Vikram Phadnis recently celebrated 35 years in the fashion industry with a special showcase, which reflected his journey from working as a choreographer to filmmaker, costume stylist and fashion designer.
The show, hled on 14 October in Mumbai, brought together friends, muses and memories from over the decades. His runway shows have been few since Phadnis turned a filmmaker with two Marathi movies, Hrudayantar and Smile Please (which he is currently remaking in Hindi). But they have always been some of the biggest shows on our calendars during fashion season, with Naomi Campbell and Amitabh Bachchan as show stoppers.
In an interview with Lounge, the designer discusses making it in the industry without formal fashion education, and his thoughts on the Indian fashion industry in 2025. Edited excerpts:
Which actor has been a dream to work with as a costume stylist?
The actor with whom I've had the best journey is Salman, obviously. I've had a great time on a different film with Bebo (Kareena Kapoor Khan), with Lolo (Karisma Kapoor), Priyanka Chopra or with Sushmita (Sen). Every film was a different bond and a different experience. But if I had to just pick one, it would only be Salman.
Your favourite for Salman styling memory for a movie?
Biwi No.1; every look became huge after the film’s release. The orange coat I made for Salman for the song Tenu Leke Mein from Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. It became very popular as well.
What was your real fashion school?
Just observing, and understanding what my take on that observation would be, and what I could get to the table by what I was seeing. Then there was FTV, MTV, a lot of Stardust, Filmfare, Star in Style; there were so many film magazines then. But those were not to learn, those were just to put your work out in the industry. Learning was merely by watching anything that you saw on television.
What made it to your moodboards while working on costumes?
It was just what the director wanted at that point of time. There was no stylist putting things together. We would have discussions with the make up and hair artists, see real life locations—it was all about learning on the job. You needed to have a strong sources for fabrics, tailors, everything was what you knew at that point of time. Today you have 10 international brands at your disposal and the actors can choose.
We used to personally go to sources without assistants, interns or teams. If a piece goes missing from the costumes, the shooting would come on hold, you didn’t have brands and stores who would instantly courier things. The dressman, the needle, the thread, the sewing machine, were most important on sets.
What was your process of creating costumes?
We didn’t have a luxury of extra outfits, heels or jewellery. Everything had to be curated, styled, and crafted for a look much in advance. To be safe, I used to carry a little bit of everything that I would anticipate a scene would require, whether it was tassels, beads, extra zips, huge safety pins—the backup kit used to be the most important thing on set.
Bandra was my haven to buy materials for costumes. Hill Road and Turner Road had these little shops that we frequented. Anwarallys was the only place with imported and stretch fabrics back then.
In the late 90s and early 2000s is when we got to go abroad. Whether I went to London to shop for Salam e Ishq, or I went to Hong Kong for Biwi No 1 and Dulhan Hum Lejaenge, Sajid Nadiadwala or Vashu Bhagnani (both film producers) would just give us a ticket. We didn’t splurge the money and had to be sure of what the film requires, not dozens and bags of clothes, you know?
Favourite peers?
I started as a fashion choreographer first so I entered the industry much earlier. But when Anna Singh, Neeta Lulla and Rocky S started designing and styling, we literally started our careers as costume designers together. There were only a handful of us in this industry and everything was about interpersonal relations between the designers and relationships between designers and actors.
You designed your first capsule collection in 1991 while working on movies…
I had my first exhibition at my home in Bandra. I'd invited friends, family, and people from industry. It was supposed to be a two-day exhibition, but I was sold out on day one. And then I realised, it is in an industry where I can take this out of my home and out of my comfort zone and take this into boutiques and stores. My first collection was a fusion collection because I was still tapping what the market wanted. I've learned a lot on-ground. I've not gone to fashion school but I've always learned from my achievements or failures. Go by your gut. There is no formula to success.
Your favourite memory of your runway firsts?
As a choreographer, it was the GGMA (The Gujarat Garments Manufacturers Association) show in Ahmedabad and we had very senior models like Mehr Jesia, Shyamoli Varma, Shikha Swaroop, Ranjeev Mulchandani, Namrata Shirodkar and Deepak Malhotra. I was just thrown into this world of extremely professional models. Everybody was a supermodel. We had 25 names in the glamour business and they were all very big. As a designer it was a show in Bombay, it had Madhu Sapre, all the professional models. It was in a small auditorium (Birla Hall in Marine Lines) and I was very happy with the response I received then.
How has the fashion consumer evolved in India?
Everybody knows what they want. The demand and supply balance is better today. There was a time when everybody depended on a stylist or a designer, today people know what suits them. You can't just pass off anything. There's an evolution.
And the international market for Indian clothes?
I have a set database who expects a certain aesthetic from me, even if I try to reinvent myself, I know what my international markets want. The Hong Kong market’s (his label’s biggest international market) choices are completely different from what my Dubai market wants.