ASHISH N. SONI & KALYANI S. CHAWLA
At Your Service
TEXT BY NIKKI DUGGAL / PHOTOGRAPHED BY DAVID MATTHIESSEN
Le CITY deluxe INDIA took a mall stroll with designer extraordinaire – Ashish N. Soni – and Dior ambassador in India – Kalyani S. Chawla, at the city’s fashionable hangout – the super luxe DLF Emporio, while the two chatted about the good old days, the fashion scene in Delhi today, and a friendship that’s endured over the years.
ON EACH OTHER KSC: Ashish is one of my oldest friends and one of the first people I met in Delhi. We were neighbours and spent a number of afternoons together at this basement which he used to work out of. I’m a huge admirer of his work and have worn his clothes for many years now. Honestly, I feel that he’s one of the most talented designers in India. But more than anything else, he’s my buddy.
they were going to do, and how they were going to do it. Each day was literally like an experiment. I was in the second batch at NIFT, along with Abu ( Jani), Sandeep (Khosla) and Rohit Khosla. Gudda (Rohit Bal) had begun a year or two before that while Suneet (Varma) had just come back from London. Technically we were glorified tailors. There were no stores, there was nothing. I had to find a sponsor even to do one show in a year! My first show cost me two-three lakh which was big money those days. To answer your question – I feel like I want to start all over again. Having been through all of this in the last 20 years, I’m taken with what I can do over the next two decades. It almost feels like I’ve been through this really long internship…
ANS: I don’t think many people know Kalyani the way I know her…I’ve seen different facets of her in different phases of her life… She’s always been ambitious and it’s admirable what she’s achieved in the last 20 years: whether it was running a factory in Noida, building a business, selling it, and finally moving on to a position in Dior today. She stepped into a man’s domain and carved out a place for herself.
ON WORKING OVERSEAS KSC: After being an exporter who’s worked closely with the fashion industry in India and is now working with Dior, I find a huge difference: in terms of professionalism, infrastructure and funding, it’s like a different planet. Globally, designers only focus on designing. They are only supposed to design and not worry about garnering sponsorships or selling garments…
ON 20 YEARS IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY KSC: I remember the main road in Greater Kailash… it had hardly any multi-brand stores then. Everyone was struggling those days… but most of the designers came from financially strong backgrounds. Still, how long can you keep pumping in your own money? Ashish had his own money and he did it. There was no fashion industry as such.
ANS: Abroad you’ve really got creative freedom, which comes from not having financial restrictions and other responsibilities. As a result your output goes up as your creative drive scales up. There are other things too…I learnt from the Italians about successful family - run businesses. Everyone in the family works together as a team.
he’s the ultimate survivor and successful entrepreneur who’s worn many hats. He can suit a man as well as any of the world’s top-notch designers, and has known her since they both started out – seeking their fortunes in the world of fashion.
NOV — DEC 2012
ANS: We were lost when we started! 20 years
back everyone was trying to figure out what
ON DIOR
KSC: Dior happened at a time when I was
doing great business: I had a very lucrative and
successful export business. A friend of mine