I can still recall climbing up the dusty stairway opposite Lions Gate in Mumbai, a fashionista-must add–ress today. In a poky room, I was greeted by a tall, young, eager-eyed couple with dreams that were destined to see stylish fruition. Way beyond the storyboard they spun that morning. Way beyond what I could have dreamed of as a young journalist swatting a glamour round.

This was Sailaja (Sal) and Tarun Tahiliani, who had dared to set up a ‘first ever’ boutique that would bring together the designers of the day. And that too in a converted machine tools workshop. In an area better known for ships than skirts. This was a totally different idea, retailing different brands under one roof, promoting the concept of Indian designers. A fledgling industry in those days, Indian fashion was in its nascent stages. Tarun Tahiliani, doyen today, was merely the beginning of a whispered name and the common darzee even now, ruled the style roost. You could not pop into a fashion outlet and treat yourself to the outfit of the month. You laboured over it and probably made an irretrievable hash. Gone are those days, following Ensemble’s entry on the fashion scene.

The first five designers that the store opened with were tracked down by Sal from an article in The Taj Magazine on fashion exporters. Pioneers Abu-Sandeep, the ‘happy schizophrenic’ Rohit Khosla, Zandra Rhodes whose saris displayed an almost Gatsbyesque sensibility, Neil Biess and Amaaya were the original labels. Asha Sarabhai joined them later. Tarun’s first collection, created together with Sal and a couple of other designers, was tailored from Benaras brocade fashioned in a completely western silhouette – short skirts, power suits, the kind of stuff that the US born and brought up Sal, a former model, favoured at the time. Iconic models were created as Vanessa Vaz, the maverick Shyamolie Verma, Amanda Johnston and the statuesque Anna Bredemeyer famously walked the inaugural ramps and graced editorial pages with elegant ingenuity and seeming innocence. These were also the days of sartorial Bollywood: Zeenat Aman, Sharmila Tagore in their bell-bottoms, tight saris, dark eyeliner, white lipstick and careless scarves.

To quote from Rohit Khosla, Vanguard, the volume that commemorates the designer’s short but prolific career: ‘Tahiliani conceived the idea of a high quality designer retail store, after he and his wife Sal found themselves frustrated whilst trying to shop for a trousseau. He persuaded Rohit to assist him and the resultant success of the Bombay boutique, Ensemble was as much Rohit’s as Tarun’s; he infused the whole project with wit, enthusiasm and inimitable energy. For the first time, aspiring young designers had a showcase for their collections and an opportunity to display their clothes on the catwalk under the Ensemble umbrella’. It was with that refreshing spirit of pioneering and adventure that Ensemble set up shop and a certain trend of history that became the past and future of Indian fashion.

You entered the hallowed precincts of Mumbai’s first ever high fashion store on stylish stilettos and dressed for the occasion. I remember days when I wished to drop in but deigned to do so in work jeans and casual shirt. And yet, Tarun remained an amazingly candid designer on the make. He once recounted to me about how he had acquired rolls of antique, hand-worked borders from Gujarat which he promptly chopped up to embellish his creations. He shuddered at the memory later. And there you are, today, he is everyone’s favourite designer. Well, almost!

These were also the days of signature fashion shows where everyone who was anyone, had to be seen. Two shows a year were held by Ensemble and rival store, Glitterati, which shut down later. “Each would try to outdo each other,” recalls Meher Castelino, a long time fashion watcher and author of Fashion Kaleidoscope. “But, Ensemble outdid everyone at a show in Goa which was really grand. It was held in the open and it looked as if the models were emerging out of the sea onto the ramp.” Castelino also remembers designer Rohit Bal’s first showing at Ensemble. “It was a simple line of men’s kurtas and Rohit was standing quietly at the side, he was so shy in those days. He later modelled himself on Rohit Khosla – he has taken over his mantle. With both of them, you never knew what to expect on the ramp.” Another show at the US Club which started with Khosla and dark storm clouds, ended with clothes being blown all over. Another very special showing was ‘Visionaire’ by Wendell Rodricks where the clothes were embroidered in braille.