New Delhi: He blazed a trail on the catwalks of high fashion, blending traditional craft with bold aesthetics to create designs that found appeal in India and also the west. Rohit Bal was a pioneer and legacy maker, his creations grandiose, his shows opulent – much like the man himself.
Bal, instrumental in building the Indian fashion industry at a time few thought it could be a full-time career and a lucrative one at that, died on Friday night after a heart attack. He was 63.
Once called “India’s Master of fabric and fantasy” by Time magazine, often termed maverick and the enfant terrible of the industry, Bal was one of the early designers to put Indian fashion on the global map with his designs being chosen by Hollywood celebrities such as Cindy Crawford, Uma Thurman, Pamela Anderson and Naomi Campbell.
Known for the intricate use of rich fabrics like velvet and brocade adorned with signature flower and peacock motifs, Bal’s creations redefined Indian couture on a global scale.
In India, actors such as Ranbir Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sonam Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Arjun Rampal and others either walked for Bal or sported his designs at events.
The couturier, one of India’s best known designers and Gudda to his friends and peers, had not been keeping well for the last few years. Poor health led him to withdraw from public and professional engagements in the last few years but the zing remained.
Bal survived a major health scare in December last year. He recovered somewhat and put in his all for his final showing on October 13 this year at the Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI in Delhi’s Imperial Hotel.
He looked frail, struggled to walk and even stumbled while making his way to the stage. The spirits were high though. Bal shook a leg to loud cheers, quite the rockstar of Indian fashion.
Actor Ananya Pandey, who had turned his muse and showstopper for the gala night, presented Bal with a rose at the end of the show — titled a poetic ‘Kaaynaat: A Bloom In The Universe’. The clothes were in keeping too, bandhgalas, sherwani, tuxedos and traditional jackets for men, and dupatta churidars, anarkalis and tunic dresses for the women in a black, white and red palette.
As he took a bow in what was possibly his last public appearance, many in the crowd cheered for him, some with a lump in their throat, knowing that it was possibly his last sayonara.
The end came a little over two weeks later at south Delhi’s Aashlok Hospital as the world outside celebrated Diwali.
Bal is survived by his brother Rajiv and sisters Aruna and Neera.
His approach to fashion was a captivating blend of art, history, and folklore, and he elevated his designs to high art by drawing on India’s cultural heritage.
A history graduate from St Stephen’s College, the designer was adept at melding historical influences with imaginative flair to create high couture.
In an interview with PTI in 2019, Bal spoke about his uncompromising design philosophy.
“I always stuck to who I am and never did what everybody else was doing. I have a very strong and focused design philosophy, and I adhere to that. I believe anything you do from your heart and soul will always stay relevant. I am comfortable in being classic, elegant, and timeless, and it has contributed a lot to my brand and career as a designer,” Bal said.
Rohit Bal was born on 8 May, 1961 in the city of Srinagar into a Kashmiri Pandit family.
As per Wikipedia, Bal received his education from Woodlands House School and Burn Hall School in Srinagar, until his family left Kashmir, well before the start of the separatist insurgency in the 1970s.
His family settled in New Delhi, where he completed his education at the Delhi Public School in Mathura Road. He later graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in History from the St. Stephens College of the University of Delhi. He studied fashion through a short course at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), and also later taught students at the Institute as guest faculty.
He initially worked in his family’s export business, learning the industry’s fundamentals before launching his own label in 1990. There was no looking back after that.
By 2001, Bal’s reputation had been firmly established internationally, with tennis star Anna Kournikova walking for his Paris show that year.
Marrying creativity and commerce, his influence went beyond fashion, extending into luxury product collaborations such as footwear, linen, jewellery and watches. He also worked with industry giants like the Aditya Birla Group.
His talent also found its way into costume designs for contestants on “Kaun Banega Crorepati,” hosted by megastar Amitabh Bachchan, and outfitting British Airways’ cabin crew.
The couturier ventured into the culinary world too with two restaurants, Veda and Cibo in Delhi. Though Bal became famous world over for his work, he remained a boy from the Valley at heart.
“The Valley offers so much inspiration, and I have always picked up something from the flora which is very exclusive to Kashmir. There are so many beautiful landscapes and mountains. But a lot depends on the medium you are expressing your feelings through.
“If I were a painter, I would have focused on the streams and waterfalls, probably. But I believe as a designer, flowers complement my work the best,” Bal told PTI in 2019.
Rohit Bal’s imprint on Indian fashion will live on.
