Text by Shirin Mehta, with inputs from Akanksha Pandey. Photographs by Asad Sheikh.
Sharp tailoring (he is fabled for drafting every pattern himself, his construction skills deemed “legendary”) juxtaposed with flowing lines. An almost manic attention to detail. Embroideries that are somehow almost cerebral. (A sari with monotone embroidery in its geometric magnificence recalled a map of the constellations to my mind and has stayed with me over decades). After 12 years of resounding silence, Mumbai’s quiet couturier — sometimes called the “Armani of India” — Shahab Durazi and his 34-year-old eponymous label have returned to the ramp with all this and more, in a collection that was partly a retrospective of his brand. The soft bows, the fringes, the bejewelled tassels, the beaded trousers, the short skirts and jackets, the ’40s- and ’50s-inspired…