
Rohit Bal (1961-2024): A pioneer of Indian fashion
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. For those who started their fashion careers in the 1990s—a time when the industry was just starting to find its place—Rohit Bal was a guiding light. And this was borne out when almost every member of the fashion industry, from designers and stylists to photographers, models and fashion writers, had a special memory to share of working with him, soon after the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) announced the death of legendary designer on 1 November.
He was 63. Bal, or Gudda as he was fondly known, was among the most respected and loved fashion designers of India. Born in 1961 in Srinagar, he was a pioneer of the Indian fashion industry and began his journey as a designer in 1986 after graduating from Delhi University with a degree in history and then studying at Delhi’s National Institute of Fashion Technology.
I first came across the work of Rohit Bal in Mumbai in 1990 at the thenthree-year-old multi-brand store Ensemble. I was 17 and had just arrived from London, my home city. A few months earlier, my father had met Bal at a wedding, and they had hit it off immediately.
Although my father wasn’t particularly interested in fashion, he told me about this blonde-haired man with blue-green eyes who made beautiful, swirling kurtas, and suggested I see his creations on my next trip to India. Even after returning to London, I couldn't get his designs out of my mind. So, a year later, during my next trip to India, I went to Delhi to meet Bal in person.
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