On the surface, Tarun Tahiliani and Rohit Bal couldn’t be more different, yet both have shaped Indian fashion on their own terms. With well-established legacies, each presented a distinct sartorial language at Lakmé Fashion Week x FDCI

Rohit Bal was joined by actor Ananya Pandey, the face of Lakmee x Rohit Bal Bloom beauty range, to close the grand finale of Lakmee Fashion Week x FDCI

With Tarun Tahiliani closing the 9pm slot with his ready-to-wear brand OTT, just a day before Rohit Bal’s House of Lakmé grand finale, the scene was primed at the recently concluded Lakmé Fashion Week x FDCI in New Delhi.

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Though Tarun Tahiliani, 62, and Rohit Bal, 63, may appear worlds apart in their design aesthetics—each a fantasist in his own way—they share a defining trait: their brands are cornerstones of Indian fashion.

Their paths first crossed long before they entered the industry, when they shared a bus to St Stephen’s College in New Delhi. Nearly four decades ago, with the encouragement of the late Rohit Khosla, they began their careers. Rising to prominence in a post-independence, socialist India, both drew inspiration from a society poised for change—an era of optimism, youthful idealism, and a search for identity.

Model Sheetal Mallar in a Rohit Bal ecru pleated gown paired with a long jacket; (right) Models Sheetal Mallar and Lalit Tehlan at Rohit Bal grand finale show

While many in the fashion press have often cast them as rivals, Tahiliani and Bal have been behind some of the most inspiring shows, clothes, soundtracks, ideas, and imagery of the past few decades. Dressmaking has been their medium, but their influence has opened up other worlds. Together, they embody the old guard, still shifting fashion in new directions.

I felt India was becoming polarising—everyone’s either thrilled to wear Western clothes or dressed in some form of costume, whether for a wedding or Bollywood.” Tarun Tahiliani was in a reflective mood before the debut of........

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