‘Hemant Trevedi? Is he still around?’

That’s what India’s fashion circles are saying as one of 1990s most-famous faces makes a comeback with an eponymous label after a long hiatus from the public eye

To understand Hemant Trevedi, you have to begin in the paradoxical present and gently peel off the plucky past. And so, this piece begins at the end of our 60-minute interview; Trevedi in a bejeweled pair of spectacles standing slightly hunched, his hands held together, waiting patiently with this writer for the elevator door to open, before he says goodbye.

On an uncharacteristic Tuesday, this interview is scheduled at the studio-office of Purple Style Labs (PSL) in Vile Parle. Uncharacteristic, because Mumbai’s dark curtain of rain decides to wear a diaphanous blue veil on the day. And because it is one of Trevedi’s first media meetings after the launch of his eponymous label since PSL secured the rights to the label, Trevedi will act as creative director of the business vertical. “This time, it’s not Hemant Trevedi for PSL or Hemant Trevedi for SDS, like it was in the past when I played the role of consultant. To have my own label at this late a stage of my life is quite amazing,” he thinks.  

Hemant Trevedi’s comeback collection under his own label is called Paradoxical Shadows, and its campaign features Rakshitha Harimurthy, Namrata Shetty and Reshma Bombaywala, sweeping across an age group of 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. “I’d love to shoot my clothes with a woman in her 50’s,” says Trevedi. Pic courtesy/Farrokh Chothia

To put Trevedi’s reticence into context, here’s a bit of background. He has participated only once in Lakmé India Fashion Week as the finale designer with the late Wendell Rodricks. This was in 2003 at Mumbai’s National Centre for the Performing Arts. After investing four decades and 40 birthdays in the Indian fashion industry, the news of a label launch sounds quaint, surely brutish too, but Trevedi at 61 shows no signs of remorse. His outlook, instead, is that of a slightly bemused spectator with wide-eyed eagerness to begin a new chapter. To wit: His new collection, Paradoxical Shadows, went live on the night of July 19 on social media, and the next day, he seemed sincerely chuffed that he had already made a first sale.

Abhishek Agarwal, founder and CEO at PSL, believes, in the next three to five years, the growth of the Hemant Trevedi label as a commercial designer brand, will pleasantly surprise the Indian fashion industry. “When I started PSL six years ago, one of the goals was to work with Indian legacy designer brands and transform them into mainstream luxury brands globally. When I met Hemant a few months ago, I realised he was a perfect match for PSL’s vision,” Agarwal says in an email interview.

Trevedi flanked by makeup artist Michelle Tung and model Ujjwala Raut at a shoot in Sri Lanka, sometime in the mid-1990’s. Pic courtesy/Farrokh Chothia

As an Indian legacy designer, Hemant Trevedi, is possibly a terrific time-travel machine. Or in his words: “I am an old boy in the business.” 

As the first male student to graduate in the history of Perth Technical College of Fashion Design in 1980, Trevedi returned to Mumbai and walked straight into the job of professor at SNDT Women’s University. “I was 20, with long hair that had blue streaks, and boots. I had the likes of Anita Dongre in my class,” he laughs. This was closely followed by an invitation from the Ministry of Textiles to set up the country’s first National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in New Delhi. Only two designers were called for the job, Trevedi and Elsa D’Souza.  

He met Shilpa Shah of the iconic textile brand Garden Vareli during this period and found himself drawn to styling and choreography, and making clothes. He joined Sheetal Design Studio (SDS) in 1990 as executive fashion director, starting a 28-year-old stint that would fold up in 2018 because of “financial issues”. “Before SDS, our country didn’t have a design studio with names like Manish Malhotra and Aki Narula.”

And it was during a shoot for one of the campaigns at Mahalaxmi’s Famous Studios, that Trevedi’s shiny career in grooming and designing gowns for India’s beauty pageant contestants was activated. “This young girl with light eyes and brown hair carrying a plastic bag walked in and asked if she could model in my campaigns. It was Aishwarya Rai Bachchan,” he says with a whiff of drama. Trevedi went on to create pageant gowns also for Diana Hayden, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Dia Mirza, Lara Dutta and Yukta Mookhey.

This streak of wins was abruptly halted by an unfortunate car accident in 2000 while Trevedi was driving to Mumbai airport to catch a flight to Ahmedabad where he was booked as chief guest at the National Institute of Design. He was 39. “Boom! My life changed. I am still recovering. I had to relearn how to talk and walk. I used to be an athlete, a passionate runner. I don’t run anymore,” he says with a broken smile. “If not for the accident, I’d have had more time to do more… or maybe, the accident taught me to be less arrogant, more tolerant.”

His one regret through the darkness is, “not getting married”. “I didn’t find the right woman.” 

How do you feel?
“Overwhelmed. After the accident, I was given a new lease of life, a new design journey. A lot of people had forgotten about me: ‘Hemant Trevedi? He’s still around?’ Well, I am showing them I am.”

When was the big moment when you decided to launch the label?
“Last year was difficult for most of us. With the shuttering of fashion schools, I suddenly found myself out of work and with no income since I made a living from playing mentor at leading design schools. We also saw a spike in mental health issues. I had let go of my domestic help, and was alone at my Pali Hill residence for most of 2020, which made my family and close friends worry about my well being.
Early December, in a state of desperation, I called up the incredible Anita Dongre. She still calls me her ‘guru’. I told her, ‘Darling, the tables have turned and I am calling because things are pretty bad.’ She consulted her brother, Mukesh Sawlani, and called 20 minutes later with an offer, and told me about Abhishek Agarwal of PSL. After meeting the young businessman, we worked out a deal that sounded pretty fair. It was nothing short of a dream come true.”  

Why did you embarrass Tapsee Pannu on the ramp?
“I’m still figuring that one out. I was shocked when I watched the video clip online recently where she talked about her experience as a Miss India participant, where I had allegedly embarrassed her with a rude remark. I don’t want to justify things by saying, I am a perfectionist. In those days, I was pretty strict, like a parent who teaches a child discipline. But, I have never singled a participant out.”

What can we expect from the collection?
“Straight after my accident, 20 years ago, I created an all-white collection titled Divisional Paradox. Through the collection, I wanted to challenge the odds of someone like me coming back to life when everyone including the doctors had given up. Paradoxical Shadows, my new collection for the label, celebrates my rebirth. Again, contradicting the norm that vertical lines make you look slimmer. But if horizontal lines are done carefully, they work wonderfully too. I have refrained from using shiny gota. Instead, developed fabrics from raw silk banded with organza, and ombré dyed. It’s a line of separates available in five colour shades and XS to XL sizes. This is the story of inclusiveness that I want to tell; clothing for every woman, every taste and age.”  

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