'In our country, menswear is either too elaborate or too simple. There's no middle ground for men.'
'I felt the need to create a label and give men a place where it's their moment too.'
Menswear stylist turned designer Priya Patil who spent 20 years dressing some of India's top male icons including Amitabh Bachchan, discusses her inspiration behind starting her own studio.
Priya Patil has been styling clothes for Indian celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan for over 20 years.
When she was selected to showcase her collection at Paris Fashion Week, it was a defining moment in her career journey -- a dream she had worked towards for years.
But there were two major challenges.
"I had 10 days to prepare and the war had just broken out," Priya tells Rediff's Divya Nair.
As the only Indian designer at the event focused exclusively on menswear, her brief was clear: That menswear need not be boring.
The Inspiration To Style Men
A common complaint among Indian men is that there are only so many options to choose from. You'd see a guy dressed in crisp shirts and blazers at work, a kurta or dhoti at a wedding and maybe t-shirts and shorts on a vacation.
Priya Patil wanted to experiment and bring in versatility in menswear.
The designer, who started her career as a stylist working with Amitabh Bachchan, styling his look for Kaun Banega Crorepati, says: "Throughout my journey in fashion, I always realised that even at a wedding, the bride takes the focus. It's all about the bride. I felt menswear was a little sidelined."
"Over the years, I realised, at least in our country, menswear is either too elaborate or too simple. There's no middle ground for men."
Priya felt the need "to create a label and give men a place where it's their moment too."
"The groom can have his own identity too," she says.
"Even in corporate or formal wear, it has been the same way for the past 50 years. That led me to create something and keep evolving in menswear."
Priya's fashion homework led her to understand what the current men's wardrobe really lacks.
"It really comes down to studying fabrics, understanding how men think. For a man, everything is about investment -- investing in comfort, investing in details -- and being able to deliver that."
Stylist to Entrepreneur
After spending 20 years in the industry styling men and celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar, Hardik Pandya for weddings, television events and shows, Priya decided it was time to launch her studio.
Three years ago, Priya launched her pret label and fashion house in Mumbai.
"I've spent 20 years in the fashion industry and, out of those, 10 years in the Indian film industry. Art is subjective, so each designer has their own presence and identity. If you create a product and have an audience for it, you're a successful designer."
Representing India on the global stage felt like recognition for years of hard work and perseverance.
Debut at Paris Fashion Week
On March 7, 2026, Priya made her debut at the Paris Fashion Week as the only lady menswear designer from India.
The experience was challenging but equally rewarding.
After sending her collection, when her name was selected, she had only 10 days to prepare.
"Since I was presenting in Paris, the fashion capital of the world, I knew I had to tweak my collection. And I had only 10 days to prepare. I was the only menswear designer from India participating. There were others with menswear, but not predominantly menswear," she says.
"I'd only got the models' measurements on a sheet, so getting sizes perfect was challenging. Then came getting to Paris because flights were cancelled. I found one ticket from Delhi to Paris. My friends helped me get from Mumbai to Delhi and onto that flight. It was an interesting time to even have this fashion show," she recalls.
Priya presented three different formats of her collection at the fashion show.
"I do luxury menswear. I have sculpted luxury -- sculpted silhouettes like tuxedos, very formal wear, more occasion wear. Then I have formal wear that is more comfort-driven, for the latest generation, like Gen Z. They like formal wear, but they don't like it too structured. So I've made formal wear that is fluid, with fluid silhouettes," she says.
"My whole collection is comfort-driven. That line is called Relaxed Luxury, and it is made in cashmeres, light cottons and fine linens. The Spirit Edit is bold statement wear like bomber jackets with contemporary separates."
Working With Amitabh Bachchan
Among the male icons Priya has styled, her working relationship with Amitabh Bachchan is the most special. Priya fashioned Mr Bachchan since season 10 of Kaun Banega Crorepati.
"He is a legend in himself. A style icon," she says. "Whatever he wears becomes a trend. He has charisma and his own identity. When I went to Paris, a lot of the models were excited to know I've designed for him and that they were getting to wear something designed by me too."
Fashion Lessons From Paris
"I've travelled to France before as a tourist, but going there representing your country as a menswear designer was very different. This time I was taking note of everything," she says.
"Paris is very fashion-driven. During Paris Fashion Week everyone is serious -- meeting people, networking. Everyone is glam dressed, cameras are everywhere, influencers from all over the world are there. It was a great learning experience."
Fashion Mistakes Indian Men Make
According to Priya when men come to her store to shop for weddings," it was always about the bride. The groom was almost secondary," she says.
"I started showing men options, colours, ideas. Sometimes they were fearful of stepping out of what they were conditioned to wear. I'd say, try powder blue at your wedding. They'd wear it, get compliments and come back for more."
"Watching that transition," she says, "from being secondary to becoming the talking point -- and seeing how dressing changes confidence, has been enlightening. Sometimes brides would tell me, "He got so many compliments." I love that!'
Rating Celeb Men's Fashion
Though Priya likes to work with a brief, even as a stylist, she is mindful of her client's personal style and tries to incorporate that into her designs.
Here, she describes the style personalities of some of the well-known male stars she's styled/designed clothes for.
Amitabh Bachchan: "Clean, classic, fresh and young, yet timeless."
Ranveer Singh: "I haven't designed directly for him, but I think his style was different before and now feels more understated."
Ranbir Kapoor: "I see him in sportswear a lot. He carries off whatever he wears."
Hardik Pandya: "His personal style is very sports-driven."
Sachin Tendulkar: "I designed a classic suit for him years ago. He wore it beautifully. He's clean, classic and can carry sporty looks too."
Priya's next big dream is to design for global leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi as she strongly believes there is a lot of scope for improvement.
"I'd love to design for global leaders -- prime ministers, presidents, delegates. They represent countries in formal wear and I'd love to bring more style and cultural identity into that space."
Summer Trends for Men
"People think summer means linen and stop there. But there are many fabrics beyond linen -- lightweight wools, cashmeres, cottons. I love colours like powder blue, jade, light greens and pinks. Silk linens too.
And details matter," she adds.
"Tan shoes, patent black shoes, kolhapuris. Even a simple white kurta-pyjama works beautifully."
Wedding Fashion For Men
Ditch those boring heavily embroidered kurtas. Play around with fabrics and fine embroidery, she insists.
"You don't need heavy embroidery. Fine textured fabrics, wool blends, silks, strong fits and silhouettes can work beautifully. At Paris Fashion Week I took a jodhpuri suit, reworked the fabrics and gave it an international aesthetic. It was very well received."
Corporate Dressing Tips For Men
According to Priya, formal wear must be comfort-driven
"Fluid silhouettes, fine fabrics, unstructured tailoring -- you don't have to be overly casual or overly formal. A softer jacket, a fluid silhouette can still look formal," she recommends.
Advice For Aspiring Designers
Priya, who studied fashion at Nottingham Trent University and the National Institute of Fashion Technology in Mumbai, feels that youngsters today have the advantage of social media.
"Today social media gives you a ready platform. But the best learning is hands-on experience. You make mistakes, you learn and evolve."
"I always tell students -- give yourself three years to evolve and discover who you are. Try many things. Eventually you'll realise where your creativity grows best. And that's how you evolve."
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