Shahab Durazi is one of Indian Fashion designers, a one-man show a name to reckon with in the world of haute couture who has laid strict restrictions on his creativity and career. He does not do ad campaigns, nor does he clothe the beauty queens or make uniforms or displays his garments at fashion shows.
Shahab Durazi does not have assistants because he dislikes diluting his work. The designer who put Indian women into tailored jackets took a decade to make them a part of their wardrobe. Shahab Durazi has successfully carved a niche for himself when he returned from the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York in l989 hoping to create a new look for the Indian women.
From the broad heavy shoulders and narrow waist to give the Indian female torso a more slimming look Shahab Durazi who till 1993 made only business wear, moved into formal evening garments in that year with his butterfly look using for the first time embroidery.
In 1995 he softened his collection silhouette even further moving into chiffon and organza and using embroidery to add textures to his fabrics rather than for ornamentation. By 1997 his black, white and grey look for autumn-winter had the typical Shahab Durazi touch remaining more classic rather than flamboyant.
For Durazi the year 2000 meant an ultra chic and simple yet modern and very urbane image that suited the lifestyles of the new millennium. His garments included everything right from daywear and formalwear for men and women. He also designed all the accessories for his collections. There was a time when he designed for the svelte and slim woman fitting into 6-12 sizes. Today he has added on sizes 14 and 16.In the future Durazi would like to widen his base not only in sizes but also in collections.
Maybe it is because Shahab Durazi has done it all his way and not succumbed to popular demands that have made him a designer label women and men long to possess.
Catering to the fashion aficionados, Durazi not only has a loyal Indian following but an equal constant foreign one. His focus thrives on quality and preferably he believes to make distinct personality statements rather than just a style. Traditional to modern derivatives and western applications of Indian textiles: his ventures all and with equal dexterity.
