Ashish soni biography for kids

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As a child growing up in Zambia, Ashish N Soni wore his clothes in a different way, fitted rather than baggy, and noticed what everyone else wore – their shoes, bags, even their cars. When his engineer dad moved to the Middle East in the mid-1980s, Soni moved to Delhi to live with his grandparents and to study science at the British School. With no school uniform, the teenager began experimenting with his look. His father noticed, and brought him a clipping from an NRI newspaper in UAE – it was an ad for National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), which had just been launched in India then.

Soni’s fashion journey, which began in 1990 in a class of just 25 at the new NIFT, would take him around the world and to some of the most prestigious global runways. This year, as he celebrates 25 years of his label, he can look back with some satisfaction at the path he has traversed, and be pragmatic about the future. The world is changing, and he has kept pace.

“Back then, the dean of NIFT was from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. Our sketching teacher was from Australia, the draping instructor from UK. The Indian government had not held back on expenses while setting up the NIFT faculty,” the 46-year-old marvels in recollection. After graduation, he interned under a senior designer for a while.

“One day, my batchmate JJ [Valaya] and I were figuring out what to do with our lives. Should we continue with internships or launch our own labels? We decided to flip a coin on it, and that’s how we’re now here,” laughs Soni, sitting at the swanky lounge of Delhi’s DLF Emporio mall where he has a standalone store for his menswear.

He’s come a long way from 1992, when he started his label. Back then, he rented a small barsaati (terrace room) in Lajpat Nagar, hired a tailor and cut the cloth for the garments himself. Within months, he had made enough clothes to be stocked in a posh Greater Kailash-I store. “I was obsessed with jeans. I made hund

Ashish N Soni on clocking 25 years in the fashion biz



Few designers do immaculately tailored western clothing for men and women in India as does Ashish N Soni, and over the years his name has become synonymous with the genre. The 46-year-old designer who grew up in Zambia, Africa, was one of the earliest graduates of the National Institute of Fashion Technology and part of a generation that pioneered fashion design in India.

Soni’s journey is dotted with many firsts. In 1993, he became the first Indian designer to have a solo showcase in Delhi. He was the first Indian designer to be invited to show at Olympus Fashion Week in New York and one of the first from the country to retail at Selfridges in London. The designer has also developed embroideries for the celebrated House of François Lesage, Paris, and was part of the core team that launched the international luxury brand Vanessa G in 2011.

This year, Soni’s eponymous label (launched in 1991) is celebrating the completion of 25 years in the business. Minimalists swear by the fit, finesse and impeccable construction of his clothes and he has managed to build and retain a loyal customer base around the world. The designer sat down with us to reflect upon his big milestone and talk about his hopes for the future.


What have been some of your career favourites so far?
I have had the fortune of travelling the world and being surrounded by beauty. Despite the fact that the back-end (operation) is difficult, the end product and the environment in which we designers operate is mostly beautiful. It’s also thrilling to be able to play creator.

To be able to maintain a consistent position in the industry over a period of time is quite an accomplishment. What would you attribute that to?

To me the period from 1991, when I started, to 2000 was like one long internship. There was no market for my product and I had to start from scratch, educating and creating consumers as I
    Ashish soni biography for kids


  • Ashish soni sunaina roshan

    • Ashish Soni

    Ashish Soni was the first Indian fashion designer to be called to the New York Fashion Week. Explore his biography, profile & collection.


    Label: Ashish Soni and as by Ashish Soni
    Studio: Ikos

    Ashish Soni has attained remarkable success in the global fashion world. Creativity of a designer and traits of an entrepreneur have been beautifully gelled together, which makes him a big name in the industry. His innovativeness has a strong Indian bond that has been well merged with the western education, to give a perfect balance of Indian and western style creations. Ashish Soni's instinctive and inventive style of creating garments makes them an elegant piece of attire. The numerous exposures to the various international forums have refined his artistic skills. He was the first Indian designer to be invited at the Olympus Fashion Week, held in New York.

    Early Life
    Ashish Soni was one of the 25 students who had been selected from a mass of 7000 applicants for a Bachelor's degree in Design and Clothing technology, from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New Delhi. He graduated from NIFT in 1991 and had a whooping start, with the launch of his brand "Ashish Soni" in 1992. Since then, there has been no looking back for this creative soul. In the year 1993, he opened up his own design studio by the name "Ikos".

    Career and Success
    Though the launch pad of his brand and his own studio were high points of Ashish Soni's career, the biggest turning point was when he organized his solo fashion show. This was a unique achievement, as he was the first Indian designer to have his own show. This was just the beginning of an expedition of success which likely came his way with many more solo fashion shows following its predecessor.

    His potential of a class designer was also visible when he showcased his spring/summer collection at the Carlton Tower in London in 1998. The event was in collaboration with BVLGARI.

  • Ashish solanki

    • Ashish N Soni

    Ashish N Sonilaunched his label in 1991, followed by his own independent design studio Ikos Designs in 1993. Ashish’s history is full of firsts. In the same year, he became the first Indian designer to hold a solo showing in Delhi, he was also the first designer to be invited to hold a runway show at Olympus fashion week, New York and, he was one of the first Indian designers to retail through Selfridges.
    Ashish held his first exclusive menswear show in 1999. His experimentation with fabrics, infusing them with unusual textures and treatments took him to conceive embroideries for The House of Francois Lasage, Paris. He was then also chosen by the Government of India to present an exclusive collection to commemorate the Millennium celebrations of Khajuraho.
    At his debut in Olympus fashion week, New York, September 2005, he was hailed as “one of New York’s new discoveries” by International Herald Tribune’s Suzy Menkes.
    Ashish Soni has also served as the Chief Design Officer, for international luxury brand Vanessa G which was launched in London in 2011.