The power of celebrity backing has been crucial. I would say that 90 percent of our brand recognition comes from celebrities wearing my pieces.

Every designer needs a story. Mine is all about glamour because my family has been in the business of glamour for three generations. My grandfather Shamshuddin Khan started his embroidery and fabric-making business in the 1930s.

My childhood was a happy one. I was captain of the school sports team and played cricket after class. I had five younger siblings and a large loving family that lived together. We are still very close.

My parents noticed my love for clothes and encouraged me to study design abroad. I decided to join the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York but never ended up there.

Halston was one of the hardest-working designers I have come across. The way he cut, moulded, manipulated and draped fabric was inspiring. I was submerged into the Halston subculture alongside Andy Warhol, Liza Minnelli, Elizabeth Taylor and Truman Capote. They shaped who I have become as a designer.

Most pieces take between two and three weeks and involve more than 40 people from the fabric cutters to the embroiders to the sewers. It's an elaborate undertaking.