Stories from the Atelier : Upesh Bhai

Born and brought up in Gujarat, Upesh Vasant Tailor grew up watching his father stitch, sew and create kurtas and salwars for the people of his hometown in Mehsana.  

“I come from a line of tailors, which is why my family decided to keep our surname 'Tailor'. Watching my father inspired me to follow in his footsteps. I did not learn much about tailoring from him because at that time, my father was very busy and preferred that I learn from someone who had the skills to teach me. I began learning the art of tailoring in the 2000s through Vinod Bhai and it took me about 2 to 2.5 years just to get comfortable with the basics.”

When Upesh Bhai became a father, his priorities and dreams shifted. 

“My older daughter is 15 years old, my son is 12 years old and my younger daughter is 11 years old. At the moment they are studying, I haven’t even told them to think about their careers or what they would like to do in the future, I have just told them to focus on their studies now, they can think about what they want to do and what they don’t, later. I have left it up to them as to what they would like to take up as a career.”

After trying his hand at being an electrician, Upesh Bhai soon got back to tailoring. He explains what he likes about working at Papa Don’t Preach.

“I never really found anything interesting enough. Earlier, I tried to learn to be an electrician but I did not enjoy it so I got back to tailoring. At Papa Don’t Preach, I get to make a variety of things. I get to make Indian and Western garments, which I did not at my previous job working for a tailor in Dahisar. I have recently started making gowns and corsets, which is also new for me. My colleagues, Shubhika Sharma madam and the friends that I have here, have made the work enjoyable.” 

In the last eight years, Upesh Bhai has made all kinds of garments at Papa Don’t Preach but there is one lehenga that remains his all time favourite.

“I enjoy making everything I am given, but my favourite lehenga to make was the off-white lehenga that Kiara Advani wore as the showstopper at Bombay Times Fashion Week in 2018, which even came in the newspapers.”

Upesh Bhai recalls his father’s words, that echo his philosophy today. 

“My father never really gave me much advice in life, but there is one thing that really stuck with me. He used to say, even if it takes time for you to get it right, never get scared. You will also be able to do it, it's not that you are not capable. Some people are quick to understand and learn, it's okay if you take longer. If it's an easy piece of work, good for you, but if it's difficult, don't try to run away from it.”

His advice to the younger generation of tailors is: 

“Tailoring is a good line of work, wherever you go, you will earn money. If you can stitch, you can alter and sew skillfully, you will find work. Personally, I look at other people’s work and learn from it. If I like someone's work or technique, I try to incorporate that technique in my work too. If someone needs help or does not understand something, I help them. My advice would be to learn from others. If someone does better than you, try to learn from them and incorporate that in your work too!”

Disclaimer: The above interview was taken in Hindi and translated to English for the platform.