Rahul Mishra is the first Indian winner of The Woolmark Prize at the Milan Fashion Week. The designer tells D Kaushik that the judges were stunned by the blend of Indian textile techniques with modern ideas
Appreciations, well wishes and applaud from the international media have been pouring in ever since Rahul Mishra was declared the winner of the most coveted title in the fashion world, International Woolmark Prize, at the Milan Fashion Week. The designer, who has joined the league of international biggies like Karl lagerfield and Giorgio Armani, says that the feeling has still not sunk in. “But one thing I have been telling all is that it is not my victory. It is India’s victory. The experience of winning the title has been surreal. I feel like I have won the Oscars. We have been striving and working hard towards this coveted title for over a year now and now that we have finally won it, I am over the moon,” said an elated designer who has won Australian $100,000 prize.
The International Woolmark Prize is one of the biggest competitions. The stalwarts of the fashion industry like Dolce & Gabbana, Yves Saint laurent and Karl lagerfeld have been a part of this competition. “I missed last year’s (2012-13) regionals by a small margin. I just had to apply for this year’s round. The award opens a window of opportunities for you as a designer on an international platform. Overnight, you are seen as an international name and you get the right agents, buyers. The competition made me think about innovative ways to tap our craft,” said Rahul.
Sharing details about his line, he said, “It is a six-piece capsule collection using Merino wool (a condition laid down for the contest by the The Woolmark) woven in the chanderi tradition with zardozi embroidery imaginatively implemented in wool by craftsmen of Kolkata. The designs reflected interpretations from six-dimensional hexagonal cellular structures as well as Gautam Buddha’s Eight Fold Path. The garments were white, off-white or black and white. They focus on beautiful surface textures. Embroidered subtly with zardozi patterned wool in sunlight yellow and dull grey, the focus was on getting the engineering of the garments right resulting in chanderi fabric woven with 85 per cent wool with woollen embroidery in six-dimensional hexagons deconstructed into a series of tiny triangles and cubes. There is also submerged lotus, half opaque with vibrant texturing and an inner lining, the other half translucent and diluted on the lower portion of the garment with the use of diaphanous chanderi fabric as its base.” The designer added that the highlight of the collection was its colours.
The judges told him that they were amazed by different kind of colours he used. They were expecting all vibrant hues but his collection was a surprise since it was all about white, off-white, grey and still looked stunning.
For a boy who came from a small village in Kanpur, it has been a victorious journey. But the designer says that fashion designing wasn’t actually the field who wanted to explore initially.
“I was never into fashion. In fact, as a kid I was good at studies and my parents encouraged me to pursue engineering or medicine. I went ahead and completed my BA Hons in physics. I was like any other guy my age, at that point, conscious about fashion and dressing and wearing fashionable clothes. I was aware of fashion as a profession, however, I didn’t think of taking it up as a profession for myself. I always wanted to do something in the creative field as I have always been creative as a person. I thought of becoming a filmmaker or an architect. It was only when I went to NIFT that I looked at fashion more closely. I remember, during my workshop on different textiles, 10 years ago, I was dumbfounded on how much I need to learn about fashion and textile industry. It was only then that I began learning about fashion in its true sense,” said Rahul, who has been promoting Indian textile heritage and craftsmen extensively.
“My inspiration are those craftsmen of India who have no educational background, just talent. I believe as designers, it is our job to utilise, promote that talent. I am amazed at what Indian carftsmen can produce if they are given the right leverage, the appropriate attention,” he added.
The designer has been working on multiple techniques using wool. For him wool is a fibre of possibilities. “It is a trans-seasonal fibre — wool can be worn in both summers and winters unlike any other fibre. Wool is elastic in nature. I am working on a collection of bandhani and the inclusion of wool allowed me to design saris that didn’t get crushed easily, which is the main problem with bandhani. I look into the Indian fashion history, the crafts, the arts that we have and try to give it a modern touch. The point is blend our past with our vision of future. There is a treasure of hidden talent in India that if we tap, we will bring happiness and employment to so many lives,” he said and added that he recently came across beautiful embroidery in a small place near Kolkata. “So I am going to continue travelling across India and revive the various crafts across regions,” he shared.
He believes that global perception on Indian fashion is changing but we still have a long way to go. “Global fashion industry perceives Indian designs to be all about saris and bright colours. It is important for us to showcase our heritage and craft with the right blend of modernity,” he ended.