Tales of apprentices becoming equals with their masters are not new. In the world of haute couture Giorgio Armani's trained-protegee Moschino has gone on to become a label in his own right. In Indian fashion, an arena long dominated by just a handful of names, a similar wave is sweeping in winds of change. Fashion gurus like Rohit Bal, Tarun Tahiliani and Abu-Jani are spawning a second-in command - a line-up of second generation designers trained by the masters themselves.Today, this bratpack is well on its way to becoming part of the establishment. The names Radhika Naik, Manoj Sharma and Aparna are well-known tags and these designers now boast of their own retail boutiques. Their days of struggle are finally over.Twenty-four-year-old Radhika Naik opened her store in Colaba about six months ago, and has already carved a niche in the trousseau market. A particular favourite with the NRIs, her client list includes the Chabbrias and the Hindujas. Educated in Pune, she moved to Mumbai at 16 as Radhikaknew even then that she wanted to make a mark in the world of fashion. While at the Sophia College, she worked for Munira Chudasama's Golden Thimble in Kala Ghoda. While walking around that area she stumbled into Ensemble. "I walked in and was taken aback by the designs. I decided I wanted a job there," she says. After months of chasing Tarun Tahiliani, she finally became his assistant. After that there was no stopping her.Manoj Sharma tells a similar story. He was the Ensemble stylist, even while Radhika was doing her apprenticeship. Eight years with Mumbai's premier boutique gave Manoj the confidence to start his own store - Small Shop, at Hughes Road. A recently held fashion show proved that Manoj's designs move the city's movers and shakers.But both Manoj and Radhika agree that working for a leading designer gives you an edge over the rest. "It helped me tap into my talent," says Radhika. After two years with Ensemble she decided that the time had come to make it on her own. "Given an opportunityeveryone should move, every person is talented in their own right," she says.For a while she worked from home, and then set-up `Radhika Naik', her signature store. Aparna Kapoor also worked for just two years with Abu Jani and Sandeep. After that she opened her 350-sqft-store `Aparna Kapoor', in Juhu. She has her own pret line, which covers formal wear as well as simple cotton outfits. Where Aparna differs from Radhika is that she does not like to tell people that she worked for the designer duo. Aparna is wary of getting "footage" out of their name. Even though she looks up to them.On occasion even Radhika finds her training with Tarun a disadvantage. "People compare my work to his and always give him the credit for my creativity. It is like I am under his shadow," she says. Manoj does not agree with her. This 28-year-old holds that most of his contacts were made while he was working at Ensemble.And having a wide client base is half the battle won for a new designer. "Because I worked at Ensemblepeople recognise me and have more confidence in me," he says. He runs his store in partnership with Nairobi-based designer, Indira - a contact made at Ensemble. Indira used to do some designing for them. And Chetali Doshi, the designer for the store's western line, was another contact made at the store. She was a regular client who had studied fashion design at IITC.Ensemble also gave Manoj a grounding into running a business the abc's and pitfalls of retailing. "I knew it was going to be difficult, especially budgeting," he says. At Tahiliani's flagship store, he also gained his interest in design. "My most-valuable lesson was learning what the client wants and expects from a designer store," he says. In fact, Manoj is studying fashion and style in New York and has taken a semester off to open the Small Shop.Ensemble's Tina Tahiliani-Parikh agrees that the second generation has had it easy, rather easier. "We had a lot of help from Rohit Khosla but there was no precedent to follow, so, thebeginning was hard. Now the rules have been set, so it is easier," says Tina. Aparna adds, "The Rohit Bals and Rohit Khoslas paved the way for us, we are just adding on."
