Army mom, Rajasthani crafts, travel and love for the East, forms the basis of Valaya’s ICW line replete with motifs of the Balkans to his ideology –a “royal nomad”.
By Asmitaa Aggaarwal
J J Valaya was born in Rajasthan, Jodhpur, a fauji kid who travelled all over the country Lucknow, Chandigarh, Pune, to Delhi and from here comes the spirit of travel, as well as exposure to multitude of cultures, living in different parts of country understanding artisanal forms that exists there.
“My mom was an army wife, used to handle ladies’ welfare at the army cantonment where they teach embroideries-cross stitch, shadow work to smocking, which I imbibed along the way. All that seeps in, I believe in the power of creativity, it paves the way, defines the path of your life,” says Valaya.
It has been 33 years, 35 if you count his education in NIFT, this is why he asserts, fashion is a fab career option, only if you have passion for it, as you are put on test every six months. “You must put blinkers on like a race horse, keep moving. Focus on what you are good at and focus on that, you can’t rest on your laurels. Be aware of what is going on in the world, don’t lose focus, don’t waste too much time on networking. Put in a lot of effort, work hard to hone your skill, make it the best,” he advises young designers.
This is no hard and fast rule, he believes in “less is more” or “more is less”. Every designer can support both and believe in either ideology, maximalism vs minimalism both have advantages. India is a land of maximalism, foods are complex, we are a continent not a country, everything changes in our country from our festivals to our dresses. “No simplicity in Diwali or holi we are extravagant – architecture, carvings on rocks and stones, making masterpieces. Indians are not averse to embellishments, it is our greatest treasure—some use it to flourish with just a beautiful garment, some would create an entirely embellished masterpiece to go into a museum-highly subjective our love for shine, he believes. “It all depends on our design language. We love to celebrate—weddings are grand, we consume couture with fervour,” he adds.
People should believe in their country more, focus on quality, Valaya doesn’t have gora hangover, feeding to the whims of the West, nor do we try to appease them. “Unless we get accepted in the West we don’t arrive, we feed on that ideology. We can’t be farther from the truth, India will be the prime market for everything in the next ten years,” he explains.
His philosophy is to simply believe in my country, make indigenous fashion statements as brides are consuming couture, like they rush to buy bags and jewellery. Why not buy beautiful clothes? “Couture in India is linked to weddings, some women buy embroidered jackets, to feel happy,” he says.
Any good brand in the world will be evolutionary in nature—is true benchmark of a brand which believes in its ethos and grows within that. It means you are aware of trends, you don’t blindly follow them, because luxury, to be called luxe, needs a high degree of timelessness. It is an investment, buying masterpieces, not clothes, you want them to last, pass them down to generations, that’s what couture is, he adds.
The collection for ICW 2025 “East” and it’s his journey into this hemisphere….he is going back in time, 18th century when the West used to look at East with wonder. “It was a mysterious land full of stories —amazing cultures, artisans, crafts. So we wandered from the Balkans into the far East and finally settled in India,” says Valaya.
When it comes to crafts, he is greedy, doesn’t cultivate favourites, he believes there is so much to explore in this country, it will take a lifetime. Any Indian designer must rediscover hidden crafts, and reinterpret for the current generation. Exactly what I am doing, innovate every year, push limits of excellence when it comes to workmanship, detailing and prints we sneak in.
We don’t believe in extreme change every year. It has to be evolution. There is a distinct DNA of the brand that’s why customers come to us,” he adds.
The bride is well travelled, the internet has brought everything close to us, she is intelligent, aware of what’s going on, all these factors make her better informed than brides of the past. “Being a classist, I want to create masterpieces she can truly enjoy, cherish, make her feel good, look good, give her pieces she knows can be worn again. I do not like gimmickry, I do not want to shock, I want to awe, but with a degree of craftsmanship, and artisanal quality in the garment.
All the initial sketches are always done by Valaya himself; every sketch that’s made is fine-tuned by me. “Couture demands that attention, I really enjoy what I do. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are in another mind space, we are mere observers, from a distance see what’s happening and adapt to what’s going on. Tradition plays such a large part of Indian couture, there won’t be any radical changes happening, but mindset is changing-GenZ wants things to be experimental,” he adds. It is a very intelligent generation, they know exactly what they want. They realise, anything good has value and they are willing to pay for it, “so I think after 35 years I have learnt how to adapt to this generation,” he explains.
Being a stylist, photographer, designer, a multifaceted person, “the royal nomad with a panache for art deco”, is an apt tagline. “It applies to me, as I love what I do, 33 years down the line I am still as excited about every show, every collection, every brand campaign that we do, photography is my alter ego at play, great leveler. We also do home interiors-carpets, love designing furniture, very fortunate to happen to be working in a career where I do not need to draw any boundaries,” he concludes.