Cut out for fashion

One of India's most daring fashion designers, Azeem Khan, has made outfits for the likes of Hillary Clinton and Naomi Campbell, among others. The man who hails from a renowned fashion family tells Lorraine Chandler how he first dabbled in medicine, then architecture, before turning to the rag trade.

I don't usually like waiting two hours for someone, so by the time I finally meet Azeem Khan, I'm ready to tear him to shreds if he looks at me crossways.

I mean, it's not as if I'm meeting Gucci, Prada or Versace, is it? When he asks me if we can finish soon because he has a lunch appointment, I half consider eating him for lunch myself.

I'm still not sure if he really did have a migraine, or had just decided on a nice lie-in that morning, but after a few minutes, I allow myself to be charmed by his boyish good looks and his easy storytelling.

Khan is attractive, while neither very tall nor very slim, a fact masked by his tailored black suit. At 37, he is very much the self-assured bon vivant and turns out to have a bit of an, umm, interesting past.

I suspect his partying days are not completely in the past, but he insists, smilingly, that he has turned over a new leaf.

In Dubai last month to showcase his new 'Metalicious' range, Khan is the embodiment of the prodigal son parable.

Despite growing up in a fashion family, Khan tried both medicine and architecture before settling on fashion. Even then, he moved far from his family in Mumbai and trained in New York, where he very nearly settled.

No hanky-panky here
He is a member of the well-known S. U. Zariwala Khan family and the story of how they started in the fashion industry sounds so much like a fairytale that I wonder briefly if it hasn't been embroidered a little over the years.

The story goes that Khan's grandfather, S. U. Shamshuddin (from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, northern India), was constantly losing handkerchiefs until his wife had the brainwave of embroidering his handkerchiefs with an elaborate 'S'.

His hankie was so admired by friends that the couple decided to start a handkerchief business and soon had as many as 10 people working for them.

Khan's father, Sharfuddin, was brought into the workshop even as a toddler so he could start learning the family business.

Sharfuddin then moved to Mumbai, where he started selling embroidered hankies door-to-door until he had enough money to open a shop - S. U. Zariwala, which later became one of India's biggest fashion exporting businesses.

The young Khan, together with his three brothers, was always expected to join the family business and remembers being taken into the family shop by his father at the age of 4.

But he wanted a different life in a different place, so in 1980 he headed off to Mount Sinai in New York to study medicine. After two years he decided he wasn't cut out for cutting up bodies, as he puts it, and switched to studying architecture at Pratt University, Long Island.

While he loved drawing, Khan confesses he wasn't into "all the numbers involved in architecture, the square inches here and there".

So he gave up after one semester, finally accepting that his career lay in fashion design. However, that didn't stop him, years later, from designing his own house in Mumbai.

He explains he's more of a visual person than a numbers guy. Khan studied fashion at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York for two years, where he got on to the Dean's list and received the accolade, Designer of the Year.

He received a scholarship to do a master's there, but instead chose to study at the exclusive Parsons School of Design. Three years later, he was handpicked to work as an assistant designer for well-known American designer Geoffrey Beene.

While Khan contemplated staying in the US, the explosion of the Indian fashion industry lured him home to the family business in Mumbai in 1995.

But there was no way he was going to simply follow in his father's footsteps. Khan demolished the original store and replaced it with a stylish fashion salon that became Azeem Khan Couture in 1997, while the rest of the business continued under his father's and brothers' guidance.

Azeem Khan has gained a reputation for breaking conventions. His first collection was provocatively called 'Body'.

While his fashion continues to be sensual, he admits that his later collections have become more pragmatic, as he realised that you can't sell clothes if people won't wear them.

He has many nicknames, ranging from the 'Tsar of Embroidery' to the 'Badshah (king) of Fashion'. I ask him what his favourite name is.

"I think any compliment is nice," he says with a cheeky grin.

I
I have a certain muse in my mind when I create my designs. She is young in attitude, adventurous and (daring). I've never kept a specific person in mind, because if you do that, you can restrict yourself.

For example, if she doesn't look good in maroon, then you wouldn't want to design clothes in that colour. I prefer to have an imaginary muse. This way there are no boundaries.

I used to create designs that were quite wild and experimental, but now my creations are a bit more streamlined and straight cut. I do consider practicality and saleability more nowadays than I used to.

I'm very happy I have achieved what I never thought I would - by creating my own label and developing my brand to the (level where it gained the) recognition it enjoys today.

My parents are very proud of me. They were afraid at some points of my life that I would get into the wrong company, but now they can see my willpower and ability to think are very strong.

I think a designer is only as good as his last collection. That can put a lot of pressure on me, because I always have to beat my last show.

I never thought I'd follow the family tradition but I've added a nouveau twist. When I first started designing, my family was a little shocked (at my daring designs) but now they just look at how well I'm doing.

I think fashion is like medicine. You can't get anywhere without a good education.

Me
Me and my upbringing:
My dad married my mum, Raizee, when he was only 19 and they went on to have four sons in (a) decade. (He felt this way he would be) close to his children. Now we respect him as a father, but we are also able to (communicate) with him easily. He taught us all the business tricks, while our mother taught us the principles of life.

From her, I learnt to be honest and upfront. Even if someone is cheating you, don't look for revenge, because what goes around comes around and he'll get his punishment in the end.

I'm the baby of my family, so I tend to look after my parents, particularly my mother. People see me as the ideal son because I'm always taking care of my mother.

If she wants to go on a trip, I'm the one mostly likely to go with her. She probably had a hard time bringing up four boys. I'm very close to my brothers Naieem, Waseem, and Fahim. Naieem is a designer in the US; he and I look a bit similar.

Waseem is an events manager for S. U. Fun Sports, a family business that includes Velocity Nightclub (in Mumbai). Fahim, who's tall, looks a bit like a model. He runs Suzarila (a Mumbai-based fashion exporting business) and Nahiti (a finance company).

I have an amazing relationship with my brothers. We are best friends. We have our differences but then, which (siblings) don't?

Me and my wife:
While I was in the United States, my parents met my future in-laws at a party at Bollywoood actor Dilip Kumar's house. (My wife) Sameena's father is the Prince of Loharu, Surat, Gujarat.

My parents liked Sameena and suggested I come over and meet her. I did and we (dated) for two years before getting married 10 years ago. I believe that a marriage should involve acceptance from both sides.

We have two daughters: Saara, 9, and Asiyah, 8. Like my father, I had my children when I was young so I feel I have a special bond with them. Because they're very close in age, they're more like friends than sisters to each other.

My wife, Sameena, is very down to earth. We both look at things from a broad perspective. We have a lot in common - we both love travel and culture. I can talk to her about anything ... In fact, we can both put each other back on track when required.

She has her own advertising company, Eye Candy Advertising.

It's unusual in our family where women don't normally work and my family felt uneasy with the idea (of her working) at first. But I pushed her into it because I didn't want her to be just a housewife.

I wanted her to be independent and to understand business. Because of that, we share a very special relationship.

We don't see other for long periods sometimes, but we go off together (on a short trip) every second weekend and that rejuvenates us.

Me and the fashion world:
After completing an associates in applied science (fashion) at FIT, I decided to do my master's at Parsons School of Design rather than at a state school.

It was very expensive, and only people with real drive went there. I loved it because it was very competitive.
 
After three years there, I was approached in my last semester by Albaz Albeer (who now works at Lanvin design house) to be an assistant designer for Geoffrey Beene. I was very excited and I went on to work for him for three years, from around 1988.

Beene was a tough taskmaster; he would make us sketch 500 designs and he'd choose just three. But if you do 500 drawings of a skirt, it opens your mind to different possibilities.

Coming from a hard-working Asian background, I didn't mind working from 8 am to 9 pm, often even on weekends. I enjoyed it, but it ? certainly took a toll on (my) body.

When I left the place, I was taken under the wing of a master cutter at Balenciaga (fashion house) ? I don't remember his name. He taught me so much about design.

I used to shadow him during the week at work and even stayed in his house on weekends for nearly two years. He liked my drive and the fact that I was never tired.

After that, I just enjoyed myself for a few years, doing odd design jobs here and there until I returned to India in 1995.

Me and returning to India:
(Coming back to Mumbai) I found the S. U. Zariwala store very old-worldly. So I broke it down and created a beautiful couture salon like (the ones) in Soho (in New York).

That became Azeem Couture in 1997 and my first collection - 'Body' - was in December of that year. I wanted to explore a woman's body fashionwise.

Since returning I had already made quite a reputation for myself as a 'social animal', so people were curious to see my collection. I showcased really (sensual) clothes.

Women had been wearing long sleeves but I completely changed that, designing short, sleeveless tops and close-fitting clothes that played with cuts and styles and were very feminine.

It was all a bit shocking at the time, but now you look around and many women are wearing provocative clothes (in India).

My first collection had to be a show-stopper because that's the only way to get people talking about you. I did, and established myself immediately.

My ambition is to have stores around the world, making Azeem Khan a global household name.

Myself
How would you describe the clothes you design?
Feminine, sensual ? and endearing.

A woman should first feel good before looking good. She might be wearing the most expensive outfit but if she doesn't feel good, it's not going to work.

She might look better wearing a (branded) T-shirt and jeans if they're the clothes she feels best in.

Which international designers have inspired you?
I like (Jean Paul) Gaultier, Elie Saab and Christian Lacroix, but you must be creative on your own.

Should people notice the beauty of the woman or the beauty of the clothes she is wearing?
Honestly, both should complement each other. If she is pretty, but wears bad clothes, she's not going to look good. People are going to say, "What happened to her?" Similarly, clothes will look their best on an attractive woman.

Is there anything you dislike about fashion trends either in the East or the West?
I don't dislike anything about fashion. Being a designer, I know that even a flaw can turn out to become a trend.

Gaultier created deconstruction by designing torn suits that looked like they belonged to beggars, but these became a big hit. No form of fashion is bad; you just need an eye to appreciate it.

You've had a lot of 'maybes' in your life when things could have gone in a different direction. You could have been a doctor or an architect, or you could have lived your whole life inNew York.

Do you have any regrets about the choices you've made?
No, I used to sometimes think that I shouldn't have left the States, and I do miss it. I liked the fact that (over there) you could do whatever you wanted, without caring what others would say.

This was very different to how I grew up. But I travel a lot, so that makes up for it - I'm out of the country a lot of the time. I travel, I experiment, I meet people. There's a Chinese proverb: 'Travelling one mile is better than reading a whole library'. There are so many things in life that you can't experience by reading a book.

Do you think you'll ever stop travelling?
Even if I travelled every day, I would never stop until I had seen the whole world. Sameena and I travel, sometimes with the children, to places such as Egypt, Spain, France, Russia and Italy.

Your motto in life?
Live to play! And that includes fashion. You have to play with fashion. Since marriage... I've become more confident and forward thinking and I feel good about what I do.