Troy Costa: The silent tailor behind India's most powerful wardrobes

In a country such as India where image is inseparable from identity, Troy Costa dresses those who can’t afford to get it wrong. His name rarely appears in headlines, but his work walks silently through them, draped across the shoulders of actors, billionaires, and heads of state. From actors Hrithik Roshan and Anil Kapoor to Saif Ali Khan and, most famously, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Costa’s client list is a who’s who of Indian public life.

Yet for all the visibility his creations receive, Costa himself remains defiantly discreet. He works from a quiet atelier in Mumbai, where fittings are conducted with reverence and ego is checked at the door. Since launching his eponymous label in 2008, following the success of his shows at Lakme and Dubai Fashion Weeks, Costa has cultivated a reputation for restraint, precision, and astonishing psychological insight.

Ask Costa what Autumn/Winter 2025 feels like and he talks about energy, an internal shift in how men want to feel, not just how they want to be seen.

“For me, this autumn winter carries a quiet, introspective energy,” he says. “It feels dignified but not distant, a season of refinement, texture and self-assured ease.”

That mood is changing what men want from their wardrobes. “Men are returning to clothing with a purpose. Subtle textures that whisper through eased silhouettes, structured suits that move with confidence, tactile wools that speak softly of a calm luxury.”

“This year’s cuts are about comfort without compromise and depth without drama,” he says.

Costa doesn’t use the word “designer” to describe himself. The title doesn’t fit how he thinks, works, or sees his purpose.

“Design is imagination, tailoring is discipline,” he says. “The word tailor is derived from the old French word ‘taillour’, to cut. That’s really what I do, I cut, shape and construct and there’s honesty in that.”

To Costa, a tailor is someone who makes things personal. “A designer is someone who dreams, a tailor is someone who delivers. Tailoring is a deeply personal conversation, not a performance. A tailor listens, to the fabric, to the man, to the moment.”

His philosophy is grounded in the physical work of cutting and shaping. “In a world full of labels, I prefer one that gets its hands a little dirty and hence I prefer Tailor because it reminds me where I come from, measuring tape over ego, thread over theory.”

Costa is known for working with men who are constantly seen, scrutinised, and judged. His process begins before a single measurement is taken.

“Before I take body measurements, I read body language,” he says. “The first thing I notice is what they convey through their silence, how a man carries himself when he isn’t speaking.”

The cues he watches for are subtle. “How he enters the room, the tilt of his chin, his handshake, the tension in his shoulders, the rhythm of his walk; they reveal volumes.”

He explains that style doesn’t begin in the wardrobe. “Style starts long before the first fitting. My aim is to dress the man he already is, to decode his natural presence. Once I comprehend that, the rest fall into place… the fabric, the structure, even the stitching speaks in his frequency.”

The entire process, he says, is both analytical and intuitive. “Dressing someone is first psychology then geometry.”

Stylists may pull looks and assistants may manage schedules, but for Costa, the real transformation happens when it’s just him, the client, and the mirror.

“In the fitting room, truth happens,” he says. “A man sees himself stripped of pretence, and slowly the ego dissolves.”

It’s in this quiet space that the shift begins. “It’s where men shed their filters, their insecurities, their jokes. And when that happens, it allows me to build something real, a garment that fits both the man and his state of mind.”

The impact is internal before it becomes visible. “There’s that moment where he straightens the lapel, takes a breath and realises the mirror is finally speaking kindly to him. The alchemy of fit, emotion and self realisation cannot be delegated. It must be witnessed quietly, one pin at a time.”

Costa’s respect for the craft was shaped early, in the workshop of a neighbourhood seamstress. Those lessons still guide his hands.

“Those afternoons in her rainy workshop taught me more than any design school ever could,” he says. “She worked without hurry, humming softly as she stitched, teaching me that thread listens before it obeys and every stitch carries intention.”

He learned that rushing shows. “If you rush it, the fabric remembers and hence, precision is an act of respect, for the fabric, for the wearer and for the craft itself.”

She was clear about the connection between skill and mindset. “A crooked seam is a reflection of a careless mind,” she would repeat often. “That discipline, that insistence on beauty even where no one looks, those lessons became the foundation of everything I do.”

After years of working with film stars, business leaders and politicians, Costa understands what high-performing men seek from the clothes they wear.

“Powerful men are looking for control encased in comfort and for balance between presence and ease, between authority and authenticity,” he says.

They want to be noticed without demanding attention. “They want clothes that let them walk into a room and command attention without ever asking for it, they aim to own a room without having to even try.”

Many come in thinking they want a new image. What they find is something more grounding. “Many arrive seeking transformation but discover reassurance instead,” Costa says. “A well cut suit doesn’t change how they look, it reminds them of who they are beneath the pressure of influence.”

He sees his role in very clear terms. “My role is to give that quiet confidence a form they can wear.”

One detail, above all others, determines the success of a suit.

“The shoulder of the suit determines everything: the stance, the flow, the mood,” he says. “You can buy the finest Italian fabric but if the shoulder is off by a millimetre, the entire illusion collapses.”

It’s not a minor element. “It’s the fulcrum of proportion, the handshake between grace and structure. Get the shoulder right and the rest can breathe, you simply feel powerful without knowing why. It’s where structure meets soul.”

Fame doesn’t influence the tone of Costa’s workshop. Rules apply equally to all. “In the atelier, hierarchy dissolves, Troy Costa runs on respect not celebrity. The tape doesn’t care who you are,”

he says.

He and his team approach every garment with the same commitment. “We treat every creation, be it for movie star or a young entrepreneur with the same reverence. Talent is allowed, tantrums are not.”

In his space, it’s the work that speaks. “The measuring tape keeps everyone honest. You can’t charm your way out of a bad posture or poor proportion. It is that discipline which keeps our space humble and human.”

Costa often credits his mother for shaping his view of elegance. Her ideas about behaviour and dignity remain his foundation. “My mother taught me grace without grandeur,” he says. “We were not surrounded by luxury, but she emphasised the elegance of integrity.”

Her values became his design language. “By her example, she showed me how refinement begins with how you behave, long before it shows in what you wear.”

He carries that reminder into every garment. “That lesson travels with me into every fitting room; it’s the invisible lining of everything I create. Her love and faith in me laid the foundation for every blessing I receive.”

Costa’s daughters may have an eye for colour, but he’s careful to teach them what lies beneath true style.

“They’ve grown up watching me fit one shoulder multiple times until it’s perfect and therefore they know beauty without discipline is purely decoration,” he says.

He encourages them to build consistency and substance. “I remind them that true style whispers, never shouts. I also encourage them to respect the rhythm of repetition, to understand that magic lies in doing the same thing better day after day.”

He warns them to stay focused. “Trends will come courting you, but only commitment will keep you relevant,” he says. “Lastly, I aim to teach them that excellence isn’t an act, it’s a habit.”

Looking ahead, Costa isn’t chasing scale or spectacle. He wants to leave the craft better than he found it.

“It feels like refinement, less noise more nuance,” he says. “I hope to build a legacy that outlives trends; a world where men and women still believe in the art of dressing well, and in a tailor who still gives a damn about the fit.”

His next chapter will be slower, sharper and more deliberate. “A return to intimacy in an overwhelmingly digital world,” he says.

“I wish to focus on bespoke storytelling, global collaborations and nurturing young artisans who believe in timeless tailoring. It’s about mentoring, creating and leaving the craft richer than I found it,” he says.

“The silhouette will evolve but the soul of the suit will never change.”