Sultan of glitzerland
Model: Tamara Moss Photographer: Vibhash Tiwari
Working day and night to chase his dreams was never hard work for designer Suneet Varma, but encapsulating the milestones on the path of this fascinating journey in a compact volume was definitely a task for this couturier. Ten years ago, when Suneet decided to pen his thoughts about the world of fashion, he went through the classic “cold feet” experience. Thankfully, he overcame his fears and decided to create a coffee-table book titled Suneet Varma, which gives an insight into the world of fashion though the eyes of the designer.
Talking about his love for books, Suneet mentions that from a very young age he found books to be great company. He says, “I am a voracious reader and whenever I get time I read a book from cover to cover. I read books on art, European history, architecture, and the Indian and European classics, from the lyrical poetry of Shakespeare to Kamasutra, they all taught me all I know about life. I believe that books stay longer than you do, so I always wanted to write a book.”
The book has around 500 images in colour and black and white, and written by Nishat Fatima. Suneet says, “The pictures in the book were shot by photographer Prabuddha Dasgupta, who tragically passed away before the book was completed. We also have pictures contributed by photographers like Bharat Sikka, Tarun Khiwal, Farrokh Chothia, Hemant Khandelwal and Vibash Tiwari, who have captured the essence of my fashion sensibilities through their lens.”
The dapper designer, who is celebrating his 25 years in the fashion, mentions that the book is a summation of his career in fashion industry so far. He reveals, “Through this book I have relived my entire fashion career. I flipped through more than 10,000 pictures from my archive, and traced the 25 most influential people in my life and Indian fashion industry. We interviewed my first student at NIFT Shalini Sood, my first assistant designer Nandita Basu, my contemporaries in the industry and many others. It even talks about my first label Karma, and the ancient Indian handicrafts like zardosi, appliqué and various embroideries.”
In the book, Suneet traces the growth of Indian fashion industry and his personal evolution as a designer, artist and an individual. “From my early years as a sketch enthusiast to my experiences at Yves Saint Laurent in Paris, there are personal anecdotes in this book. To me fashion is all about telling a story. It captures the change in modern Indian textile and clothing industry, as well as the overall growth of the Indian fashion market,” he concludes.
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