JJ Valaya

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.

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.