when Narendra Kumar enters the room,the first thing he does is notice this writers t-shirt. Thierry Mugler,eh? he says,referring to the name scrawled across the front,Mugler is one of my biggest inspirations. He made clothes like they were cut with a knife. Hes one of the greatest tailors in fashion,along with Claude Montana,Azzedine Alaia and the late Alexander McQueen. In fact,one of Kumars proudest days was when Montana was seated in the front row of one of his shows. I went up to him and told him that hed been my guru in absentia. Like Dronacharya was for Eklayva, he explains. Life has come full circle for the Indian designer. Kumar,or Nari as he is lovingly called in the fashion fraternity,is now not just a designer hes a guru as well,often lecturing at one of Indias premier fashion institutes,NIFT. Dressed casually in jeans and a Bruce Springsteen t-shirt,but sans his trademark hat which is sitting on his sketching table Kumar expounds his philosophy. Teaching is a fulfilling job on many levels. I like motivating the new generation of designers and opening their eyes to the world of fashion. Its great to give them such opportunities. Kumar was,in fact,instrumental in the GenNext category being introduced when the Lakme Fashion Week first took off 10 years ago. Even as we talk,droves of students teem in and out of his studio in Lower Parel,and one can see that Kumar practices what he preaches. Possibly one of Indian fashions greatest democrats,Kumar believes that fashion needs to be made accessible. Thats the reason he has long collaborated with mass brands like Westside and Provogue. At the upcoming Lakme Fashion Week in March,hes presenting a line for Killer Jeans. His mission now is to ensure that denim gets a more exalted place in the fashion world. Were not just giving surface embellishments or experimenting with washes. Well give denim a couture edge. One of the busiest designers in the country,the forever young designer will be opening the Kolkata Fashion Week later this month and post the LFW,has a show at the Indian Premiere London Fashion Week in April. A whole bunch of us will be showcasing our collections in Brick Lane,London. Its a first time for any country which other nation has organised an entire fashion week abroad? Hes also gung-ho about a charity show that his label is organising for the Tanzanian government. Itll be our first couture line and Im very excited about it, he says. A packed schedule suits Kumar. It keeps me on my toes. I work from nine in the morning to nine in the night and then hit the gym,followed by dinner and possibly a party. I get a good seven hours of sleep and thats enough for me, he says,People say I party every night,but thats work too. I go out there to find out what everyone is wearing and what theyre talking about. I have to be clued in to the fashion zeitgeist because thats where I find my inspiration. Kumar has always looked on his work as being more than about clothes. In a way,were reflecting the cultural obsessions of our society. You could say our work is partly social anthropology, says the designer,who,in 2008,had his models walk down the ramp,bound with bloodied rags,to reflect cultural intolerance. More famously,he had models march down the catwalk in 2006,in pindrop silence,protesting against the Fashion Design Council of India which barred him from participating in Delhis India Fashion Week. Designer,one-time fashion editor for Elle India,writer,movie stylist,teacher and party-animal Kumar has had his fingers in many pies. But its tomorrows dreams that continually animate him. I think interior designing is very exciting,and Id love to design sportswear. But my dream is to design a line of Narendra Kumar shoes. That would be fabulous, he says wistfully. GenNexters* Varun Sardana* Nachiket Barve* Pankaj & Nidhi* Anand Kabra* Rahul Anand
