92-YO Journalist Who Made France Fall in Love with Indian Prints

It’s a chilly winter morning in Paris, and the cobbled lanes and historic buildings make for the proper picture in a postcard. Consumers throng the shops for last-minute festive buying, and boulangeries and cafes teem with vacationers and locals alike. 

And like most different streets at the moment of the 12 months, Rue 21 St Sulpice is not any stranger to the insanity of the vacations. Saint-Sulpice is among the many poshest districts within the French capital, and 1000’s throng to go to the native 400-year-old church, the pubs, cafes, and shops. 

However even within the flurry of passersby, there’s one store that catches your eye — Mohanjeet. Mentioned to be the oldest store on the road, it exudes a nostalgic appeal, with the prints behind the glass bearing remnants of easier instances. The style capital of the world has by no means been at a loss for brand new types and stylish designs, however this 51-year-old atelier has an attract that few others within the space do. 

At its helm is 92-year-old Mohanjeet Grewal, who says that at Mohanjeet, each assortment has a narrative. 

Grewal has been deemed the ‘ambassador of Indian vogue’, a title she holds most pricey. Having set foot within the vogue world in 1962, her work, she says, is an ode to India and an affidavit of the tradition she reveres. 

“Every of my collections, every accent, speaks of a area in India — a cross-fertilisation of custom and modernity,” she notes in dialog with The Higher India.  

Embroidered with love, rooted in tradition 

Whereas she didn’t have any earlier publicity or formal coaching in vogue, Mohanjeet relied on her pure flare for choosing and mixing designs. 

“For example, take the mini saree I designed in 1967,” she says. “I at all times wore sarees however I had simply begun sporting minis. So I designed the hemline of the sari, above the knee. It simply occurred! Likewise, I designed gold-rimmed dhotis as wraparounds to make it a globally related silhouette.”

Likewise, she was at all times open to new avenues within the subject of vogue, and was one of many first to introduce khadi and vibrant, contrasting prints from Rajasthan to Europe. 

She reveals the roots of her inspiration — Indian miniatures. 

“Should you look intently on the sample, you see seven to eight completely different prints. I combine prints and mix supplies — Indian silks, cottons and embroidered materials, hammered or brushed steel,” she notes, including that it was her affiliation with Indian craftsmen that guided her creations.

This affiliation has been one in all mutual understanding. 

“I’ve an enormous respect for the material’s work. I wish to be Indian and at all times put the label ‘Made in India’. I’ve bought costly garments to point out that what’s made in India may be very tailor-made, hand-embroidered, and never junky. The Mohanjeet garments are for all times, and virtually unique items,” she says. 

When requested from the place this love for Indian prints stems, she says the journey has been formed by each daring decisions in addition to her experiences. 

From Punjab to Paris: A narrative that took Indian prints to the globe  

Grewal’s childhood was marked by reminiscences of the Partition, she recollects. The household needed to migrate from Lahore to Patiala, the place Grewal grew up till she moved to the US within the 50s to pursue her additional research. 

Following a Doctorate at Berkeley in 1955, Grewal began her profession as a journalist, and her title was a standard sight in prestigious dailies such because the New York Herald Tribune and the New York Instances. “It was actually very thrilling,” she recollects. 

After this stint overseas, when she returned to India in 1960, she realised she didn’t keep in mind the nation as she left it. “I didn’t know India, besides Gandhi!,” she quips. 

With out a lot of a plan, however realizing she wished to do nice issues, she packed her luggage as soon as once more and moved to Paris, the place — as she would quickly study — the remainder of her life would start to take form. 

Her life within the French capital started with an fascinating story. 

Eager to do one thing concerning the cash alternate disaster in India, Grewal says she approached the then Indian finance minister Morarji Desai with an concept.  

“I requested him, ‘You lament the shortage of overseas alternate, impose import duties and prohibit outgoing forex… however why don’t you encourage a rise in exports? India has a lot to supply, a lot to promote.’”

“The minister’s reply took me unexpectedly. He requested me to arrange a mission and are available again with the outcomes,” she notes. 

And so, with the minister’s belief and an investor on board, she started exporting “trunk-loads of Indian textiles” into France in Might 1964. The identical 12 months, she opened her first boutique La malle de l’Inde with 3,000 francs, which she’d loaned from a good friend. 

“My imaginative and prescient was to show and promote Indian craftsmanship in cities like Paris. I singlehandedly curated a collection of objects that I assumed would slot in with the wants and expectations of the French,” she says. 

A number of instances a 12 months, Grewal would make journeys to India looking for the best materials, handwoven by craftsmen. Consequently, she opened one other boutique in 1968 at rue St Germain des Prés, after which in 1971, the flagship retailer Mohanjeet — the one one that continues to be — on Rue 21 St Sulpice. 

‘Like a potter with clay’

Because the 92-year-old welcomes shoppers (now associates) — the likes of Romain Gary, Jean Seberg, Catherine Deneuve, Yves Saint Laurent and Jane Fonda — she reminisces how instances have modified. 

“Years in the past, vogue was led by huge names like Balenciaga and Dior. The entire market was ready for these high collections to return out with a view to say what was in or not. The mass market was ready for these collections with a view to copy, and take off these garments from well-known names. However right this moment, this isn’t the case,” she notes. 

“These days, it’s a every day present. We’ve 1000’s of names and there are designers in every single place. Every little thing could be very fast-forward. There isn’t any restrict to creativity. Issues hold coming again and going away, it adjustments on a regular basis.”

“Individuals are keen these days to shut their eyes on high quality, on an actual story, know-how with a view to have increasingly more garments. These days everybody appears to be sporting the identical garments,” she remarks. 

However, her model hasn’t modified. 

Mohanjeet nonetheless depends on phrase of mouth and has not resorted to e-commerce but. The rationale for this, she says, is to have the ability to present and promote the garments to “some actual aficionados who may actually benefit from the work and sweetness behind all these creations”.

On the model, each design is produced in solely three sizes S, M and L and Mohanjeet emphasises that when bought out, the identical design could also be accessible later, however by no means the identical cloth. 

When the style legend will not be busy at her atelier, she says she loves exploring Paris and having fun with what it has to supply. “[I visit] museums, expositions, cinemas, [and enjoy] dancing, opera, listening to music,” she says, including that she by no means defines herself as a stylist, even right this moment. 

“I [instead] outline myself as a potter who has clay in her arms and does one thing out of it.”

Edited by Divya Sethu