What is India’s art crowd wearing?

“I dress up all the time, when did you last see me in something casual?” says entrepreneur and one of the stars of Netflix’s Fabulous Lives Vs Bollywood Wives, Kalyani Saha Chawla, when I run into her on day two of Art Mumbai at Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Racecourse. Of the cast members, she’s one with major fashion credentials: The ex-VP of Marketing and Communications at Dior for years—at Art Mumbai, Chawla is wearing a black and white Lovebirds dress, Golden Goose sneakers (a wise choice for wading your way through the expanse of art and art world people), and a Fendi sling bag. “To me fashion and art have always gone together. Every single designer has been inspired by art after all.” She is here with her daughter Tahira, herself a gallerist in London, who is in a column-like Liviana Conti dress. “Part of the job is to be well dressed. You’re representing the gallery, but you’ve also got to make a brand for yourself,” says Tahira.

It’s a warm Friday afternoon, but thankfully, we are in one of the vast air-conditioned halls that currently houses contemporary works. This is the second edition of Art Mumbai and there is an intimidating amount of art to look at: 71 galleries from India and abroad and three foundation spaces hosted by Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Saffronart Foundation, and RMZ Foundation. Despite the heat, there is a palpable buzz in the air. Curators, artists, collectors, reporters, and general art-world cognoscenti—there are a lot of people to meet and there’s a lot of art to eventually have an opinion about, and all of it to be done while dressing the part. “It’s nicely designed, the energy has been good,” says artist M Pravat, whose abstract works were exhibited at the event by Pune’s Vida Heydari Contemporary. He’s using the occasion to wear something designed by his wife, sculptor Vinima Gulati, who, he informs us, is launching her own label later this year. The couple often shares clothes; this time, it’s an Issey Miyake-esque set of a black shirt with drop-crotch trousers and a flat metal brooch shaped like a house. “Like her sculpture, it’s all very form based, and there’s a little bit of volume,” he says.

At around 4 pm, the sense of giddiness in the air increases. Perhaps it’s all the Subko and Nandan Coffee that people are chugging. Perhaps it’s the fact that Karan Johar has entered, wearing one of his signature ginormous jackets. We spot Orry, surrounded by his bodyguards and sporting a brat green Dior shirt with his blond buzz cut. Towards the end of the evening, actor Rasika Duggal makes an appearance in a mustard-yellow jumpsuit and Cord bag, and says “I’m here to see, not to shop. I’m an actor, so I came for some inspiration.”

But a key purpose of these fairs is of course to sell art. Walking past the Vadehra Gallery booth, we interrupt the elegant Kavita Bhambhani Singh, a former Miss India and aunt to actor Sonam Kapoor, in the process of buying a Sudhir Patwardhan painting. “I’ve been collecting since about 1976,” she says. “That was the year I got married, so I was doing up my house. I think the first pieces I bought were a Krishen Khanna and an Anjolie Ela Menon.” Singh is dressed in a pale taupe linen set and her hair is wrapped in a cream turban, her signature accessory. A grey Louis Vuitton tote, a pair of discreet solitaire earrings, a Bulgari watch, and her impossibly clear skin mark her as a client of note. Another is British curator George Varley, who’s shopping both for a private client and for himself. “I saw a work by Vikrant Bhise that I want, but it will probably already be sold by now,” he rues, dressed in a pair of jeans from a Japanese denim brand whose name he can’t recall, a striped cotton shirt, red frames from English eyewear label Cubitts, and a shopper with a Tibetan tiger print, which he picked up from the streets of Jaipur. Asked about the fashion at the fair, he says, “Everyone is dressed well. I would say it’s more casual than other art fairs around the world, which is actually really nice.” 

Priyansha Jain, the founder of multidisciplinary design studio InOrdinary, says the response to her brand’s large, monolithic, candles-that-are-also-sculptures has been great. But we’ve pounced on her to talk about her avant-garde look. She’s wearing a pair of ugly-beautiful pink platforms by Grounds and a dress by Jil Sander over which she’s got on a harness by Japanese brand Noir Kei Ninomiya. Her hair today is up in two space buns. “I love curating in general. Whether it’s objects in my house or the clothing and accessories I might wear. I just love living an artistic life that is full of individual expression. It’s about a love for things and a curiosity in general.”

Filmmaker and performance artist Gia Singh Arora voiced a similar sentiment. “I’m a collector of things and clothing is big part of my personality, it’s how I express myself—the bit of madness, slight twistiness. As I grow up, I’m finding that one thing can turn around a very simple look.” Today, that one thing is a plushie-like Minnie Mouse bag that she’s had since childhood. And she’s paired it with a pair of pants from Whim and a thrifted shirt from Bygone Echoes.

Thrifting comes up frequently in conversations around clothing, particularly with the younger crowd at the art fair. Vishal Chaudhary, a fresh-faced gallerist with Art Alive Gallery looks polished in a grey suit—the longline jacket and wide-leg trousers are both finds from New Delhi’s NSCI Market. He says he is loving his time in Mumbai. “The people are so chill, so polite. We went to Americano last night for a few drinks and it was just what we needed after a hectic first day here.” Artist Harsh Nambiar whose work is being exhibited at Anant Art is wearing a thrifted denim shirt while UK-based photographer Sinbad Phgura (you might recognise his name from the credits of the film Dev D where he lent his dance moves as part of the troupe The Twilight Players) is wearing an original 1967 US-Vietnam War jacket with Ralph Lauren trousers, a Hunter hat, a compact Bilingham Bags sling, and a camera slung around his shoulders.

While for some, it’s about cherry-picking pieces to create a memorable look, others have a more hands-on approach. Tito Stanley SJ whose lush, tropical landscapes are being represented by Anant Art, is wearing a floral jacquard suit of his own design. “I even have a pair of matching boots, but that’s coming tomorrow,” he tells us. Designer Farshogar is wearing a blue-and-green checked pyjama and shirt with a matching tote that he sewed himself, a skill he learnt during the lockdown. He says, “Usually I’m just in a simple linen shirt and trousers, but this is Art Mumbai. All your art world friends are here. Everyone dresses up a bit.”

Before we leave, I ask curator Bose Krishnamachari about his signature glasses. “I like the juxtaposition of the fact that the lenses are a circle and a square. I’m confident in them, but they might make others feel disturbed. Those extremes can exist at once.” As art itself should be, I think.