With the excitement of his new show at a peak, there's one question you naturally veer towards asking Siddartha Tytler: "What's the new runway like?" For the master of the silhouette, is known to create one of the best immersive experiences for his collections, whipping up the audience excitement and drama just as much as his clothes. As if on cue, he says ahead of his showing, "I don’t want a basic runway. It’s boring to me. So it’ll always be interactive; it'll always be immersive." The outfits in his TRIFECTA - Couture 25 live up to that; they are just as theatrical as they are deeply personal, with the celebrated couturier marking 24 years of his creativity in fashion. 

With absolutely packed days at his Zamrudpur studio in Delhi, that he decribes as "madness", Tytler is raring back in in his maximalist style, his signature dark movement meeting ivories and yes, lots of nostalgia. Over to one of India's most well known designers in chat, as he jousts with and enamours the audience watching his latest...

The last 24 years have literally been a roller-coaster ride, with many ups, many downs. It’s something that has moulded the brand, taught the brand and has it has taught me, as a human being, and there is a very clear indication of the evolution of the brand in this collection.

The collection sketching process, the R& D process started about six months ago and then we get into fabrics, motifs, techniques of embroidery. Then we move into the R&D, a process where we get swatches made and different techniques of what’s new, then of course we come into the sampling process, we start making the garments themselves, see if they work, lot of pieces are edited out, lot of pieces are added in; it’s a crazy, roller-coaster ride.

If you see the journey of the show, it will reflect the journey of us. our pieces were lot lighter, lot crazier when we started, hence the ivories. Then, what became synonymous with the brand was blacks; when we worked for the last 10 years we’ve been doing blacks, it’s been very structured, very hard, very severe; it’s always been about high-octane glamour. The third collection is about having fun, which is also something I love doing—it’s all about playing with fashion, just not constraining yourself. So, you will see these three very severe, I mean very iconic movements in our brand, and God knows what the future holds!

As we know, trifecta means the perfect three, we’ve taken inspiration from the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, it is three very distinct collections, three very strong collections in one, and as you will see the show, you will understand what the process is, it’s just demarcating what we are showcasing as the two-and-a-half decades of our career.

No, I don’t think so. You will still see elements of the dark, the macabre in one or two of the collections. One collection will show you a lighter side of the brand. It’s all about showcasing what we have done in the past. You will see the ivories and all, as in you would have seen in Ambrosia, the collection we made in 2022. Then you’ll see blacks that we’ve been working with throughout the years. We used to work with a lot of colours in 2000, between the years of 2004 and 2013. So, we’re bringing that era back also. Yes, the dark movement is in the collection, very predominantly in the collection because I cannot stay away from that.

We’ve picked up motifs and techniques so old that people don’t even remember them and modernised them in such a way that people would want them. It’s all about reinvention this season. You will see it. There will be clients who will say, 'Oh my God, I remember this'. There will be others who say, 'Oh my God, I still have this piece'. And that’s what I want. That’s the reaction I want from the audience. I want them to reminisce when they’re in my fantasy land.

I want everyone to be excited. I want everyone to feel nostalgic. I’ve had clients from the day I started who are still with me. I’m actually looking forward to their reaction and what they think of the collection and how I’ve updated myself. People in the industry who have been with me from the start, I want them to see what our evolution was. So basically, it’s all about nostalgia. It’s all about, you know, looking behind, but yet looking forward. Nothing you will see in this show will be an exact replica of what we’ve done in the past. It is all redone. You will see elements that you will see in the past. And that’s how it’s working. I mean, I think it’s come out beautiful.

That is part of the Siddhartha Idler DNA brand. It’s always interactive. I want the audience to be a part of my fantasy. There is never a time when I don’t want a basic runway. It’s boring to me. So yes, it’ll always be interactive. It’ll always be immersive. The client has to feel the emotions that I have felt making, building this collection.

Of course, that is the key aspects of the Siddharth Tytler brand They are embedded in me, in my education, as when I was in college in FIT, New York. So yeah, you will still see sequins work. You’ll see it in an updated, elevated format. You will see our crystal display in a very, very elevated format. And of course, our applique work, which is, we’ve really pushed the boundaries this time.

Yes, we are still working with Aari work, thread work, crystal work, applique, sequin. We’ve also now taken our work and elevated it. For example, we have taken Aari work but converted it into Lucknowi. So you will see a kurta that’s Lucknowi but it’s actually Aari embroidery and you can’t tell the difference. It’s so spectacular. My artisans have gone crazy this time. I think they’re abusing me, but the end justifies the means.

When Beyoncé wore my outfit during lockdown, it was the craziest moment of the career, I mean my whole 24 years. It was insane, the reaction, the love we got... 

You know, I always say that every piece is my baby. There are a few key pieces in all three of the collections in this collection that are very important to me because it’s something that worked, it shaped the brand and how we’ve updated it today. It’s all about moments in the past that have come out today.

I think the most iconic moment was when Beyoncé wore my outfit. There have been so many celebrities now, I honestly don’t even remember. But yes, when Beyoncé wore my outfit during lockdown, it was the craziest moment of the career, I mean my whole 24 years. It was insane, the reaction, the love we got. So yeah, Beyoncé is the queen, we can’t compare anyone else to her.

If you see designers like Gaurav Gupta and Dhruv Kapoor and Rahul Mishra, you know they’ve really taken India to another level, of course in the past we had Manish Arora who took Indian motifs and put India on the platform, I think he is the OG designer to put India on the international map. It works beautifully; even when I speak to my friends and clients abroad, they love Indian motifs, the colours, the play of texture, so yes, there’s always a high demand of Indian aesthetics abroad.

I think I’m known for my max, max maximalism which involves opulence and grandeur. I don’t think I can stay away from that.

Oh good lord, it’s madness, I come in at about 10:30 or 11 in the morning, I’m not one of those designers who sit on my throne and just dictate; I literally go and sit with my artisans, I’m involved with the embroidery a daily basis, I’m involved with the cutting, the pattern making. I keep it traditional, I keep my studio small; it’s a tight ship, but we love working together. My people have been with me for the longest time; it’s not new people coming and going, it’s always been us.

I think I’m known for my max, max maximalism which involves opulence and grandeur. I don’t think I can stay away from that. I just cannot. You can challenge me, and I will fail making a minimal collection. That is who I am and I own it.

I know I’m going to sound old school, but the one person I really want to dress up all my life has been Madonna, and I think one day I will end up doing it, and there’s so many key elements and pieces in Trifacta that I think would work on her.

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