Having spent his early life in Zambia, Ashish Soni imbibed an eclectic mix of British and African cultures, which played a major role in shaping his eating habits and fashion sensibilities.
We are sitting at China Kitchen restaurant of New Delhi’s Hyatt Regency and Ashish starts off the conversation by stating his fondness for the place. For Ashish food has a timeless connection with fashion. “There is a big cultural connection between what people wear and the food they eat. Fashion and food are two different expressions of culture.”
Ashish’s archetypal British tailoring and giving a model an Afro haircut at Lakme India Fashion Week recently tells something about his growing up years. . Recalling with fondness his days at the British school in the African nation, Ashish says: “Fried chicken, fried fish used to be served in the hall. Game meat like ostrich, kudu (wildebeest) were eaten in restaurants. Best part is that the meat was cooked in a way that it became tender, chewable. African food was relished by local communities. Maize was the staple diet and locals made it like porridge. A corn meal; it was boiled first and then eaten with lamb, chicken or beef.”
A gourmet, who was adventurous when it came to trying foreign delicacies, Ashish would also look forward to traditional dishes at home. However, there was one rule at the dinner table which he could not contravene. “My mother, a Ph.D. in Hindi, had strict rule for my sister and me. We would be fed only if we spoke in our mother tongue. So dinner conversations would only be in chaste Hindi. And we would eat mostly Indian vegetarian food.”
Life even now revolves around food. Ashish plans his annual holidays in a way that he and his family end up eating at Michelin-starred restaurants. “London is the food capital. We have eaten at all Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants. Last year, we were in Barcelona where we ate at Tickets. Done by Andrea family; it had 18 course menu. This year it was Café Liberty in London. A set menu but long waiting. Now I am looking forward to going to Kenya for Carnivore, which serves only game food.”
During our conversation, Ashish slowly nibbles vegetable fried rice and mushroom. Tempting crab meat dumpling and tofu shrimp mousse are also on the table but he relishes mushroom for its softness, health benefits.
A big change in food from a youngster used to a meat-rich British and African diet to a 40-plus man who eats 70 per cent vegetarian food. “Change has come through marriage. Misha Grewal, my wife, introduced him to vegetarianism. She is a big foodie who has a list of do’s and don’ts. Not eating fried food is one of them. She firmly believes that one’s health is through one stomach. We do a lot of juicing of veggies and fruits.”
Even Ashish’s father-in-law, Ajit Grewal, inculcated in him organic food. And this also played a role in his changed eating habit. “Education in healthy food came from my father-in-law, who left the corporate world to become the first certified organic farmer. Exposure to balanced eating, organic food and the need for blending vegetables, fruits in our diet helped me in,” says Ashish, as a gleaming glass of diet coke, garlic prawns make an appearance.
Ashishstarted off as a model in the last year of his schooling. “As a 10-year-old I would look at fashion catalogue. I would buy fabric, find a picture in the magazine, design my own clothes. But the first show I did as a model was for Rohit Khosla.” .
To help him clear the NIFT exam, which had a mind boggling number of aspiring students sitting for the entrance test, help came from unexpected quarters. “My father told me to file papers for NIFT. Ritu Beri, who was from the first batch, gave me tips on entrance exams. I learnt drawings from Suneet Varma. The American teacher told me that this was the best institute as he had hand picked the best faculty for the two years course. On his advice I forego an opportunity to study fashion in New York.”
His guru Rohit Bal drew from Kashmir but Ashish started off with African landscape and its teeming tribal life as inspiration. “Influences of the Masai Mara could be seen on my clothes. I also did a series of shirts had motifs associated with Bedouin.”
While Ashish resided in posh Greater Kailash, he had his reason for earning a living in down market Lajpat Nagar. “I started off as a designer operating from barsati at Lajpat Nagar. Hard difficult days were those. For six years there was no market. Then liberalisation happened and things began functioning smoothly. When my store recently opened in Defence Colony one of my friends told me that it has taken me 25 years to come to the other side of the road.”
Ashish’s moment of reckoning came when he got an opportunity to showcase his garments at the coveted New York Fashion Week about a decade ago. That was arriving on the centrestage of fashion as he was able to show his mastery in Nehruvian jacket. And from there on jacket, with minimalistic designs, has become his signature. “It was inspired by country’s first Prime Minister. When organisers saw my clothes and invited me to New York I frankly told them that I do not have the money to have a show as everything from model to PR has to be taken care by the designer.”
While the show was a success, Ashish’s dream to settle down in the glitzy fashion world of New York came to a grinding halt as the American economy crashed down. “It was a learning curve for everyone. For three years from 2005-08 I was in New York. My life would have moved in a different trajectory had the economic crash not happened. For young designers aspiring to make it in America my advice is live and work there. Satellite remote control from India would not work. Look at Manish Arora, who stayed in Paris to make it big there. Except for Manish, no other Indian designer has made it big in the West.”
Innovation is the key to march ahead and create a trend. At Lakme Fashion Week, Ashish was in his element as he demonstrated how hairstyles and garments could seamlessly blend together. “To make a trend of girls with voluminous hair opt for big clothes, I made models wear varied wigs. It went with my oversized clothing, which had lot of layering. It became a big seasonal trend. Another innovation was my signature monochromatic colours. This time I used them in a way that they were like a kaleidoscope of colours.” Balancing technical knowledge with practical experience is the need for modern day designer.
For Ashish originality is the essence of design . “Like foreigners, Indians too have to learn the art of refurbishing old discarded material. Even if it is furniture it can still be converted into an aesthetic piece. Soul has to be Indian but we have to see things from the eyes of European. Unless our vision does not match theirs, we cannot get a foothold in the West. We have to retain the soul but incorporate modern tailoring techniques.”
Conversation is interrupted as the plump looking duck arrives. Ashish, like a connoisseur, directs the waiter to slice it into small pieces for him. Seeing my eating style, he recommends that I opt for the roll with the meat stuffed in.
As Ashish skips the dessert, he confides that had he not been a designer, he would have been a chef. “Maybe I would start one day,” he says on the parting note. Food for thought.
