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Kiara Advani, Kangana Ranaut to Nora Fatehi: REGAL celeb looks in Designer of the week: JJ Valaya
In a tete-a-tete with the designer of the week, the ace designer spills beans on career-defining moments and more.
JJ Valaya is today one of the biggest names in India's Luxury fashion scene. The ace designer started his tryst with fashion 30 years ago and has been through his fair share of ups and downs. The 54-year-old took the basic chevron print and gave it a trendy and luxurious take by incorporating it in his designs, so much so that the print runs synonymous with his label.
He showcased his latest collection, Rumeli at the Lakme Fashion Week Autumn/Winter showcase in 2021. While there have been many unforgettable moments, in his 30-year career span, he calls two that truly defined his career. "The 2 most radical ones I took at age 22 and age 50. Both seemed and looked disruptive then but ended up being my best decisions! The first was in the late ’80s when I decided to quit working on a career in Chartered accountancy and chose to follow my creative spirit and join NIFT at a time when fashion was not considered a profession at all in India. The second was a few years back when I decided to take a sabbatical to relook at my work and dreams..both were hard resets that completely redefined my life!" he opens up.
The designer has also seen trends come and go in his time. We are curious about what designer known for taking his inspiration from Art Deco believes has ensured the Chevron print still remains relevant. "My love for the super loved “Valaya Shifting leaves Chevron” emerged out of a popular form from the Art Deco period but tweaked with an Indian sensibility and royal lineage," he explains about his prints. "More than a decade back, we changed the original form of the classic Chevron and reshaped and realigned it to give it an all-new and timeless language…it is exhilarating to see that the result is loved by so many."
Stepping into fashion with no backing after working as a CA has got to be daunting. Was there anything that nobody prepared him for? "I absolutely love the industry and everything good and not so good that comes with it… it's actually an amazing place… a realm where fantasy and reality coexist….we just need to be ourselves and not try too hard to be someone else….the joy of creation is the biggest high …and all it takes is enjoying your work and celebrating it in entirety…then one simply has to enjoy people enjoying it as well," he says sounding nonchalant.
For an industry highly dependent on Bollywood, designers were believed to have only 'arrived' if a celebrity was seen wearing their outfits. But its not the case anymore. For Valaya, who gained couture status with barely any help from celebrities, "Fashion, style is the ultimate champion and for me, what matters is how people feel when they were my clothes or live in homes designed by me or when they’re photographed by me….eventually true success for me is measured by how I make others feel," he says and adds, "Celebrities are looked upon as successful individuals and are celebrated as aspirational icons…no harm in that."
The ace designer's dream collaboration would have been with Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld. But there is also a common misconception that the general crowd has towards designers. "A common misconception (is) that fashion is frivolous and designers have a glamorous life and little work to do can be a nag, yet, nothing matters when you know that you're honest to yourself and to what you do," he says before signing off.
