India’s ace fashion designer Hemant Trevedi has been responsible for creating the most gorgeous wardrobes not only for beauty queens, but pop divas, film stars and celebrities.

One of the first foreign-trained designers in India, Hemant was the first male student to graduate from the Australian Technical Institute of Fashion Design in Perth. From there, he went to the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, before returning to India in 1980. He was one of the few designers in the 1980s to be offered a job to work with Britain’s top designer Zandra Rhodes. But it was his Indian roots that pulled Hemant back to his country.

Designer, choreographer, stylist, design professor, and something of a Svengali, Hemant has groomed and trained some of the top models in India. As a choreographer, Hemant has presented some of the most unusual shows in China, Egypt, Far East, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, UAE, UK and the US. He has been responsible for training and launching the careers of several top models in India.

The mastermind behind several advertising campaigns such as the Bombay Dyeing Haiku sari and Garden Vareli campaigns, Hemant took over as Fashion Director and Head Designer of Sheetal, India’s leading fashion store a decade ago. He changed the image of Sheetal from a department store in Mumbai to that of a trendy up market fashion house.

Hemant and his team of ten designers have created wardrobes for several beauty queens such as Aishwarya Rai, Miss World 1994, and Diana Hayden, Miss World 1998. It was Hemant’s swimsuit for Diana that won the best costume award at the 1998 contest. Hemant’s biggest break came when he presented his collection at the IGEDO Fashion Fair in Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1996 along with seven other designers.

But Hemant’s ultimate triumph was at the Collection Premiere Dusseldorf Fashion Fair in Germany in August 1999 where he was invited to display his Spring/Summer 2000 line at six shows over three days. The response to his creations of stretch nylon net printed line, the Morarjee Mills linen range and the crepe silk line were so amazing that he had his label sold in stores in Austria, the Caribbean, Germany, Switzerland, Tenerife and the US. Stores in New York promoted Hemant as the designer for 2000.

Before long watchmaker Longines took Hemant to Munich in 2000 where his collection was featured on the same ramp along with international designers Helmut Lang and Jil Sanders. The year 2000 was both a good and bad year for Hemant. He met with a near fatal accident, which kept him in a coma for 18 days. But Hemant was back in the saddle within a few months. He was selected to create gowns for the 96 contestants of the Miss World 2000 contest.

The crowning glory came for him when all four competitors who represented India won international crowns wearing Hemant Trevedi creations: Lara Dutta became Miss Universe 2000, Priyanka Chopra was crowned Miss World 2000, Diya Mirza got the Miss Asia Pacific 2000 title and Aditi Govitrekar walked off with Mrs World 2000.

NOTEBOOK: Hermant’s choice of fabrics is always rich and varied. Crepe, silk, net, chiffon, cotton, lace, velvet and jersey are some of his favorites. His silhouettes are contemporary yet timeless. Hemant is not only a woman’s wear designer but also designs men’s wear. But he admits, his concept of men’s wear revolves around fusion styling, once again allowing a melding of the east
and west.