Satya Paul (1942–2021) was an Indian entrepreneur and fashion designer, best known for his digital print sarees with designer labels in India. She is known as “the man who re-invented the saree”. He died due to age related ailments on 6 January 2021 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Satya Paul was born in Layyah, British India (now in Pakistan) on Monday, 2 February 1942 (age 78 at the time of death). Their zodiac sign is Aquarius. After partition in 1947, his family left Laiya and moved to New Delhi. Satya Paul never took a fashion design course; He was self-taught. Talking about this in an interview, he said,
I had to learn myself about design and quality because I was not satisfied with just trading. In the quest to offer superior quality and design, this quest took me far and wide and helped shape a life of creation.
Family
parents and siblings
His father ran a small restaurant named Punjab Watani in Sarojini Nagar, Delhi.
wife and children
His wife’s name is Santosh. His son, Puneet Nanda, is the co-founder of designer label Satya Paul. His daughter’s name is Richa Nanda.
Satya Paul with his wife
Satya Paul’s son, Puneet Nanda
Satya Paul’s daughter Richa Nanda (left) with a relative
religion/religious views
In the 1970s, his spiritual journey began when he began following the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. Later he took retirement from religious leader Osho. A Zorba monk, Satya along with his wife, Santosh, and children, Richa and Puneet, joined Osho’s community of religious intentions, the Rajneeshpuram Commune. After Osho’s death in 1990, Paul was not looking for a new leader, but he discovered Sadhguru in 2007 and started following him. In 2015, he began living at Isha Yoga Centre, a spiritual organization founded by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev in 1992 near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
livelihood
After coming to Delhi in 1947, his father set up a small restaurant called Punjab Watani in Sarojini Nagar, where Satya Paul worked as a handyman boy. Talking about this in an interview he said,
From scratch, my father and I ran a restaurant in Sarojini Nagar (Delhi), which became quite famous at that time. The struggle was intense. After this I decided to enter the textile business as I thought it would be less taxing, although there were equally challenging times ahead.
Later, he established the Albany Café. The café became a hanging spot for artists of the era who would have long discussions on art, philosophy, politics and current affairs. Some of those artists were Arjun Dev Rashk (film writer) and Jagjit Singh (singer). In an interview, Puneet Nanda said,
He (Satya Paul) created Albany Café for artists to hang out. I remember hearing that he used to say to Jagjit Singh, if you want us to listen to you, you bring whiskey!”
By the mid-1960s, the pressures of the café business prompted him to explore other lines of business and he turned his attention to textile retailing. In 1965, he took over the Cottage Emporium franchise from the government and established a shop that retailed women’s and men’s clothing as well as home furnishings. By 1967, he ended this arrangement and built his own handloom emporium. By the late 1960s, Paul worked in retail, before moving into the niche market of Indian heritage goods, which he exported to Europe and the US. Although initially she had no knowledge of clothes and design, she acquired it through self-education. In 1975, he began trading his designs abroad. In 1980, she founded the women’s clothing store L’affaire in New Delhi. L’affaire is said to be India’s first saree boutique.
Satya Paul
On 1 April 1985, he founded the designer label Satya Paul, along with his 17-year-old son, Puneet Nanda. Its product range included women’s designer apparel, mostly sarees, kurtas, handbags, clutches and scarves, and men’s accessories such as neckties, belts, wallets, pocket squares and cufflinks. However, the brand gained popularity in the 1980s for its range of digital print sarees. In an interview, while talking about his choice of working with Sari, Punit Nanda said,
The choice to work with saree was a deliberate one, as 90% of women wore sarees at that time and we wanted this to be a brand that was relevant to every Indian woman.”
Her creations combined Indian weaving techniques with a contemporary palette and revolutionized the sari, creating pieces featuring polka dots and zebra stripes adorned with abstract motifs.
Satya Paul with models showing off sarees from his designer label in 1995
In 1987, the brand began hosting annual solo designer shows in five cities in India. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Umayyapuram in the show. Live Hindustani and Carnatic music was performed by stalwarts like Sivaraman and Ustad Usman Khan. In 1990, Satya Paul stores were established in Bengaluru.
Satya Paul on the ramp during a fashion show
He was the first designer to introduce India to choreographed collections. Each of his collections, be it Museum, Rainbow, or Signature Collection, had a theme and told a story. Moreover, he was one of the first to design concept sarees.
Satya Paul with models promoting environmental protection through his designer sarees
By the early 2000s, homegrown brand Satya Paul had 30 exclusive stores across India. The brand was launched in 2001 by Genesis Colors Private Limited, after which Satya Paul handed over the responsibility to Nanda, who took over as the creative director of the brand. Meanwhile, Paul continued to market fine contract home textiles internationally through parent company, Paul Salon. Nanda left the company in 2010. After his retirement, he started volunteering at Isha Foundation. In India before liberalization, Satya Paul was one of the first luxury designer labels. It has been modeled by various Indian celebrities like Aishwarya Rai, Mandira Bedi, Karisma Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and Vidya Balan.
Designer Puneet Nanda (right) with showstopper Mandira Bedi, modeling a Satya Paul saree at Kolkata Fashion Week
In 2015, the exporting parent company Paul Salon closed down and Satya Paul moved to Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore, where he remained until his death.
Death
He died on 6 January 2021 at the Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, after suffering a stroke on 2 December 2020.
Facts/General Knowledge
- The reclusive designer did not like to give interviews. However, when a media company detained him he explained the reason behind his reluctance and said,
Nowadays, there is more desire to become a celebrity than to stand up for one’s work. I would like the work to speak for what I do. I don’t belong to any celebrity cult.
- On his Facebook account, his name is mentioned as Swami Satyadev Bharti.
- Satya Paul, a staunch follower of Osho, once acquired the right to use Osho’s signatures on sarees made by him.
- In an interview, Puneet Nanda revealed that Satya loved poetry, music and art. His interest in poetry was not limited to the Indian environment only, he liked William Somerset Maugham, TS Eliot, Robert Frost, Richard Hugo etc.
- Satya Paul launched his eponymous brand upon returning from an Osho commune in Oregon, where he had moved with his family after selling his export business in 1982.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn