If you can be inspired by sedate Japanese style and transform it into an orange-and-gold brocade bandhgala, if you can team a baby pink jacket with an ochre-shaded pant and round it all off with pink socks, you must be a man named Nari.
Designer Narendra Kumar Ahmed, fondly called Nari in the fashion fraternity, believes men's clothing is more of a process of looking inward.
While most designers like to stick to the more lucrative and colourful world of women's wear, Nari has stuck it out for menswear (of course, he has a women's wear line too). Showing off the features on the brocade orange tab jacket, Nari says, “People have been seeing blues and greys for the longest time. When they start with fashion, people want to be conservative… but there comes a point of saturation.” And such men are willing to experiment on occasions and widen their suit palette to valiantly include even silken wine red.
Narendra Kumar was in Bangalore recently to launch his range of menswear at the stores of the city's legendary suit-makers, P.N. Rao. “There are few people with a vision for menswear and P.N. Rao is definitely one of them. They understand the market here and have a strong tailoring base. For menswear that's a priority — to be able to take the right measurements,” is how Nari explains his collaboration with the suit-makers who've been in the business since 1923! Of course, there's golden jacquard fabric for the groom with traditional paisley motifs, and there are traditional beiges too. But everything has a contemporary twist — like the kimono-inspired tux lapels, the loop button, or the Samurai-inspired cross-strap suit in steely metallic grey. “When I design something, I always ask myself: ‘Will I wear this?'” says Nari. And then adds “The idea is to not go too far away and scare people.”
While the lucre lies in designing women's wear and wedding trousseaus, Nari says menswear is underrated, has much potential, but is seen as unglamorous — which is why there aren't too many players. He's also one of the very few designers who's in the high-end couture range as well as prêt lines of various brands like Provogue and Killer — he even designs denims. “Denim is an area where you want to express your philosophy to the youth market… otherwise you get aged very quickly. It's important that we are able to speak to different segments of the market,” says the savvy and practical designer. Some of his shirts in the prêt lines can be had for even Rs. 1,200.
His astute marketing instincts come from the marketing graduate in him who once sold milk and beer bottles, and photocopying machines! “I liked fashion and was initiated into it by my father who was a stickler for Burton suits made in London,” is how Nari describes his transition in careers. “I didn't want to end up like any other marketing guy…”
So when the first batch of applications were invited for the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Nari decided he was lucky to have found an avenue for his passion. He quickly joined a garment manufacturing company and did their dupatta matching to gain experience in the fashion field in order to be able to apply to NIFT! “I needed to do it. And I joined the course because I knew the fashion market was going to pan out in the next few years.”
Once he graduated from NIFT, he did what would be hara-kiri in the fraternity today, where everybody aspires to go straight to the ramp and sell — he decided to stay back and teach. “It's a passion… it's about giving knowledge. I felt that my faculty was holding something back… almost treating it as a secret. I don't believe in keeping someone down to climb up over them,” says Nari, who is still mentor, jury, advisor at NIFT. “At NIFT I got to learn a way of thinking… that's what fashion really is.”
“Fashion is not just about making beautiful clothes. It's just a part of who we are…it's being a conduit…” he pauses to wait for it all to sink in. “For us fashion is about how we in Indi are changing as a people. I'm not inspired by the Taj Mahal; I'm inspired by the people.”
