I CANNOT imagine anyone in fashion who wouldn’t want to be Gaurav Gupta in 2023. The talented young designer is having the most amazing start to a year ever. Celebrities have worn it on all the world’s biggest red carpets, from the Academy Awards to the Grammy Awards. He made his debut at the very elite Paris Haute Couture Week. And he just relocated his and remodeled his Mumbai boutique into an architectural marvel.
She’s also gearing up to relaunch her fabulous ready-to-wear line at Neiman Marcus this summer, no less. Whoa, I need to sit down.
“Something magical has been happening with us for the past two years. But it’s been in the works for a while. It has taken a lot of perseverance, teamwork and hard work. And I have to say that I am lucky and grateful to have the right members of the team”, the 44-year-old humbly shares the credit for his success. It all started for him when he dressed American rapper Megan Thee Stallion for the Oscars last year. Then Mary J Blige for the Time 100 Gala, Maluma for the Latin Billboard Awards, Lizzo, Kylie Minogue, Luis Fonzi, Ashanti, Cardi B… the list is exhausting. Much of this, Gupta says, is attributed to his LA-based public relations agent, Hema Bose. “She is a culture driver, not just a brand strategist and VIP outfit specialist. She’ll put you in the right kind of celebrity, making sure she upholds the brand’s legacy. All the celebrities we dress are change agents.”
Gupta’s showcase at Paris Haute Couture Week was a fantastic debut and was widely covered by major international media outlets. “I had been dreaming about it when I was a student at Central Saint Martins,” she laughs. “I mean, a few thousand designers apply and only 28 get chosen to show on the main calendar. That has to be something. It was exciting, I felt like I was at home”.
Home has always been a vibe for Gupta. In Paris, she worked with models, girls and trans from all over the world. Her stylist had also worked with Jean Paul Gaultier, her hairstylist was another famous name, everything else was equally euphoric. “Navki said that she was at home”
Navkirat Sodhi, the poet and author, is also his home. The two have been best friends since school and have lived together for over a decade. They share a platonic relationship, but Gupta insists that both he and Sodhi don’t believe in boxes or labels. “We don’t understand the concepts of marriage or gender, we just have a feeling of pure love, so we decided to be life partners. We are twin flames,” he explains.
Sodhi along with his brother Saurav and their parents organized the opening of the Mumbai store. It was dotted with movie stars and caused traffic to stop several blocks away. “The store is 6,000 square feet and has three floors. In the eight years since our folder shop in Kala Ghoda, the business has also grown. We were among the first brands in Kala Ghoda, long before it became the fashion and dining hub it is today. And we wanted to have a much more special space, not just a fashion space to shop in,” she says.
Designed by Delhi-based architect Vishal Dhar, the all-white, skylit space is a tribute to the concept of zero, or Shunya, Gupta’s last muse. “The pillars of our brand have been fantasy, surrealism, the primitive future, and all of this culminates in the concept of Shunya, or infinity. It’s conceptually like multiple zeroes flying through the air, landing on the building and turning it into a store. Dhar is not just an architect, he is an artist,” says Gupta. Gaurav Gupta sells in five stores in India, two in New Delhi and one in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
Gupta’s approach to bridal wear, the main course of Indian fashion, if you will, is subversive. The shapes are like frozen waves and wire curtains, each dress an engineering marvel unto itself. The embroidery on him is also unconventional, like lightning bolts all over the body. “It was definitely a challenge to sell them. We are a very conceptual brand and India is a very commercial market. People thought I was an alien. I mean, everyone said it was the future, but how would we make money now? he smiles. He invented a sari with a twist, ruched like a Grecian curtain and embroidered with rough leather flowers. Newer versions of sarees and sari dresses appeared. Hybrid beauties who had girlfriends, their moms, mother-in-law, and others lining up for this new kind of sexy.
For a label that launched in 2005, Gaurav Gupta is hardly naive. His statuesque gowns are elaborate, hard to store, and harder to wear repeatedly. But he is still the favorite of the brides. “It’s been beautiful to see that we’ve developed a culture and evolved with the culture. Most weddings have two or three big events and one or two of them are ours,” he smiles.
Gupta says his business is still family-owned, and this is huge for a brand with so many significant accomplishments. “We feel comfortable financially and much of what we earn goes back into the business,” he explains. He has opened a giant workshop in Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, so his artisans and workers have a nice place to call office and are happy to come to work. I insist on the
Namrata Zakaria is a seasoned writer and editor, and a chronicler of social and cultural trends. Her first book, about the late fashion designer Wendell Rodricks’ Moda Goa museum, is due out shortly. Zakaria is especially known for her insider insight into fashion, luxury and social entrepreneurship in India. Her writing is prized for shaping opinions, busting myths, making reputations, and sometimes breaking an odd career. Ella Zakaria is also involved in organizing philanthropic efforts in the field of economic and environmental sustainability.
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