Fashion stylist and choreographer, Hemant Trevedi, talks about his designing ways

His participation in India Fashion Week I am honoured to have been chosen. It is my first appearance at this event...It has been three years since my ‘rebirth’(the near fatal car accident)... and I feel extremely proud to be here.

The Indian element in his work This is my country, the land that I call my own. That is why though I studied in Australia years ago, and my entire family has settled there, I returned to India. International labels pursued me even then, around 22 years ago, yet since I was born exposed to colours of every hue, in a nation steeped in culture and so diverse in its people, how could I ever live elsewhere! India, as an inspiration has it all.

His style I absorb external influences into my work. I would not like to call my designs Indo-Western, rather I work towards a fusion way of dressing. You can compare my art to music where musicians playing the tabla and sitar, incorporate other elements into their rendition. And create a form that has its own identity.

I have always shunned the limelight... my creations are not overt reflections of my personality. On the contrary. I believe a designer must be invisible in his work. The wearer must feel extremely special when she dons my clothes. I feel a designer is like a helping hand. I am only the polishing cloth that enables uncut diamonds to shine.

Indian designers tend to embellish from the outside. You forget the individual’s inner beauty. A person has to feel good about wearing the clothes, only then will she look beautiful.

Designing for Bollywood I will never ever design for Bollywood. The world of Hindi films with its techniques has never appealed to me. I do not see why a designer has to put a girl in a beautiful ghagra and then have the director put a harsh light behind her! Small things like this have put me off the medium forever.

Indian women... I cannot name any favourites. I love designing for the average woman or for someone who comes in for a customised outfit. The Indian woman is very appealing, she has an innate sense of beauty and is not arrogant. I am put off by men and women who harbour delusions of grandeur!

The Indian fashion scene Over the last two decades, there has been a great deal of progress and improvement on the Indian fashion scene. But, unfortunately, there is too much of cloning of the West. It is important to keep our Indian essence in mind, even as we seek inspiration from beyond our shores.

The Indian presence abroad India has made it big, in almost every sense, in the fashion industry. Our models have won international contests, our designs and girls are seen on ramps worldwide. But, sometimes, I wonder. Are we just a passing fad? Earlier there was a craze for North African and Moroccan styles. Will the Indian popularity be something like that? One hopes not...