It was Paul's comment of how I sell to the Planet without moving" that caught my attention... I was interested in what this Seminyak-based designer could tell me about his distinctive style and how he has it made. Would I be able to glean any tips from his business acumen? I hoped so, even though I am far removed from the fashion and garment industry. I decided to pay him a visit and this is what I learnt...

Q. How old were you when you first heard of the island of Bali?
A. I was twenty-five.
Q. Where were you? A. I was in New York.
Q. Who told you about Bali?
A. Ibu Soehario, Setiawan Djodi's mother-in-law.
Q. What was it that about what you heard that made you come and visit?
A. Ibu Soehario, the Indonesian Ambassador for Handicrafts, told me of their carving expertise. I was looking to create some artsy-fartsy pipes from ebony and rosewood.

Q. Did you explore any other career avenues before answering your calling in fashion?
A. I controlled 32% of the cigarette papers sold on the planet!
Q. How long have you been in the garment industry? A. Since 1976.
Q. Who and what influenced you?
A. I was in India as a tourist and I had run out of money. Other tourists liked what I was wearing, clothes that I had made myself, so it kind of started there.
Q. Was it a challenge for a family/straight man to be recognized in the fashion industry?
A. (He laughs) What, is the rumor out there that I am straight? In the world I live in people are judged on their abilities and not on their genitalia or sexual preferences!
Q. How has the industry evolved since then?
A. For me personally, it was a question of moving from survival mode to responsibility. I started my business by buying knit fabric in Bombay (Mumbai), tie-dying it in Rajasthan, taking it back to my home in Goa and making and selling the T-shirts at $25 a pop in 1976.
Q. What has been your part in the fashion evolution?
A. I am not in fashion per se; I am in "artsy fartsy". I am in "ooh and ahh". What I do is make people go "ooh, ahh";
I design sensual not sexual, for people who would rather go naked!
Q. Would you say that your style spans time?
A. Yes. I started the Chinese Tibetan T shirt Company producing the most elaborate, intricate and labour intensive T-shirts at that time, 23 screens per
T shirt using different Buddhist deities and symbols. These T-shirts are now in Museums across the globe.
Q. Have you changed your style drastically since the start or has there been a gradual shift to blend your taste with the needs of the industry?
A. I got lost for about a decade. I was producing fashion, jewelry accessories and home furnishings for top department stores like Miss Selfridge and Harrods. I found my collections got watered down in order to fit their low budget, so much so that I no longer recognized my own designs.
So, after fulfilling all my orders that year I told buyers that I was going fishing, and did so - for four years! After the four years my financial controller recommended I go back to work. Q. What is it about your fashion
that attracts?
A. The colours, the textures and the details. I provoke people; it is difficult not to respond, one way or the other. There is an instant recognition to my style, and it has been my most important commercial accomplishment.
 

The Yak