From converting an 80-year-old warehouse in Kolkata into a high-end retail outlet, to loving prints, Rahul Mishra and doing luxury prêt, the blue-eyed boys from Kolkata, Dev and Nil tell us what it takes to survive in the Indian fashion industry.
By Asmita Aggarwal
The duo from Kolkata, Dev R Nil, known for their fabulous prints are not one to shy away from admiring their peers that why they say in unison that Rahul Mishra has been a great inspiration for this generation. His dedication towards the craft and using it in a more contemporary and relatable fashion, makes his clothing appealing to a larger audience nationally and internationally, says Dev. Internationally amongst the younger bunch Erdem from London is pushing boundaries when it comes to couture textures in everyday wear. The smart usage of fabrics and embroideries make both Rahul and Erdem stand apart in the whole crowd of designers, they feel.
They recently converted an 80-year-old warehouse into their retail outlet which they add they stumbled upon while finalising another location in the heart of the city. It was seriously love at first sight and we immediately felt that our flagship store will be housed here as it aptly reflects the brand ethos and sensibility. Just the right balance of the old, the new and the edgy industrial. As you enter the store through a whole collage of doors and windows (bought from auctions) to our mind you get to see the multi-level gradations of the walls inside. We created the gullies where shoppers love to discover hidden from the rest of the prying eyes, says Nil.
There is a sense of space with its high ceilings, and the awe-inspiring size of the store, and one cant not mention that how the old government file stands have been ingeniously converted into clothes racks. The floors with stains from the objects stored in the godown or even the subtle Art deco wooden detailing in the bridal room lends an old-world charm.
People always ask questions about why our collection of art and photographs are kept on the floor to which we say walls need to be empty for us to think, absorb so many visions and new ideas. Art and photographs act as an inspiration, which we absorb with our head lowered in submission, affirms Nil.
The place was empty and they created meandering walls with alcoves to fit in the garments, but still the sense of space was of paramount importance, a reading and relaxing corner, a large format family table with benches on the sides inside the bridal room (for the whole family to congregate and decide on the clothes). An overhead large installation of naked bulbs, some teapots, a wide variety of tea and cookies, spacious changing rooms, magazines etc. makes the store quite an experience which stands its own ground.
They love creating affordable luxury and thats what they have termed it, but then at times in the creative flow some pieces do become expensive, which they do feel guilty about. We believe in responsible luxury rather than luxury based on pricing, we feel happy when people repeat the clothes they buy from us for different occasion by combining it with other elements. We feel that they are getting the best wear out of them and it becomes a part of their personality rather than overpowering them. We float between the worlds of pret, diffusion and affordable luxury, says Dev.
Showcasing their line at AIFW SS 16, the duo understands that the advantage of working from Kolkata can also be a disadvantage in a certain way. It makes them reclusive and hence helps focus in the real work, but also it keeps them away from the bigger fashion market like Delhi and Mumbai on a regular basis.
Hence the perception of our brand is only from what people see from the fashion week showing. Whereas, as a design house we cater to a whole lot of audience be it men and women in pret as well as the couture segment. That also restricts us from more celebrity endorsements, which is so huge in todays day and age, says Dev.
In a sea of designers what makes them unique is that they love and know the fact that every season after season people come back to them and find new designs silhouettes, designs, styles and textures, they dont get bored. In a world where designers are tumbling over each other trying to dress Bollywood stars, Dev and Nil understand the importance of social media. People are interacting primarily from their smartphones, taking pictures, searching for information and looking for trends. So, if one doesnt have some sort of online presence its detrimental for the growth of the business. But personally celebrities wearing clothes and endorsing them is fine as it gets talked about in the media and online, but we still have reservations about anyone other than a model walking the ramp as a showstopper. For us the show stops with beautiful clothes, says Nil.
The concept of Pret was not there 11 years ago when they started. It was either Indian clothing or office wear or just casual wear. The last 10-15 years have seen a major change in the way fashion has become seasonal, it has become a daily necessity and it has now become a part of the style statement for a person. That is where pret has come in, people cannot wear heavily embellished high-end clothing on a daily basis thus the rise of pret lines from all the design houses. We started early when we realised our forte is in prints and texturing which can very easily be adopted for pret styles. Pret is where all the bigger names want to enter as the numbers are bigger, but also it gives you access to someones regular wardrobe. The trick in pret is in the less is more concept, explains Nil.
Keeping in mind the language of textiles in a country where power looms have overtaken handlooms and also digital prints have finished traditional crafts like Kalamkari, they says that the textile industry is the single largest employer after agriculture. We both immensely love hand woven textiles which we endorse and use them regularly as part of all our collections, but then we also do realise that how can we prevent these weavers from not upgrading themselves technologically. Thus the fine balance between the old and the new has to be found. We have to infuse in them modern design sensibility so that they can be used in the contemporary context and techniques thus helping these age-old crafts and tradition go through a transition for newer generations, says Dev.
They love new initiatives, new ventures and wide-eyed wonders in the eyes of the people who are starting out, but they always tell them to look for originality in their ideas or else it will never be a successful one as they want it to be. But most of all patience is what we tell them is the most important virtue because unlike fast food, clothes last much longer to either create the right impression or the wrong one forever. Finally in this industry we have two very well-known sayings, You are as good as your last collection and The marriage will never wait for you, we truly believe in that, they conclude.
Read more from Day 2 at #AIFWSS16 on the Amazon.in Blog