On a balmy evening, a day before Suket Dhir is to attend an interactive session ‘The Sartorial Modernist’ at Evoluzione, the global menswear fashion superstar of sorts reminisces over his creative journey. Though ‘quirky’ has been repeatedly used to describe Suket’s style and persona, in truth, he defies every categorisation.
Talking of his collection Play, which is available at Evoluzione in Bengaluru till the end of this month, Suket says, “In this collection, I have re-imagined Mughal miniature paintings. The motifs are a re-imagination of Maharajas doing contemporary activities. They still wear their traditional Maharaja clothes, but instead of going on shikhaar (hunting) they are shown playing golf. There are Maharani’s sakhis (friends) taking selfies under trees. This is just a fun little take on our traditions.”
Suket shot to fame by winning the 2016 International Woolmark Prize Menswear, but the creatively prolific designer’s ability to break all barriers in the fashion world has led him to create some unique collections.
Suket, though, attributes his rise to fame to serendipity. “I had this invite from LIFW to send in my entry to Woolmark. I had no plans of doing so because it was at a time when my father and I were discussing shutting down the business. Those were stressful times, men’s wear is a tough business to sustain financially. I used to make beautiful, simple clothes but I thought of myself as a ramp designer. I have come to realise that I am born to design. I have great ideas, yet I lack confidence. I can be cocky, yes. At the same time, there is an undercurrent of second-guessing myself. I discussed sending my entry to Woolmark with my mentor, Professor Asha Bakshi, who taught me in NIFT. She said you are going to send in your entry and you are winning it.”
In another stroke of luck, suiting brand Raymond approached him in 2015 to create their linen collection. “They already short-listed me, they just wanted me to name my price. I was under-confident then too, but also desperate because we weren’t making much money. They asked us to do 210 to 250 odd garments in just 25 days, and I only had eight tailors. I had a great team, and we did it! The money I got from that show was the money I used to make my Woolmark entry garment.”
He adds: “Raymond has a stiff image. Our collection is an example of our departure from Raymond being stiff. It was sort of a turning point for them and it was certainly so for me. Our collection is a Western line, but it is also soulful, airy, and had a perfect summer vibe. It almost felt like the complete man became more complete.”
For the collection, he used kasuti, an embroidery style from Dharwad, Karnataka. “I used kasuti because I am particular that both the inside and outside of my jackets should look good.”
Showing the embroidery on his red shirt, Suket says, “This is a mulmul jamdani shirt. Women enjoy the most beautiful fabrics, why can’t we wear them? And it is a hot country, we should design clothes that can be worn even in 40 degrees weather.”
