But I never left! he argues

Mumbai-based couturieru00a0 Shahab Durazi has been absent from the sundry fashion weeks that unfold every year in India. His last solo show in 2005 lingers like a faint memory. This year, he is in the mood to
abolish the title of 'urban legend' as he readies to make a fashion week debut with HDIL India Couture Week as final ufffd designer on October 9.



The interview is set for 10.30 am. He is four minutes late. It's been a while since I've focused this hard on my BlackBerry screen, patiently waiting for John Mayer's Why Georgia caller tune to melt into, "Hi, this is Shahab". He is on.
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I am interviewing India's last-standing reticent designer (He was last photographed in 1999). They don't make them like him anymore. And when we chat, he turns out to be a dose in honesty punctuated with easy humour:
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The Internet is buzzing with reports of how the final ufffd will mark your return to fashion.
I find that amusing. I never left fashion. My livelihood is fashion. But fashion shows are not the only meter gauge for a designer's talent. I didn't participate at fashion weeks because I don't design pr t. How can I show couture on a ready-to-wear platform?u00a0u00a0u00a0

So why the decision to do HDIL India Couture Week?
The couture week property is relatively new in India; barely three years old. I was meant to take part last year, but things didn't pan out as planned. This year, I am here. Next year, I may or may not participate.