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{{notability|Bio|date=March 2019}}
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{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
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{{Infobox fashion designer
|image = JJ Valaya.jpg
|name = JJ Valaya
|nationality = Indian
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1967|10|8}}
|birth_place = [[Jodhpur]], India
|label_name = House of Valaya, JJ Valaya Muse, JJ Valaya, Valaya Quantum, Valaya Base, Valaya Home,The Home of the Traveler
| website = {{url|thehomeofthetraveler.com/}}
|}}

'''JJ Valaya''' (born 8 October 1967) is a noted Indian fashion designer and [[couturier]] from New Delhi, India. He founded the House of Valaya, a luxury fashion and lifestyle house in 1992, along with his brother TJ Singh. A founding member of [[Fashion Design Council of India]] (FDCI) and the first global brand ambassador of Crystal giant Swarovski, he has been designing for men and women, and has bridal and evening collections in addition to day-wear and ready-to-wear for over 20 years. As a [[fine art photographer]], he released his first book, ''Decoded Paradox'' in 2011, in the same year as he also closed the day one of the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) winter/festive 2011, debuting a fashion collection inspired by photography.<ref>{{cite news |title=JJ Valaya 'clicks' with the LFW audience|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-23/shows/29900013_1_jj-valaya-fashion-school-lfw |work=[[The Times of India]] |date=23 August 2011 }}{{dead link|date=April 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name=cnn>{{cite news |title=JJ Valaya comes out as a photographer |url=http://www.cnngo.com/mumbai/shop/jj-valayas-coming-out-photographer-069784 |publisher=[[CNN]] GO |date=15 March 2011 }}</ref><ref name=boston>{{cite news |title=A talk with JJ Valaya: Haute couture in India isn't a contradiction – it's mainstream |url=http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/10/12/a_talk_with_jj_valaya/ |publisher=[[Boston Globe]] |date= 12 October 2008 }}</ref>

== Early life ==
Born Jagsharanjit Singh Ahluwalia, the name was shortened to J J Valaya to create the Valaya fashion label. He was born on 8 October 1967 in the state of [[Rajasthan]] in India but spent most of his childhood travelling to different parts of the country due to his father's various postings in the [[Indian Army]]. He studied commerce in college and planned to be a chartered accountant eventually. But his passion for beautiful things and fixation for the rich Indian art and culture took him to the [[National Institute of Fashion Technology]], New Delhi (NIFT) where he graduated in fashion design in 1991.<ref name=cnn/><ref name=boston/>

== Career ==
He trained under a pioneer in Indian fashion [[Rohit Khosla]], before starting his own label.<ref>[http://www.india-today.com/ifw/designers.html India Fashion Week – Designer Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081031211209/http://www.india-today.com/ifw/designers.html |date=31 October 2008 }} [[India Today]], 2008.</ref> With his elder brother TJ (Tribhavan Jit) Singh, JJ Valaya founded The House of Valaya in 1992 with the launch of its couture label. Valaya's creative vision together with his brother's organizational abilities have been the key factors for the success of Valaya as a luxury brand.<ref>''The Sikh review'', Volume 53, Issues 613–618. Sikh Cultural Centre., 2005. pp. 69''.</ref> Around 2003, when he launched his pret line, he was already retailing fashion and lifestyle products under three brands: JJ Valaya, Studio Valaya and Valaya Home-Life, in which his first couture label, ''JJ Valaya'', comprising his trousseau line, launched in 1993.<ref>{{cite news |title=JJ Valaya Sheds Designer Tag For Volumes-led Pret Line|url=http://www.financialexpress.com/news/jj-valaya-sheds-designer-tag-for-volumesled-pret-line/71930/0 |publisher=[[The Financial Express (India)|Financial Express]] |date=30 January 2003 }}</ref> The brand today encompasses Couture, Ready-to-wear, Home and a CSR prerogative, The Free Spirit Foundation (FSF).

In 2010, Valaya's collection of '''ALIKA''' showcased at several events in [[Dubai]] was highly acclaimed. In this collection, the storyteller in him found expression through which he narrated the story of the female musicians of India's royal courts and their romantic affairs with the princes of the land. Alika, his fall/winter range consisted of finely worked jalabiyas, kaftan saris and anarkali-churidars.<ref name=em9 /> Valaya has used his couture creations to tell stories that intrigue him. That's perhaps part of the reason for his fascination with India's royal history. This collection also saw the birth of his signature Alika Jacket.<ref name=IE4 />

In 2011, Valaya's Winter/Festive collection at [[Lakme Fashion Week]] titled '''TASVEER''' received positive reviews. The collection combined Valaya's twin passions: photography and fashion. The collection was inspired by the evolution of photography from black and white to sepia to hand-stained, natural and digitised images. It was an interesting journey of colours and an amazing story, told through clothes. Valaya, in one of his interviews said “It’s almost like there are two personae in me: the photographer and the fashion designer. I intend to keep both alive,” there was also about 10 menswear outfits that included sherwanis, bandhgalas, breeches and Nehru jackets.<ref name=IE4>{{cite news|last=Pillai|first=Pooja|title=The Lightness|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-lightness/832839/0|accessdate=16 December 2012|newspaper=The Indian Express|date=17 August 2011}}</ref>

In 2012, Wills India Fashion Week Valaya's collection '''AZRAK''' stayed true to its meaning – rare and common. The collection was inspired by West Asia and the Ottoman Empire of Turkey. His creations had juxtaposed elements of minimalism and grandeur, Western and Indian silhouettes, traditional motifs and modern drapes & feminine form. The range showcased saris, jackets, anarkalis, breeches, blouses and dresses. Showstopper Bollywood actress [[Kangana Ranaut]] was dressed in a pristine white gown teamed with traditional Indian jewellery and a rich brocade Maharaja coat. The surprise elements on the ramp were faces such as [[Suneet Verma]], [[Rohit Bal]], [[Navtej Johar]], Jamie Stewart, [[Sumant Jayakrishnan]] and Navin Ansal to name a few, who were among the twelve showstoppers that took to the runway for the designer.<ref name=ww7>{{cite news|last=Banon|first=Tanya|title=WIFW ending on a high note |url=http://wonderwoman.intoday.in/story/wifw-ending-on-a-high-note/1/98162.html#comment|accessdate=16 December 2012|newspaper=Wonder woman|date=14 December 2012}}</ref>

The year 2012 also marks 20 years of JJ Valaya's work in the fashion industry. The designer took a series of initiatives – launched a limited edition financial year calendar in Delhi. Shot by noted fashion photographer [[Tarun Khiwal]], the April 2012 to March 2013 calendar has Valaya's close friends and "wonderfully inspired individuals".<ref name=TIE8>{{cite news|title=Twenty years, Twelve tales|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/twenty-years-twelve-tales/939461/|accessdate=16 December 2012|newspaper=The Indian Express|date=21 April 2012}}</ref>

Valaya introduced the 'Diasun', a pattern comprising two inverted 'V' and the sun motif from the JJ Valaya crest, which now comes on every garment produced by the label in some way or the other to put a stop to plagiarism and imitations of the market.<ref name=th2>{{cite news|last=SHAH|first=SHALINI|title=The fantasy maker|url=http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/fashion/article2903773.ece|accessdate=16 December 2012|newspaper=The Hindu|date=17 February 2012}}</ref>

JJ Valaya is a founder member of the Board of Governors of the [[Fashion Design Council of India]].<ref name=fdci1>{{cite web|title=Fellow Designer Members JJ Valaya (Fellow Member)|url=http://www.fdci.org/Member.aspx?mid=1138087015&cat=1|accessdate=16 December 2012}}</ref>

The designer currently has around 250 embroidered workers and craftsmen working exclusively for him out of 40,000 sq ft headquarters in [[Delhi]].<ref name=TH6>{{cite news|last=Tankha|first=Madhur|title=From fashion designing to art photography|url=http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/15/stories/2011021557610200.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130126053129/http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/15/stories/2011021557610200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 January 2013|accessdate=16 December 2012|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=15 February 2011}}</ref>

His clothes have been worn by various GCC royals and celebrities including [[Joseph Fiennes]], [[Cate Blanchett]], [[Hrithik Roshan]] and [[Kareena Kapoor]].<ref name=em9>{{cite news|last=Fernandez|first=Keith|title=JJ Valaya's courtesans make a date with Dubai|url=http://www.emirates247.com/lifestyle/fashion/jj-valaya-s-courtesans-make-a-date-with-dubai-2010-09-27-1.295454|accessdate=16 December 2012|newspaper=Emirates 24/7|date=27 September 2010}}</ref>

He remains one of the biggest names in the bridal trousseau market in India, and was one of the first Indian labels to invest in sampling, research and development at their "House of Valaya" establishment at [[Manesar]] on the outskirts of Delhi.<ref>{{cite book |title=Rampup: the business of Indian fashion|author=Hindol Sengupta|publisher=Pearson Education India |year=2009|isbn=978-81-317-1974-9 |page= 223 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k7LkhFadBIwC&q=%22JJ+Valaya%22+-inpublisher%3Aicon&pg=PA223}}</ref>

== Awards and recognitions ==
Founder board member of the Governing Council/ board of directors of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI). (1998)<ref>{{cite news |title=Designs on the world|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_designs-on-the-world_1004901 |publisher=[[DNA (newspaper)|DNA]] |date=31 December 2005 }}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{cite news |title=Designers: JJ Valaya |url=http://www.vogue.in/directory/2285 |publisher=Vogue India |access-date=29 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518195650/http://www.vogue.in/directory/2285 |archive-date=18 May 2011 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite web |title=IMAGES: Master of magic JJ Valaya|url=http://www.rediff.com/getahead/slide-show/slide-show-1-glamour-lfw-day-one-jj-valaya/20110818.htm |date=18 August 2011|work=[[Rediff.com]] }}
* {{Official website|http://www.valaya.com}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110817055850/http://www.artofvalaya.com/ JJ Valaya as a photographer]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valaya, Jj}}
[[Category:Indian male fashion designers]]
[[Category:1967 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Clothing brands of India]]
[[Category:Indian Sikhs]]
[[Category:National Institute of Fashion Technology alumni]]
[[Category:Fine art photographers]]
[[Category:People from Jodhpur]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Rajasthan]]

JJ Valaya - Revision history

->GreenC bot at 20:30, 21 April 2021