Umang Hutheesing has managed to bathe parisian streets in indian hues, with a stunning exhibition of royal costumes. FYI talks to the man who put a sari-draped mannequin on a balcony in paris

Umang Hutheesing is just back from Paris. The voice at the other end of the phone is laced with contentment. Perhaps it has to do with the success of The Last Maharajas/Les Derniers Maharajas, an exhibition he put up in the French capital.



"The most frequented fashion destination in the world was bathed in the splendid hues that represent India. The Champs-Elysees and all the main streets of Paris glittered with the smiling face of the Maharaja," says Hutheesing, about the gala opening night held on February 9.

A collaborative effort between the Pierre Berge-Yves Saint Laurent Foundation and The Hutheesing Heritage Foundation, with Ju00e9ru00f4me Neutres and Umang Hutheesing as commissioners, the ongoing exhibition showcases a cohesive collection of Indian royal costumes worn between 1911 and 1947. "It encapsulates a dramatic era when European and Indian fashion blended in the grand Indian durbar of King George V and Queen Mary.

European motifs -- rose, chandelier and grapes --u00a0influenced Indian clothing," says Hutheesing, who is the heir to one of the first royal families of Gujarat that traces its lineage back 1,200 years.

A period marked by the furious exchange of creative ideas ended in 1947 with India's independence, dropping the curtains on what Hutheesing calls the "end of the splendid period of the Maharajas".

Hutheesing's Ahmedabad-based family residence, the Hutheesing Haveli is the largest private museum, housing more than 2,000 pieces of textiles and jewellery from the Mughal and British Raj.