Answering the timeworn question of who wears the pants, Durazi thinks, both.  

 “It was a challenge to strike a balance between elements that are neither too mannish nor feminine, effeminate nor androgynous,” says Durazi apropos making the couture collection. “I’ve designed gender specific, conservative classics but this is my first gender-fluid collection. I think I have got the right vibe,” adds the couturier who launched his eponymous brand in 1988 in Mumbai.

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Shahab Durazi 

And this vibe is far from subtle. It’s in the clothes, but also, in the attitude: exuberance, the unapologetic regalia, and a notion of the other. There are some interesting historical cross-references to the English dandy, like the stiffened stand-up collars and elaborately tied neckerchiefs and bow ties; almost professing a feminist solidarity with pussy-bow neckties.

Will “real” men wear pearl-and-bead encrusted bow ties? Durazi, 59, makes no attempt to hide his “slight” concern. “That’s why I’ve steered clear from making it overly flamboyant. I hope men will dare to indulge their necks.” He adds that the bow ties and neckerchiefs are detachable pieces.

Durazi is personally seen in straight-edge and solid-hued polo shirts and trousers almost every time he makes a rare social appearance. Would he wear a lacy bow tie from Fine & Dandy? “Certainly, if there’s an opportunity,” he says with a laugh.  

Photographed by Rafique Sayed, the 46 looks depict the designer’s ever-evolving eye, his wit, a distillation of rich experience and his knowledge of line and proportion. “I used the two lockdowns to completely redesign my paper patterns for Western wear,” he says. Although the campaign is shot with a cast of male models (“due to logistics”), Durazi reasons that the tailored clothing preferences are equally for women of all ages. The core styles in the collection—roomier chests, rounded shoulders and narrow waists—are cut for both men and women. “It’s just clever pattern cutting,” he says.

He produces wild wardrobe diversity with bolero jackets cut short with narrow, round shoulders to resemble ribbed knitwear, and raglan-sleeved bandhgalas; wrists cuffed in pearl, Swarovski and laser-cut lace details and style references ranging from Netflix’s Peaky Blinders, Downton Abbey and Bridgerton. His models dressed in satin and organza fluted and embroidered cummerbunds and skirts worn ironically as a detail over tailored trousers. “It’s a twist on the kurta-layered-beneath-jacket pairing. Men often complain about the kurta being cumbersome, so it’s substituted with a fitted skirt. It teases an illusion of the kurta while doing away with excess fabric weight,” Durazi explains.

An interplay of feminine and masculine modes washed in hues of monochrome, navy, rose-pink and camel keep things exciting as Durazi draws focus on four accent points; the waist, wrist, shoulders, and necklines rather than hemlines. “Apart from versions of slim trousers and breeches, the bottom-half is fairly conservative,” he confides. 

Soft spoken and courteous to a fault, Durazi is delightful company during this telephonic interview. His answers seem succinctly rationed and are usually preceded by long pauses. But that’s not the case when questioned about the current male fashion scene. “I’m tired of seeing sherwanis covered in embroidery. Why is men’s fashion in India restricted to wedding wear? While everyone’s narrative is different, a designer’s work has to speak of the ideas, technique and aesthetic that s/he wants to promote. The embroidery or embellishment is the craft language of karigars, not designers.”

Is he wondering if this collection will sell? “I am not pandering to the market but to my own sensibilities. When I started working on the collection, I wanted to do it for my own creativity.”