{"id":2073972,"date":"2025-10-07T04:09:47","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T04:09:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2073972"},"modified":"2025-10-07T04:09:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T04:09:47","slug":"j-j-valaya-iconic-couturier-to-bollywood-hollywood-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/j-j-valaya-iconic-couturier-to-bollywood-hollywood-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"J.J. Valaya: Iconic Couturier to Bollywood & Hollywood Stars"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Katrina Kaif<\/span><\/a>, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, <\/span>Deepika Padukone<\/span><\/a>, Bipasha Basu, Arjun Rampal, Milind Soman, John Abraham \u2014 you name them, and they\u2019ve walked for JJ Valaya. But before they were household names, they were on his runway.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll my favourite models are movie stars now,\u201d the designer laughs. \u201cThey\u2019re an ever-changing muse.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Deepika<\/p>\n

Deepika Padukone walking for JJ Valaya’s show at Lakme Fashion Week in the early 2000s.<\/span>courtesy of the house of valaya<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In the heady, electric fashion shows of the late 1990s and early 2000s \u2014 long before Instagram and influencer culture \u2014 Valaya\u2019s runways were the training ground for many who would go on to become India\u2019s leading stars. \u201cBut there was no concept of the \u2018showstopper\u2019 back then,\u201d he says. \u201cEverything was about the clothes, as it should be.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, fresh off the success of his recent India Couture Week (ICW) show, with an ambitious new vision for Autumn-Winter 2026 already underway, the designer gets candid about his past achievements and what\u2019s yet to come.<\/span><\/p>\n

Future Forward<\/span><\/h2>\n

Earlier this year, ICW \u2014 arguably India\u2019s grandest fashion showcase \u2014 closed with Valaya\u2019s show, leaving the audience somewhere \u201cbetween the East and the West,\u201d as he puts it.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"JJ<\/p>\n

JJ Valaya at India Couture Week.<\/span>courtesy of the house of valaya<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Valaya explains how in the 18th century, the West was endlessly fascinated by the East. \u201cThey didn\u2019t quite understand it, but they interpreted it. You saw it in chinoiserie \u2014 Chinese blue pottery interpreted in Europe. Or the Kashmiri shawl, which inspired paisley designs in Scotland.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His collection journeyed through three zones: the Near East (Balkans, Albania, Azerbaijan), the Far East, and India \u2014 tracing the centuries-long exchange of aesthetics, art and identity. But this was no parade of the past. Valaya\u2019s silhouettes are rooted in historical context but refashioned for a modern, global luxury consumer. \u201cIt\u2019s osmosis,\u201d he says. Drawing from the past but dressing for the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Ibrahim<\/p>\n

Ibrahim Ali Khan and Rasha Thadani closed Valaya’s recent show at India Couture Week.<\/span>courtesy of the house of valaya<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

So, it was fitting that new actors Rasha Thadani and Ibrahim Ali Khan \u2014 faces of Bollywood\u2019s next generation \u2014 closed this show. A fitting finale for a designer who takes pride in moving with the times. But to understand why that matters, one has to look at the bigger picture; the world that Valaya has quietly been building for decades.<\/span><\/p>\n

The World of Valaya<\/span><\/h2>\n

However, those who are familiar with Valaya\u2019s early trajectory understand that his instinct for building worlds \u2014 not just wardrobes \u2014 predates today\u2019s trends in celebrity, fashion and luxury. In fact, in 1996, he launched JJ Valaya Life, a concept that was leagues ahead of its time.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Sonam<\/p>\n

Sonam Kapoor dressed in JJ Valaya.<\/span>courtesy of the house of valaya<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe opened with fashion, interiors, an art gallery, blues music and a caf\u00e9 named Ella [inspired by singer Ella Fitzgerald], and even a florist,\u201d he recalls. \u201cNobody in India was doing this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s why the J.J. Valaya story is also, in many ways, the story of modern Indian fashion. He was the first Indian designer to launch a website, the first to do a solo show, the first brand ambassador of Swarovski, and a co-founder of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) in 1999.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Anushka<\/p>\n

Anushka Sharma walking for the designer.<\/span>courtesy of the house of valaya<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe had no benchmarks back then,\u201d he says. \u201cThere were only a handful of us, and we had to create the industry. Fortunately, at that time, retailers started opening up \u2014 from Ensemble to Ogaan, Signature and Karma. But \u201cfabulous\u201d is how Valaya remembers Indian fashion in its nascent stages. \u201cWe grew with the industry, and it grew with us,\u201d says the designer. He recalls a time when shows were rare and sacred. \u201cThey didn\u2019t happen every week. The audience was excited and there was a camaraderie among designers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"The<\/p>\n

The designer putting the final touches on a model.<\/span>courtesy of the house of valaya<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Of course, much has changed. Today, fashion weeks are calendared like corporate events, celebrity showstoppers dominate headlines, and many designer houses have become brand extensions of major corporations. \u201cBut it gives us more discipline,\u201d Valaya says of the production cycles, as India settles into having fashion seasons, catching up with the rest of the world. \u201cIt is a natural evolution, even looking back at European couture: who was Louis Vuitton? A person sitting in a shop making trunks for the special families of Paris. And at one point of time, someone decided that this is a product with potential, and the brand needs to be corporatised.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hollywood Calling<\/span><\/h2>\n

The multifaceted couturier also turned costume designer during the COVID-19 pandemic. He dressed Eddie Murphy in <\/span>Coming 2 America<\/span>, styled Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda in<\/span> Black Panther: Wakanda Forever<\/span>, and made headlines again when Bassett herself mentioned, in an interview with<\/span> India Today<\/span> in May 2025, how much she loved wearing his creations.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"The<\/p>\n

The designer styled Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’. <\/span>courtesy of the house of valaya<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt was one of the most exciting chapters of my life,\u201d he says of working with two-time Oscar winning costume designer, Ruth Carter. \u201cIt was such a feast because Ruth is exceptionally brilliant, talented and a very lovely person. We had great chemistry.\u201d His creations for Murphy and Bassett were not only visual treats on screen but also signified a crucial moment for Indian fashion in global pop culture. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFittings happened over video calls,\u201d he recalls. \u201cBut it worked out so beautifully.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So, with this experience behind him, would Valaya consider designing for Indian cinema? \u201cWhy not?\u201d he asks, \u201cbut everything about us is larger-than-life, detailed and with a sense of culture, history. I don\u2019t think I\u2019d ever be able to do a masala movie.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The designer adds that if he had to pick, he\u2019d love to work with a director like Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Which isn\u2019t a surprise, because the way Bhansali sees his films is how Valaya sees his designs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe find beauty in contradiction,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Valaya<\/p>\n

Valaya with Sonakshi Sinha.<\/span>courtesy of the house of valaya<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For now, he\u2019s riding the wave post-ICW \u2014 but Spring-Summer is in production, and Autumn-Winter 2026 is in the works. His latest endeavour, \u201cThe World of Valaya,\u201d like an Indian version of Armani\u2019s Milan concept space, unites all his loves \u2014 fashion, home and photography \u2014 under one roof.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s a new line of bags, eyewear and accessories on the horizon, with his other brand, JJV Kapurthala. Multiple new flagship stores will also roll out across India, including a much-anticipated return to Mumbai after 24 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

And yes \u2014 he\u2019s certainly designing the Mumbai store himself. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have it any other way,\u201d he says. <\/span><\/p>\n

To read more exclusive stories from The Hollywood Reporter India’s October 2025 print issue, pick up a copy of the magazine from your nearest book store or newspaper stand.<\/span><\/p>\n

To buy the digital issue of the <\/span>magazine, <\/span>please click here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n