Journalism of Courage
Fashion designer Rohit Verma feels that Indian fashion is fast breaking the stereotype image
I am multi talented, says designer Rohit Verma cheekily when he is quizzed about his multi-faceted outlook at handling fashion designing,choreography and (as of recent) even acting. Dressed in a long,flowing white cape the flamboyant designer looks every inch the fashion designer of the fast changing Indian fashion industry. In the city for the launch of the new branch of Career Forum Fashion Academy on FC Road,for which he is a visiting lecturer Verma is every bit of his candid,chatty best as he sits down to talk about life and how it is still coming a full circle for him.
Verma who attributes his indefatigable spirit to his growing up days believes that it was every taunt or criticism that was thrown at him,which made him more resolute to prove himself. You need to keep fighting and believing in yourself, he says. And given the fact that he is now designing clothes for Hilton heiress,Paris Hilton,and even for Madonna it looks like a believable statement,on his part.
People have this wrong notion that fashion designing is plain glamour and no work,but to tell the truth it is a role reversal here. While skeptics might argue about the success rate of fashion designers in India,I can definitely say that if you are good,it shows, he says emphatically. Verma who has also played a small cameo in the movie Fashion says that life post Bigg Boss 3 has changed dramatically. Its been a 180-degree change, he says,adding,I could earlier on catch a local to work,or even go grocery shopping downstairs,but now I get hounded by people. The fame is good but Id rather have a quiet life.
Verma also feels that the Indian film industry,in many ways,proved to be a catalyst for the changing face of fashion in India,with designers working more on Indian cultures and traditions,rather than blindly copying Western designers. I believe Indian fashion is finally going places,and people the world over have started acknowledging Indian designers as being more competitive and fluid in their outlook, he says.
About his personal tryst with fashion,Verma will be showcasing his new collection at the Dubai Fashion Week,which is inspired by Arabic prints. As far as his take on the city of Pune is concerned he feels its time for the city to break its traditional outlook and become a little more hep. Pune needs to become more happening I guess its high time now, he says on a concluding note.
