For over three decades, JJ Valaya has shaped the language of Indian ceremonial luxury – building a design universe rooted in heritage, travel, and the discipline of couture. Long before “maximalism” became a global fashion conversation, Valaya was constructing richly layered narratives drawn from royal ateliers, museum textiles, and cultural memory. Today, his work continues to redefine occasionwear through structure, proportion, and surface depth. As a First Look Tastemaker, Valaya represents a deeper shift in how couture is understood in India, less about spectacle and more about lasting cultural expression.

FL: When did you realise your taste didn’t fit neatly into what already existed?

JJV: Very early. I was never interested in minimalism. My instinct was archival, layered, and multicultural, with a strong emphasis on surface and embellishment. I understood quite quickly that what I was building wasn’t meant to fit into an existing box.

FL: Is there a set formula that you refuse to incorporate, even if it sells or trends?

JJV: Surface glamour without depth. I will not reduce couture to spectacle or gimmickry. If it doesn’t carry cultural memory and technical integrity, it doesn’t enter my mind or the atelier.

FL: Who or what shaped your sensibility early on, outside formal training?
JJV: Besides my mother, Indian royalty, travel journals, museum textiles, rare crafts, antiques and the discipline of old-world craftsmanship. Architecture shaped me as much as clothing did: symmetry, proportion, permanence. 

FL: What does success look like to you now, compared to five years ago?

JJV: A special view for me for sure, as I was on a sabbatical between 2017-2019! Today, success is clarity… of identity, structure, execution, and of spirit itself. It’s about delivering excellence consistently across every atelier, every groom, every bride, every patron. It is cultural longevity.

FL: What are you currently unlearning?

JJV: The need to accommodate every opinion! A brand cannot be democratic in its aesthetic. It must be directional. I am unlearning dilution.

FL: What do you hope people feel when they encounter your work?

JJV: A sense of ceremony. Of stature. Of depth. Of belonging to something larger than the present moment. Couture should elevate posture, both literally and emotionally.

FL: What is something India, as a fashion landscape, still doesn’t understand when it comes to couture?

JJV: That couture is not only embroidery density. It is quality, intricacy, cut, proportion, construction; a collective narrative working together. True couture is architecture in fabric. Without structure, embellishment is decoration, not design.

FL: What is next for JJV?

JJV: Sharper identity. Stronger cuts. Expansion with discipline. Clearer segmentation between couture and luxury prêt. My focus is to become the definitive voice of Indian ceremonial luxury.

The Tastemaker Code

A material you’re obsessed with right now

Textiles with provenance.

Tradition you keep returning to

Celebrating India and culturally enriched lands beyond it.

A rule you’re happy to break

That we must mirror the West to feel relevant.

What people get wrong about my work

That it is only about opulence. It is actually about discipline.

One decision that changed everything

Quitting a proven career in CA for a non-existent career in fashion in 1989.