Entering Jatin Malik’s flagship store that recently opened its doors in Kala Ghoda in Mumbai, one is instantly drawn to the 15ft-high hand-embroidered sherwani adorning one corner, while a huge turban shaped dome in the middle of the store makes for the perfect backdrop for the Gram. The muted champagne pink colour palette draws your attention to the clothes on display. The couturier’s vision for grooms wear has made him one of the foremost names in menswear in the country. With his new store, Malik hopes to take the art and fashion conversation ahead. Edited excerpts from an interview:
You have a store in Delhi but what is special about this flagship store in Mumbai?
The Mumbai store has been in the works for the last four years now. I wanted to open one here immediately after the Delhi store launch but two COVID lockdowns led to it being delayed twice. I have been fascinated by the Kala Ghoda area because of my preoccupation with art. We literally amalgamate art in fashion. The paintings you see inside our stores are done by us inhouse. This is something that we take a lot of pride in and that is the connection with the Kala Ghoda market. We are across 25-26 locations across the globe and the Mumbai store is one of the jewel crowns that I wanted for the past four years now.
Tell us about the collections that are currently there at the Mumbai store.
The main collection, which comprises almost 70 per cent of what you see at the store, is our wedding couture. Then we recently launched our collection in Paris called JMC in Paris — a collection of western silhouettes with cubism art form details. The jackets are hand painted and hand embroidered, and at the same time have a contemporary touch to them. The third collection at the store currently is the prêt wear which is your daily wear — casual with classic cuts. Shoes and accessories are also available at the store.
The markets are flooded with bridal wear. How did you come to choose grooms wear as your field of interest?
That is exactly what I wanted to change. I have been in the whole designing/styling/helping my friends in that space for quite some time. Whenever I would visit an Indian wedding couture store, I would always notice how a tiny corner at the end of the store would be allocated to menswear while the rest of the store dedicated to bridal wear. I have always been an advocate of placing menswear on the same pedestal as womenswear. I am a first-hand witness of how the grooms wear/menswear industry has transformed into what it is today.
How did you get started in the fashion industry?
I had a regular job which I quit and didn’t tell my family I had resigned from it for almost a year. I would step out of the house every day and go to markets such as Chandni Chowk to look for fabrics. I created a Facebook page and for the initial six months, I put my own wardrobe on the page. I would model my own clothes, requesting the vegetable seller or security guard to take my pictures on the terrace of the building because I couldn’t afford a photographer or a model. I would request my friends to wear my creations and pay me only if they liked them. That is how it started and at the age of 29, I launched my own label.
From getting sabzi wallas to click your pictures to showcasing Indian craftsmanship at the Milan Fashion Week in 2019, how do you see your journey?
I want to build — and I say this with utter humility — the biggest fashion house from India. This is not just a business for me. My wiring is slightly crooked because I cannot imagine doing anything else. There is no plan B, which is the reason I reached where I am. I joke around with my team that I will be working till the last day of my life because I love my job so much. I started as a one-man show and today we have more than 100 people working with us in the company. There have been a lot of ups and downs in this journey and it has truly been amazing.
What according to you are the fashion trends in grooms wear for 2023?
The trends keep changing. However, comfort has become the keyword and also, it is not as rigid and structured as it used to be. For instance, people are pairing sneakers with sherwanis these days. I was an advocate of open sherwanis and they have become one of the bestseller categories now. I want my groom to be comfortable and at the same time, I have not shied away from using heavy embroidery on the garments. Versatility and functionality are the design backbones of our brand and I put a lot of effort into creating a garment which can be used later on as well.
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