When Mira Nair was making “Monsoon Weddingyesjili,” her 2001 film about generational conflict, an over-the-top wedding and the family it nearly unhinges, one of the experts she turned to for sartorial help was Rohit Bal, an exuberant star of the Indian fashion world.
“I wanted the film to feel like our weddings at home,” Ms. Nair said. “No one really did that in our movies. There are codes and etiquette and symbolism in all our textiles, and Rohit loved it all and knew it well. He was a star who had taken traditional fashion to a new place, and I wanted to make sure we reflected the fashion of ‘now.’”
“When Gudda began, Indian fashion was fairly new,” Ms. Nair added, using Mr. Bal’s nickname. “He created a path that people are now flamboyantly following.”
In the 1980s, India began remaking itself, moving away from decades of socialism into a more capitalist society. Fashion, such as it was, often meant traditional garments, tailor-made clothes and what were known as export rejects — Western-style clothing manufactured in India for sale abroad that didn’t meet export standards. Mr. Bal was among a wave of designers who essentially created the modern Indian fashion industry, with clothes that nodded to traditional styles but incorporated contemporary flourishes and often couture techniques.
“He was one of a number of designers who realized they could create brands around craft,” said Cecilia Morelli, a founder of Le Mill, a luxury clothing store in Mumbai. “They understood the power of craftsmanship.”
ImageMr. Bal at a runway show in New Delhi in 1996. “He was vibrant,” said Bandana Tewari, a former editor at large for Vogue India, “and his clothing was erudite.”Credit...Sondeep Shankar/Getty ImagesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.
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