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From the fabled fashion hallways of the Harvey Nichols store in London, where he launched his capsule International Woolmark Prize-winning line on Tuesday, Delhi-based designer Rahul Mishra will journey to Paris later this month. With his brand rubbing shoulders with labels like Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen at the London store, Mishra has now announced his plans to make his international catwalk debut at Paris Fashion Week (PFW). All set to make his runway presentation on the last day of the nine-day long fashion event, Mishra’s label will show on October 1 at 3 pm at the spectacular Palais de Tokyo, ensconced between shows by fashion giants such as Miu Miu and Hermes.
While the Harvey Nichols preview has attracted international media attention and scrutiny, Mishra has more to look forward to, like his Woolmark line’s official Australia launch. The icing on the cake, however, is definitely the forthcoming PFW show, where Mishra hopes to change world perceptions about Indian fashion and design.
Explaining the genesis of his PFW collection “A Ferry Man’s Tale”, Mishra quotes Rumi: Love calls — everywhere and always. We are sky bound. Are you coming?
He says, “It’s a signature idea, wherein I’m not a designer, but a guy in a boat, travelling through small towns and villages, listening to their tales, stories and discovering their crafts. It’s also my version of a time machine, where I travel into the past, delve into Indian’s oldest traditions and bring them into the future.” With graphics inspired by Japanese culture and “cutting edge shapes that respect the body”, Mishra says he’s looking forward to “creating tales, not just clothes”.
And even as he’s already ruminating about music, choreography and model casting for the event, his much-lauded diffusion line will soon be selling at Joyce (China), David Jones (Australia) and 10 Corso Como (Milan). But Mishra hasn’t forgotten his domestic buyers, and is now ready to tap into the local pret market in a collaboration with e-commerce giant Myntra.com, slated to be launched in January 2015.
“My goal is to make everyone respect the idea of ‘Made in India’. I don’t want people to continue looking at India as a manufacturing hub, which makes clothes for brands like Zara and Mango. What they can’t take away from us is our talent for embroidery and hand-weaving. No one else can replicate that,” says Mishra.
kimi.dangor@expressindia.com
