ELLE Exclusive! Siddartha Tytler: I Want Everyone To Feel Excited & Nostalgic About TRIFECTA

With the excitement of his new show at a peak, there's one question you naturally veer towards asking Siddartha Tytler: "What's the new runway like?" For the master of the silhouette, is known to create one of the best immersive experiences for his collections, whipping up the audience excitement and drama just as much as his clothes. As if on cue, he says ahead of his showing, "I don’t want a basic runway. It’s boring to me. So it’ll always be interactive; it'll always be immersive." The outfits in his TRIFECTA - Couture 25 live up to that; they are just as theatrical as they are deeply personal, with the celebrated couturier marking 24 years of his creativity in fashion. 

With absolutely packed days at his Zamrudpur studio in Delhi, that he decribes as "madness", Tytler is raring back in in his maximalist style, his signature dark movement meeting ivories and yes, lots of nostalgia. Over to one of India's most well known designers in chat, as he jousts with and enamours the audience watching his latest...

ELLE: TRIFECTA pays tribute to 24 years of your creativity–please share more on this.

Siddartha Tytler (ST): The last 24 years have literally been a roller-coaster ride, with many ups, many downs. It’s something that has moulded the brand, taught the brand and has it has taught me, as a human being, and there is a very clear indication of the evolution of the brand in this collection.

ELLE: Take us through the journey from sketch to final stage for the new collection. When did it begin and what thoughts ran through the mind when you created it?

(ST): The collection sketching process, the R& D process started about six months ago and then we get into fabrics, motifs, techniques of embroidery. Then we move into the R&D, a process where we get swatches made and different techniques of what’s new, then of course we come into the sampling process, we start making the garments themselves, see if they work, lot of pieces are edited out, lot of pieces are added in; it’s a crazy, roller-coaster ride.

ELLE: The new outing will see a narration through a through a trinity of themes. How did this spiritual symbolism first resonate with you?

(ST): If you see the journey of the show, it will reflect the journey of us. our pieces were lot lighter, lot crazier when we started, hence the ivories. Then, what became synonymous with the brand was blacks; when we worked for the last 10 years we’ve been doing blacks, it’s been very structured, very hard, very severe; it’s always been about high-octane glamour. The third collection is about having fun, which is also something I love doing—it’s all about playing with fashion, just not constraining yourself. So, you will see these three very severe, I mean very iconic movements in our brand, and God knows what the future holds!

ELLE: ‘Caligula's Feast’, showcased at ICW'24, on Friday, was play of the form and the fit. What is TRIFECTA meant to denote?

(ST): As we know, trifecta means the perfect three, we’ve taken inspiration from the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, it is three very distinct collections, three very strong collections in one, and as you will see the show, you will understand what the process is, it’s just demarcating what we are showcasing as the two-and-a-half decades of our career.

ELLE: Each act—Light Ritual, Midnight Pulse, Spirit Reclaimed—has its own mood and fabric story. Are the colours, textures, and techniques meant to impact the design narrative? As someone who’s had a penchant for dark elements and the macabre, does this new work steer away from that?

(ST): No, I don’t think so. You will still see elements of the dark, the macabre in one or two of the collections. One collection will show you a lighter side of the brand. It’s all about showcasing what we have done in the past. You will see the ivories and all, as in you would have seen in Ambrosia, the collection we made in 2022. Then you’ll see blacks that we’ve been working with throughout the years. We used to work with a lot of colours in 2000, between the years of 2004 and 2013. So, we’re bringing that era back also. Yes, the dark movement is in the collection, very predominantly in the collection because I cannot stay away from that.

ELLE: The new outing seems to be archival yet modern. How do you strike that balance between revisiting archival motifs and keeping your couture forward looking?

(ST): We’ve picked up motifs and techniques so old that people don’t even remember them and modernised them in such a way that people would want them. It’s all about reinvention this season. You will see it. There will be clients who will say, 'Oh my God, I remember this'. There will be others who say, 'Oh my God, I still have this piece'. And that’s what I want. That’s the reaction I want from the audience. I want them to reminisce when they’re in my fantasy land.

ELLE: Does the triptych structure correspond to an emotional journey for the audience? How do you want attendees to feel as they move from each act to the next?

(ST): I want everyone to be excited. I want everyone to feel nostalgic. I’ve had clients from the day I started who are still with me. I’m actually looking forward to their reaction and what they think of the collection and how I’ve updated myself. People in the industry who have been with me from the start, I want them to see what our evolution was. So basically, it’s all about nostalgia. It’s all about, you know, looking behind, but yet looking forward. Nothing you will see in this show will be an exact replica of what we’ve done in the past. It is all redone. You will see elements that you will see in the past. And that’s how it’s working. I mean, I think it’s come out beautiful.

ELLE: We’ve seen your couture showcases create dramatic and immersive formats that redefine the runway experience. With the new collection, will you have interactive format, too?

(ST): That is part of the Siddhartha Idler DNA brand. It’s always interactive. I want the audience to be a part of my fantasy. There is never a time when I don’t want a basic runway. It’s boring to me. So yes, it’ll always be interactive. It’ll always be immersive. The client has to feel the emotions that I have felt making, building this collection.

ELLE: You’re so known for your sequin sheeting, structural corsetry and crystal work—how does that reflect in the new collection?

(ST): Of course, that is the key aspects of the Siddharth Tytler brand They are embedded in me, in my education, as when I was in college in FIT, New York. So yeah, you will still see sequins work. You’ll see it in an updated, elevated format. You will see our crystal display in a very, very elevated format. And of course, our applique work, which is, we’ve really pushed the boundaries this time.

ELLE: With beautiful aari, zari, crystal, and appliqué handwork, Indian craftsmanship techniques have ruled your work to date. Did that happen for TRIFECTA, too?

(ST): Yes, we are still working with Aari work, thread work, crystal work, applique, sequin. We’ve also now taken our work and elevated it. For example, we have taken Aari work but converted it into Lucknowi. So you will see a kurta that’s Lucknowi but it’s actually Aari embroidery and you can’t tell the difference. It’s so spectacular. My artisans have gone crazy this time. I think they’re abusing me, but the end justifies the means.

When Beyoncé wore my outfit during lockdown, it was the craziest moment of the career, I mean my whole 24 years. It was insane, the reaction, the love we got... 

ELLE: This being a ‘deeply personal’ collection and a milestone of over two decades, which pieces or moments in TRIFECTA are closest to your heart, and why?”

(ST): You know, I always say that every piece is my baby. There are a few key pieces in all three of the collections in this collection that are very important to me because it’s something that worked, it shaped the brand and how we’ve updated it today. It’s all about moments in the past that have come out today.

ELLE: You’ve dressed global icons including Beyoncé and some of India’s most influential celebrities; do share the most memorable design moments for a few of them.

(ST): I think the most iconic moment was when Beyoncé wore my outfit. There have been so many celebrities now, I honestly don’t even remember. But yes, when Beyoncé wore my outfit during lockdown, it was the craziest moment of the career, I mean my whole 24 years. It was insane, the reaction, the love we got. So yeah, Beyoncé is the queen, we can’t compare anyone else to her.

ELLE: What do you feel about the rise in Indian motifs and craftsmanship on the international runway?

(ST): If you see designers like Gaurav Gupta and Dhruv Kapoor and Rahul Mishra, you know they’ve really taken India to another level, of course in the past we had Manish Arora who took Indian motifs and put India on the platform, I think he is the OG designer to put India on the international map. It works beautifully; even when I speak to my friends and clients abroad, they love Indian motifs, the colours, the play of texture, so yes, there’s always a high demand of Indian aesthetics abroad.

I think I’m known for my max, max maximalism which involves opulence and grandeur. I don’t think I can stay away from that.

ELLE: What is a day with you like at your Zamrudpur studio in Delhi?

(ST): Oh good lord, it’s madness, I come in at about 10:30 or 11 in the morning, I’m not one of those designers who sit on my throne and just dictate; I literally go and sit with my artisans, I’m involved with the embroidery a daily basis, I’m involved with the cutting, the pattern making. I keep it traditional, I keep my studio small; it’s a tight ship, but we love working together. My people have been with me for the longest time; it’s not new people coming and going, it’s always been us.

ELLE: Maximalist, opulent—what term defines you as a designer, best?

(ST): I think I’m known for my max, max maximalism which involves opulence and grandeur. I don’t think I can stay away from that. I just cannot. You can challenge me, and I will fail making a minimal collection. That is who I am and I own it.

ELLE: If you could dress an international star in TRIFECTA, who would that be and why?

(ST): I know I’m going to sound old school, but the one person I really want to dress up all my life has been Madonna, and I think one day I will end up doing it, and there’s so many key elements and pieces in Trifacta that I think would work on her.

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