Dries van Noten, the Belgian guru who initiated the slow-fashion movement, and is one of the most revered figures in the Antwerp 6, said that he doesn’t like the word “fashion”. The reason: it refers to something that is over in six months. “Maybe we need to invent a new word and a product that is timeless, as I don’t make products that are fast, where you buy them to get a kick and soon get bored and discard them. Rather, I want to make things that grow with your personality and become a part of you as time progresses,” he added.

That’s the emotion, the one that binds a product with the wearer, an invisible thread between the two that Gaurav Gupta aims for. He claims that’s why his ensembles are irresistible to the millennials. What GG has achieved, few can dream of. He not only introduced the body-hugging, sculpted shapes 14 years ago, in a market that only wore brocade sarees or zardosilehengasto weddings but also changed what convention dictated and grandmothers felt.

Many thought his ideas were insane, as weddings were about honoring traditions. But GG was adamant. He never abandoned his belief in the gown and today he is one of the most profitable designers on the horizon. He is a staple for destination weddings, and brides-to-be choose his delectable offerings for at least one of their many festivities, leading up to the W-Day. “I balance business and creativity. Maybe that’s why I am always troubled—like all creative individuals,” he admits.

The Delhi-based designer never stopped at success with gowns or experimenting with architectural shapes. He has always wanted more out of the vast design process. He launched a unisex fragrance, Again, designed lights with Klove’s Prateek Jain, and recently introduced a menswear line, not wanting to rest on his laurels.

“We are opening a new store in Mehrauli (Delhi) soon and, honestly, the process of designing and challenges it offers keeps me lit up. Though I must admit it has been an emotional journey for me. If you take the example of the perfume, it took four years to create, ideate, develop and manufacture it in Paris, even though this category is at a nascent stage in India. You should be in fashion, if you are ready for the long haul,” he says.

The perfume was an association with Jahnvi Lakhota Nandan of The Perfume Library, and wanted to capture the forests (think Lord of The Rings). It is made using over 50 ingredients and is said to be as organic as it gets.

Timeless, his new campaign, encapsulates what the world wants from fashion, something that is not fleeting and frivolous, but tactile. The line found many devotees—from Shahid Kapoor to Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra to Akshay Kumar—due to its graphic, young and sexy feel. “I had a problem with the fact that most menswear was too Indian. I decided to change its DNA and make it totally Western, where you don’t have to change it every year according to what’s in,” he explains.

He says men are getting so fit that they are ready to wear shirts with “boning”. Who would have thought this 10 years ago? Grooms are buying check suits based on his ‘Constellation’ collection and he says that when the market is ripe, you need to push the envelope. “India is not orthodox. You need to show them that this too is available and they will grab it,” he says.

GG reiterates that his work can’t be classified into the set genres—prêt a porter, diffusion, or haute couture, as he calls it “art couture”. They are ensembles that will be relevant 50 years from now, following the ideology of what the Tunisian designer, Azzedine Alaia, did or the very chic Tom Ford does now.

“I am tired of being season-specific, and I don’t like being under the pressure of creating something new. And I am already dealing with copies. We are finally taking action (against copycats) with legal help. I want to preserve what I created and leave a legacy,” he says.

GG also does one-off projects that test his endurance. He tied up with the New York-based footwear designer, Chloe Gosselin, the wife of David Copperfield, to design the Opia shoe for one of the biggest stores in the world, Level 1, in Dubai. The platform sandal was hand-embroidered with a dollop of pearls by GG, and was part of the “Dear India” campaign.

GG didn’t stop at that; he celebrated 10 years of the label’s existence with an art collaboration, and a show co-curated with Kishore Singh of the Delhi Art Gallery. It was a special occasion; he was opening a store in Kala Ghoda, Mumbai, so it showcased his concepts over the years—from military to ray of light, making it a fashion-meets-art movement showing next to the famed FN Souza.

GG attributes his meteoric rise and his brand being on the lust list of every bride’s trousseau to his ambition and overconfidence. “I am a no-bullshit person and I know the value of what I am doing and my talent, I was aware of it 14 years back, and it is only that passing time has made me patient,” he laughs.

This is possibly the reason why he was selected by IBM to make the first artificial intelligence dress by an Indian designer; it changed color according to the wearer’s personality. “I had to get a friend married in Rome where I was playing the priest, and I had to gather my team to get the project on roller skates while fielding 20 conference calls to get the technology right. It was madness. And as it was totally scientific, you had no chance for any glitches, like a light bulb not glowing. But this is just what happened in the end. I had to open the dress and fix it. But I feed on these things, it is so exciting,” he giggles. The dress was worn by Emmy award winner, Archie Punjabi. Gaurav adds, “Life is all about creating these magical moments for me.”

Part of these series of moments is living with his best friend Navkirat for 20 years, who is also a poet and his confidant and traveling to meet friends all over the world. But seeing what is happening around bothers him, including the rise in pollution levels in the city to dangerous limits. He designed a mask with AD Singh of Olive and Vogmask as part of the Anti-Pollution Riot Campaign to raise awareness.

“I was so upset when Sridevi died and how the media made up stories; I don’t like most of the looks on the red carpet; I want to talk about how to stop rape (so he supported the play, Nirbhaya, by Poorna Jagannathan), support LGBTQ rights and I have discovered that I can use social media to reach out to millions,” he adds.

Gaurav quotes Rabindranath Tagore and says that the biggest problem in India is not poverty but dejection, as he continues his tirade against what he believes needs to be altered in society. He has a dark sense of humor and will tell you with a hearty laugh that these Sindhi, Punjabi, and Marwari women want crazier stuff every year. “A guy from IIT came up to me and said he wanted to invest in my company as he saw enormous potential. For me, this was validation.”