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Passion for Fashion The Satya Paul label has come a long way from its low-key 1985 launch to become an internationally recognised Indian label. The fashion house is ramping up production across all lines
By Nishtha Shukla
		They say, style never goes out of fashion. By that maxim, the sari, the oldest fad in Indian fashion, still remains in vogue after a few thousand years. The aesthetic and magical Indian sari, which provocatively dares to hug the feminine figure without revealing much of it, has been a hit on the local and international ramps. Admired by everyone from billionaire beauty Jemima Goldsmith to the dowdy Cherie Blair, this 6½ yard piece of fabric has gained acceptance across cultures. And with the merging of boundaries across the globe, the sari is also one of India's best cultural exports. From Zandra Rhodes' drapes using Venkatgiri cottons and Maheshwaris to John Galliano's sari/tunic at the Paris Fashion Week recently, the sari has always had Western lovers.

Leading the show in India is Satya Paul, one of India’s finest fashion houses, making contemporary saris since 1985. The designer label was launched in 1985 and it specialises in saris and couture lines. What’s so special about their sari? “It is 6½ yards of pure fantasy. We are promoting the Indian experience and selling it. So we have modern as well as abstract prints and our designers treat the sari as a canvas,” says Sanjay Kapoor, managing director, Satya Paul. The brand has lived up to its appreciation for the sari, and since its inception, it has artistically played with the garment to create different looks at different times to suit the needs of women. Back then they concentrated on their work and went about transforming the sari in different styles, hues and motifs. Till only a few years back, Satya Paul was a brand that relied only on its work and gained due currency in the fashion world. A brand that probably has today’s most manifest signature. Puneet Nanda, the creative head of the label says, “For many years we let the product do the talking. Since the past few years we have altered this. We did some solo shows and premium shows in the late 1980s. Twelve years later, with the country’s economy improving, we thought of reaching out to more people.”
The label is now trying to live down its reputation as a high-profile designer brand for the elite. With the middle-class clambering on to the fashion brandwagon, Satya Paul is going full throttle towards becoming a more accessible and known tag. Today, the brand is focusing on dressing the modern woman with its prêt collection ‘U’, which is about honest, affordable clothing. Indians are now ready to invest in clothing and designer traditional wear is becoming especially popular with more and more people. At a time like this, a brand that experiments with the sari becomes a favourite.

Satya Paul has always been experimenting with the look of the sari-with religious motifs or even with cartoons, by giving it a kurta or a trouser look, to transforming the sari for the corporate woman or for the party girl at a cocktail. All the while maintaining the sari’s sensuous attribute.

Where the saris went according to the local areas and its tradition-from Kanjeevaram to Banarasi and Kota saris-with the launch of this designer label, these boundaries were blurred and the label started experimenting with the garment like never before. “We experiment with the cut, drape, weave, fabric, make it a skirt, a lungi, a trouser,” says Nanda.

With this experimentation with the sari to suit the tastes of the contemporary woman, came the Kanjeevaram that can be worn as Jodhpur pants, the sari wore like a trouser, or the sari that can be worn with a denim jacket. “We did the designer sari which was woven to suit lifestyles across the world. We do that with a sense of respect and dignity to our tradition but understanding of the modern times.” This fusion of traditional Indian and western wear has made the brand popular with Indian women from across society’s spectrum.

Be it couture or prêt-a-porter, saris or ties, Satya Paul is a recognised brand across the globe. But only recently has it bagged some serious publicity with its brand tieups, social initiatives and by roping in big names from the glamour world for its various initiatives.
One of the more engaging events has been the Satya Paul show in which the lead is the bespectacled geeky girl Jassi. The other lead Rakshanda Khan wears Satya Paul saris and the company also has its ties in the show. Says Kapoor, “Jassi is about taking fashion to the masses. And television is about reaching the masses. The show was an eye-opener that many more people are ready to wear our clothes.”

The label is now spilling over into smaller towns as well. It recently opened a store in Nagpur and plans to open 12 new stores in India in Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Indore. Two more outlets are in store for Delhi.

Satya Paul has also done community initiatives to associate itself with social causes. Take the women’s cancer initiative for breast cancer that it undertook with the Tata Memorial Centre. It launched the Think Pink Collection for this initiative with polkas on various drapes-where the pink dot stands for the cause of breast cancer. This was run across Indian cities as well as places like Dubai, with top models like Diana Hayden and Aditi Govitrikar, and celebrities like Aishwarya Rai taking to the ramp.

It also did a charity show with global fashion brand Cartier’s Panther range of jewellery with Satya Paul couture at events that raised funds for the Arpana trust of which Prince Charles is a patron. Satya Paul is also the maker of the world’s most expensive tie and the most expensive cummerbund, which was prepared with Ishi’s diamonds. The most expensive tie had high-profile endorsements, with celebrities like Bollywood actor Salman Khan walking the ramp for it.

The fashion house is also working with NRIs and have done major shows in cities like London, New York and Nairobi. Until recently only available at select stores abroad, Satya Paul also plans to open its own stores in Dubai and Singapore by the end of the year. Says Kapoor, “Indians living abroad are more in tune with what’s happening in India than we are.” He also says their ‘intellectual fashion’ is a hit with NRIs like their line of poetry on saris. As far as men’s wear goes, they are concentrating on ties. “There is a market in India for path-breaking attire that justifies having men’s wear line but Indian men are not as educated and bothered about fashion as in the West.”

The fashion house is now planning to have an “aqua show” for the cause of tsunami victims in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. The growth of the label is in sync with the growth of the recognition of fashion in India. As of now the brand wants to cater to more people. “It is good enough that we are present in people’s lives,” is Nanda’s parting shot.