’Copies don’t survive’

Fashion designers for 23 years, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla talk about the details that go into making a thing of beauty

Fashion designers for 23 years, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla talk about the details that go into making a thing of beauty

1 There are no short cuts

It's not simple, it's a lot of hard work; there are no shorts cuts in life. Fashion is not all glamour, hair, makeup music, clothes and dance. The reality is tough, requires dedication and hard work. Every time you climb 10 steps you come down two to climb the next few. Hard work pays

2 Originality as a way of life
You have to constantly be thinking. You have to put your thinking cap on to go far because somebody will take over if you don't think original. Copies don't survive.

3 Our creative muse
India is our hugest inspiration. We are proud to be Indian, we are always going to promote our culture and our clothes are all about contemporary India, as well as revivalist India. We never live in the past where India is concerned. Our work is predominately Indian but it's moving ahead and it does not live in past.

4 You can never be mediocre
What we have done over the years is not only train our eyes to be finer but our customers, who have developed with us, to demand finer things. So now they can make out the difference between what is fine and what is mediocre. We have strived to do better. Nothing in our lives is chalta hai. You survive in this business if you are mediocre but it's not something we want to associate with. We strive to be better. Mediocre is not our way of living and we have chosen to not be in that path.

5 Respect your partner
Over the years, where work is concerned, we have always had different points of view and we will always have different points of view because that is how the best comes out. We are different people but we always come to the best meeting point and the ultimate product gets the benefit. A lot of understanding and mutual respect has to be there. We tread on each other's emotions with care and we try not to overstep ourselves.

6 Respect your client
We have always respected our clientele. Every famous person we have met has been through our work. They have loved our work and we have shown them utmost respect. We never take anybody for granted. I'm sure we must have made mistakes but we never take anybody or any situation for granted u00e2u0080u0093 things change constantly. And in fashion, change is constant in any case. Right from the tailors to the people who are the buyers to our entire staff to celebrities you have to give them yourself; that's how an establishment grows. That's how you get a following who have faith in you and your clothes.

7 Dreams come true
If we were asked to style a movie we would not be able to do that. If a project is inspiring enough then we would like to do it. Devdas was the most classic inspiration where drama and costume is concerned. The director was also inspiring. It was our fantasy come alive to dress up Chandramukhi and Devdas. It was a dream project where we were concerned. Dreams do come true. So nobody should stop dreaming.

8 You have never arrived
You have to keep doing things in life to keep you inspired. You cannot get stagnated. You could have never arrived. At various stations you are arriving at various stages of life. You can never say that your best has come because it still has to come. We push ourselves constantly.

9 Surround yourself with positive people
If you surround yourself with certain kind of people and relationships, it's a wonderful way of learning. It's not just about having a good time because a lot of times you surround yourself with people who are just having a good time. It's about meeting people who are positive and who you can grow with.

10 We need to join shopaholics and foodaholics anonymous
To cure ourselves of all beautiful things and our want for delicious food. There are so many places where we have eaten that we can't pick one. Abu is a fantastic cook; I can just make tea.

Collection, The Dance of Decadence, that opens HDIL's Couture Week today, has eight ranges eight different types of embroidery, influences and colour palettes.)

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels