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Fashion is not regional anymore, say Miss India designers

In an exclusive interview with Sudeshna Guha Roy of Zeenews.com, designer Rajesh and Anirban of `ra` spoke of his journey to PFMI platform.

From the corridors of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) to the ramp of the Pantaloons Femina Miss India (PFMI), the journey for Rajesh and Anirban has been more like a dream-come-true. Graduating from NIFT Bangalore and NIFT Kolkata respectively, Rajesh and Anirban joined hands in 2005 to launch their own design studio and threesixtyone degrees was conceived. This year they showcased their line ‘ra’ for Pantaloons finale round at the PFMI 09 contest.In an exclusive interview with Sudeshna Guha Roy of Zeenews.com, Rajesh and Anirban narrated how they started their journey from being colleagues to now partners in threesixtyonedegrees and how they went on to share space with some of the most eminent designers on the PFMI 09 platform.
Sudeshna: The Fashion Industry has seen a lot many solo designers, as well as those who work as duos. What brought you and Rajesh together? Anirban: It was our diverse experiences in design as an art form. Since the beginning I was working with design houses in Delhi. In the first four and a half years of my career I was fortunate to handle businesses in Delhi and even got to understand the western fashion market as my boss used to sell out of shows in New York. Rajesh, was heading the casual men`s wear design cell for a top end retailer in Mumbai. He has a very strong background in casual wear. What made us interested in each other’s work was the diversity we had in terms of design. Sudeshna: So, how did ‘ra’, your label happen? Rajesh: Anirban shifted to Mumbai and joined the same place I was working, we both were colleagues. What actually started as small talk, eventually became a dream. We conceived the idea of a design house together and called it ‘threesixtyone degrees’. As our past exposure was completely related to clothing, we launched ‘ra’ almost at the same time. We were in jobs and that was our first responsibility at that point of time. We started with setting up a small sampling unit for ourselves right next to our home, and worked after office every night. For the first six months, we concentrated on creating samples. It was early 2006 when we got our first store – the Taj Khazana Stores in Goa. Sudeshna: Why did you name your label ‘ra’…. Anirban: ‘ra’ is Rajesh and Anirban put simply.Sudeshna: How did Femina Miss India come your way? Anirban: January 2009, Pantaloons, the title sponsors of Femina Miss India, approached us to design the finale round. Our profile was sent to Pantaloons and Times Group enlisting all the work. By God’s grace, after a couple of meetings and presentations we were confirmed for the show. Sudeshna: Tell us about your collection at the Pantaloons Femina Miss India - the Spring Garden collection. Rajesh: We were told that Pantaloons would do the introduction round. In that round, the country gets introduced to all the 20 contestants for the first time. We were also told that the age bar for the contestants had been reduced this time. We wanted to keep an essence of youthfulness and individuality in each of the garments. That is why we did this collection called ‘Spring Garden’. We used lot of floral patterns for ornamentation and wanted to render each girl like a budding flower. Sudeshna: You both being the youngest designers on stage at the PFMI 09, what was it like to share space with designers like Ritu Kumar, Prasad Bidappa and Rocky S? Rajesh: I think you should ask this question to them, they must have been surprised to see how come these two boys came up there. They might not know our names also. (laughs) We were enlightened and honoured. It was a huge opportunity for us. We have grown up watching these people, they are like our gurus. We felt privileged to be a part of the same show. Sudeshna: You and Rajesh had been a part of Lakme India Fashion week last year. How was the experience? Anirban: The LIFW was a great experience for ‘ra’. Last year, I think, the maximum number of applications had come to Lakme for the GenNext show, and eight of us were picked up from there. During the show, there was also a competition, which we won. That was one of the biggest achievements of ‘ra’.Sudeshna: You also became the first Indians to take part in the Islamic Fashion Festival in Malaysia. Tell us something about that. Rajesh: Yes, we were invited by the Princess of Malaysia for the IFF show in Kuala Lumpur. That was to celebrate the success of the NGO she runs in Malaysia, to help the poor and needy. There were around 65 designers from different parts of the world, who took part in the show. And it was the first time any Indian designer was participating. That gave us a lot of exposure. Sudeshna: What is your idea of fashion? Anirban: Fashion is about personal style. Eventually everybody develops a style that has their signature in it. Having said that, it also should match somewhere with what is happening around you. One needs to be versed with global and local trends. Sudeshna: Many people think that fashion is very frivolous and do not take it seriously. What do you have to say on that? Anirban: It is true that a lot of people in our country think that fashion is very frivolous and has just to do with the fancy of a designer. It is not like that. Fashion is a very serious subject. There are professionals who work sincerely for years to define the colours, fabrics or the styles for a particular season. It is a self evolving process and designers or other forecasters just ensure a good flow of information for the masses. If we keep the glamour part of it aside, fashion is serious business. Crores of people are employed in the fashion industry across the globe and within India as well. Sudeshna: How do you think India has evolved in terms of fashion? Rajesh: India, as a country has become very fashion conscious now. People have now started understanding what to wear and what to avoid. It is noticeable how people plan and put efforts to dress up specifically for the place they are going to. The demarcations are getting stronger. Everyone is getting more and more conscious about their looks and what they wear. Sudeshna: What do you think has been the best phase in fashion? Do you think that the fashion today is the best of all, or was it in the 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s. Anirban: we are contemporary designers, our area of work is today, so for us this is the most defining and beautiful moment in fashion. . Sudeshna: But you must be having a favourite? Anirban: My favourite is the Victorian era. That was so glamorous, women used to take hours to get ready. I would have loved to be a designer at that time because I would have earned much more. (laughs) That era was much more elaborate in terms of clothing. The women used to look outstanding with their hairstyles, the jewellery, the dresses, the corsets and the gowns. They were beautiful. Coming to present times, we are witnessing a merger of cultures, of art forms and of ideas. You can see New York designer making orange and fuchsia garments, on the other side Indian designer is making a black outfit. And that is the beauty of it. It has become a global phenomenon now. Sudeshna: Indian fashion is now facing a great divide due to many fashion weeks going on now-a-days. Do you think it is genuinely helping the upcoming fashion designers? Rajesh: I think I am too young to be able to comment on this. Personally, I suggest that it should done the way it is done internationally or which is a common trend all across the globe - one city hosts all the fashion events, because it makes it much more easier. If we all designers from the industry want to make it into a bigger business, we will eventually have to bring it to one platform. Sudeshna: So, what do you have to say about the different cities hosting different fashion weeks in India? Anirban: India has its own ways of doing a lot of things. A lot of things, which have been formulae of successful businesses across the globe, have failed miserably here. So India as a country is quite different in many ways. There are senior people who take these decisions and I am sure that they all know what is best for this industry. Another take on this is that so many fashion events are creating immense amount of awareness amongst people about fashion and that is always welcome. Sudeshna: You have been styling a lot of Bollywood actresses of late. Are you looking at exploring fashion prospects in Bollywood or will you limit yourself to the ramp? Rajesh: We have already signed a movie. We are working on that presently and we are looking forward to further projects now. We have been fortunate enough to have worked with some great people from the industry. It has given us a lot of exposure and we have learnt a lot in the process. As far as ramp is concerned that remains close to our heart. By god’s grace we have some things planned and are working on those. Sudeshna: People say that Bollywood is not serious fashion. What do you have to say on that? Anirban: Well Bollywood has a different way of dealing with fashion. A lot of times, the fashion from Bollywood is targeted at the masses. But that is what is required in the film industry. Bollywood is a huge phenomenon across the globe. We went to Malaysia, and there we saw our stars are more famous than some of their local celebrities. So Bollywood is a serious business and it caters to a huge mass of people in Asia and South Asia.