As head of fashion and design at Bungalow 8, Mumbai's leading concept store, Mr Mathieu Leguillon deploys the skills that he learnt working in Paris under Lanvin's designer Mr Alber Elbaz. Mr Leguillon, 35, has lived in the Indian city since 2008, and in MR PORETR's shoot, below, he demonstrates that the easy style of Italy's casual tailoring specialist Incotex looks as good under the powerful Asian sun as it does in its native Europe.
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How does life in Mumbai compare with life in Paris? In Paris, everything is readily and abundantly available, while in Mumbai you have to do more than pick up ready-made foods or goods. An example: there are very few supermarkets, but lots of markets where you find raw ingredients. It's up to you to use them as you want. The same is true with garments. At almost any level, the city pushes you to be creative and connect with people.
How does life in the city affect the way you dress? As there are no drastic changes in temperatures, I mainly wear lightweight cottons and linens. I hardly have any knitwear except for what I wear when travelling. I've also adopted a lighter and brighter colour palette. It helps me to beat the heat and feel fresh, and, frankly, you don't often feel like wearing dark colours here. It must be the tropical light.
How would you describe your style? It's a global mix: Indian and Western, unstructured and structured, a combination of classics from both worlds.
What influence has Mumbai had on your style? I've been really inspired by India's traditional men's clothes - garments such as the dhoti, a piece of fabric draped around the hips and tied to form big trousers. I can pair them with a tailor-cut blazer, a formal shirt or even a knit. The geometric cut of a kurta, a heritage shirt from the Middle East, is another good example that offers loads of possibilities for contemporary mixes and styles. But I'm inspired by street style more than anything. The blogger Manou, who posts his work on wearabout.wordpress.com, travels a lot in the mountains in the north east and collects images of beautiful indigenous looks, many of which might surprise you.
What is it about Mumbai that would most surprise a first-time visitor? I love Mumbai's architectural heritage - it's incredibly diverse and rich. My favourite style is Art Deco, and Mumbai has the second highest concentration of Art-Deco buildings in the world, right after Miami.
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