
Jaising, 56, knows a thing or two about real estate. Her late father Narain Bhojwani built half of Mumbai’s tony Bandra area, with several buildings named after close family members. The building named “Monisha” is home to movie stars Chunky Panday and daughter Ananya Panday.
“I was never attracted to real estate, although my father was very much an artist. There was always talk of architecture and interior design at home. It’s ironic because he had been a professor at the London School of Economics before moving to India and taking up property development. I was only interested in dressing people,” she laughs. Her first showcase was actually at school, when she was among several students chosen to design marching band uniforms and ended up winning first prize. There was no fashion in India, only ladies ladies. A course in fashion illustration followed from the Royal College of Art, London. She ended up attending an exhibition and sale at the Taj Group’s St James Court Hotel, along with James Ferreira from Mumbai. “I saw how wonderful he was and how all the strangers were covering his clothes. I thought he was amazing,” she recalls.
When she returned to Mumbai, India’s first multi-design store, Ensemble, was just taking off. “My husband Ravi was reading about someone called Tarun Tahiliani on a flight and that he was creating this amazing new concept store,” she laughs. That was in 1989. “He said I should meet him, and so I did. When I walked into Ensemble, I saw how amazing it was – so ahead of its time, and filled with such stylish stuff from Tarun, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, Rohit Bal, Rohit Khosla and Sunita Kapoor, Sonam’s mother!” Tahilian liked her clothes and offered her a rack there.
Jaising’s clothes were really unusual at that time. Unlike lehengas and Indian outfits that were normal, it offered a very easy mix of east and west. They were so charming but had so much Indianness in them. Flared jeans, slim dresses, sequin blouses – she quickly earned the title of being the princess of bohemian luxury. “I love India and I always use India in every collection of mine/ But I’m also influenced by different cultures of the world, so there’s always a juxtaposition between India and the world,” she explains.
Monisha Jaising’s Kurtis
Perhaps her greatest contribution to Indian fashion has been the invention of the kurti. She was commissioned to design sarongs and swimwear for a popular store called Whistles in London. She considered cutting the length of an Indian kurta and letting the bikini bottom peek out from the sides. “They rejected it because they thought it was too Indian, and I was left with 12 samples. I put them on my shelf at Ensemble and soon Tina Tahiliani called me to tell me that she wanted more and more of them,” laughs Jaising. Kurti, or short kurta is now a staple of Indian clothing and is sold by every designer in the country, even stores such as Fabindia and Anokhi. Jaising sent some pieces to Selfridge’s, and then to India’s first Lakme India Fashion Week. “The thing just took on a life of its own then,” she laughs.
Jaising has remained consistent in its aesthetics, its style and shapes have remained seasonless for decades. “I’m not a big businesswoman, I liked to make clothes that I would want to wear. So I ended up staying true to my core, instead of just making wedding wear to feed India’s giant pant market. I don’t care about price tags, however I chose to reinvent the kurti at a friendly price,” she reasons.
Monisha Jaising has taken the Indian kurti to the world
She also cares about what the young people are wearing. So her clothes appeal to multiple generations of women who belong to her aura. It doesn’t mean that mother wears saree and daughter wears lehenga, it means that both want to wear the same sexy piece. “It’s really all about making a great product, and we make a product that speaks to a modern India.”
Jaising also launched a collaboration line with Shweta Bachchan, a friend and client. “It’s going well, we did our first fashion show at Lakme Fashion Week in 2021 and we’re revamping its online business.”
Jaising says she wants to remain in control of her business and is not looking at corporate investment like many of her contemporaries. “They’re taking over the business, and I don’t think I’m ready for that yet,” she says. It also has its own manufacturing plant in Mumbai, which produces t-shirts and entertainment, giving it scale that few others can afford.
Kareena Kapoor Khan in Monisha Jaising
For now, she just wants to open a few stores in new cities (after Mumbai and New Delhi) and let her customers be transported to a world of relaxed luxury, where every item can be worn with both sneakers and heels .
Namrata Zakaria is an experienced writer and editor, and a chronicler of social and cultural trends. Her first book, on the late designer Wendell Rodricks’ Moda Goa museum, will be released soon. Zakaria is particularly known for her insider opinion on fashion, luxury and social entrepreneurship in India. Her writing is credited with shaping opinions, busting myths, creating reputations and sometimes breaking the odd career. Zakaria is also involved in bringing together philanthropic efforts in the areas of economic and environmental sustainability.
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