From New Delhi to London, from Central St. Martins to one of the most influential catwalks of the world, Ashish Gupta is yet another Indian who has done us proud. Verve profiles this young, zesty designer and discovers why he is the latest blue-eyed boy of British fashion

Ashish Gupta, born and brought up in New Delhi, with an MA in Fashion from Central St. Martins, London, "arguably the best fashion school in the world", has well and truly arrived. Training under Zandra Rhodes probably fine-tuned his already colourful, zany and bold design philosophy, although he doesn't agree he has one, instead reiterating that he just "enjoys what I'm doing, otherwise it's just not worth doing! I divide my time equally between New Delhi and London. All my manufacturing is done in India. I don't consciously use India as an inspiration, but I love colour and sparkle and a part of that comes from being Indian I think!"

This latest collection is testament to the above fact, with shimmering Madras checked shirts and skirts, printed trenches smothered with blinding yellow sequins, cartoon motifs, floral, fish and scissor patterns, hand embroidery, tie-n-dyed tights and so on…a pulsating medley of Eastern workmanship combined with the typical grunge appeal of the West.

It's no surprise that various influences contribute to this concoction. "Anything and everything can be inspiring - travel, people, friends, urban culture, night life, markets, music, cinema…"

"Rio de Janeiro and Toronto - places that I am planning to visit within the next six months", may just possibly provide impetus for hedonistic future creations.

With London a melting pot of prêt, couture and high-street fashion, does the status of a lone trendsetting visionary diminish? "I think both couture and high street are very valid forms of fashion, and neither is going to take a back-seat, because there is more and more crossover between them. The latter now takes on 'high fashion' designers on a consultancy basis to design ranges for them. I think all this is very exciting, very healthy. It means people realise the importance of good design, and they want more interesting, more beautiful things, they don't want to buy something just because it has a famous label."

With stores in Tokyo, Hong Kong, France, Italy, USA, Canada and the Middle East vying for his label, Ashish Gupta definitely has no cause for complaint!