Known for his bridalwear and festive wear, Mayyur Girotra founded his label in 2009 and expanded his business in Delhi, Dubai, Mumbai and the United States. His collection has been adorned by celebrities like Kriti Sanon, Shilpa Shetty, Genelia D'Souza, Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal among others. We talk to Mayyur about his journey in fashion, styles, the importance of social media and more...
How did you start your fashion career?
I always wanted to be a designer in my heart, but I took the safer route in my 20s and worked in wealth management and investment banking in Dubai for 10 years. As I entered my 30s, something changed and I quit my job to pursue my dream. Over a decade ago, we started with capsule collections and private showcases with the help of my mother and aunts and their circles. Today, we have a global presence with stores in Delhi, New Jersey, shop-in-shops in New York and San Francisco, as well as stockists in London and the UAE. I always had a head for design, and everything else, I learnt everything on the job.
Tell us more about new collections. What is the inspiration behind it?
Growing up, Lohri was the most special occasion for our family, and I drew on those memories to create this collection as an ode to the festival as well as to the time-honoured crafts of Punjab. As with every MG (Mayyur Girotra) collection, we created heirlooms steeped in hand craftsmanship, but what was different this time were the silhouettes — we did a lot of short, twirling kurtas with patialas and salwars. We also introduced our zardozi work, kora, and pure zari for velvets as a mainstay with this collection.
Has the trend of bright colours and bold designs made a comeback after a wave of subtlety that lasted in the fashion industry?
I don’t think it ever died or that it needs to make a comeback. As a country, our love affair with colour and festive brights is a long-standing one and will never fade away. Yes, soft pastels, gold and champagne did become very popular in between, but that doesn’t mean bold hues continued to have an audience during that time too. We are very particular about interpreting colour in a timeless way in our pieces.
In your opinion, what makes a design truly effective and successful?
For a design to be successful, it needs to be true to your core. For me, that is when I can instantly imagine my family or close friends when a piece is ready.
Do you think social media, specifically in this era of content creation, has played a big role in changing fashion trends?
Social media definitely plays a big role in popularizing certain trends and looks, but I don’t think we can credit the popularity of something as iconic as a sari to Instagram. Since I work equally with the local market as well as NRIs, I will say that Instagram has made Indians living abroad more up-to-date with the latest in festive wear. But back in India, we’ve always been on top of our game, in fact, I feel style was far more authentic pre-social media compared to today.
Tell us about that one attire that you created that you are the most proud of to date.
There are so many, but one that is special is a yellow bridal lehenga I designed for a long-time client’s wedding back in 2018, with sachi zari and zardozi work. We took the Shikhar Bagh trace from our sari and converted that to a lehenga, and the entire process from design to creation took over three months. The family has been such a big patron of the brand that the bride’s sisters wore MG to their weddings too. All her Indian wear has always been custom-made by me, so it was special to be a part of her big day.
Any future projects or collaborations you are looking forward to?
We launch MG Homes with a line of cushions and throws this summer. Watch out for that!
One movie you would have loved to design costumes for?
Anything by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, of course!
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