On the eve of our meeting, Rahul Mishra was in London, interviewed by Suzy Menkes-the icon of fashion criticism. She has long been an advocate of the Indian designer, praising the precision of his collections, which merit the appellation of Haute Couture. Following in Suzy’s footsteps: quite a challenge. Like her, the description of the sophistication of the clothes could occupy entire lines of this article. Rather than a sartorial fetish, it’s the designer’s struggle, the man’s social fashion project, that has captured my fascination. Even if the delicacy of his embroidery cannot leave one indifferent.
“Yes it’s tricky, but clothes can be washed. You can wear them, and wear them again. Otherwise, what’s the point of talking about sustainable fashion? Fashion is an art, an art that I want to make sustainable”-Rahul Mishra
Rahul Mishra with Suzy Menkes
Entry points to social ecology
Paris late November 2018- The golden leaves of autumn cover the sidewalks, but already the trees are dressed up with Christmas lights. Without giving the seasons time to blossom, mankind imposes artificial lights on them, so that they can better live through the winter. But that’s what life’s all about... creating magic.
Rahul Mishra
Rahul Mishra’s philosophy: respect the light of the seasons, observe them and draw inspiration from them to create collections, in the manner of the Impressionist painters he so admires. More than just aesthetic inspiration, respect for nature’s cycles is at the heart of the garment-making process. Beyond the fight to preserve the environment, Rahul Mishra reflects on how to help man find a fulfilling place, in harmony with his environment. That’s the difference. An encounter with a humanist couturier, who follows the seasons and works his magic according to the fashion calendar, without losing the thread of his struggles.
Fashion is much more than vanity: it’s fashion that attracts me, drives me and makes me work harder and harder. There’s the art, the expression, the poetic aspect, but above all the commitment. Rahul Mishra
Rahul Mishra eco-system
Eco-friendly fashion: a catch-all term? Vegan collection, recovery of fabric offcuts, concentration of factories in France to promote short circuits: to be translated as ethical, collective fashion, Stella McCartneyThe “new wardrobe”, “Ethipop talks”, thrift shops, 100% No waste or “Smart Création”. Lost in the concepts? What stages in the manufacturing and distribution chain does eco-fashion refer to? Do we even have to scan designers’ imaginations to find out if they’re not polluted?
More than just an ecological program, Mishra fashion is a social program
Social fashion, the term appears in an interview given in 2014 by Rahul Mishra to Business of Fashion. In 2018, how does this plan translate into practice?
Rahul Mishra and Imran Amed (founder of Business Of Fashion)
Rahul Mishra explains that he is delighted to have designer status and to be able to present his collections in the world’s major capitals.This creates opportunities. With this, I can tackle the problem of unemployment: a challenge in India. We have a real need to create work for people. And work adapted to people.”
The social fashion project is all about harnessing local know-how to create exceptional garments. Clothes that radiate life. Mishra hopes to restore the confidence of Indians, and show them that they have a place in the great history of fashion.
“As a designer, I’m between two extreme worlds. The very luxurious world of Haute Couture, and this local reality of a very poor India. How do you produce opportunities to link these two worlds, while respecting the lives of these people?”
Today, Raoul Mishra employs over 700 people in India. Job security, improved medical care: essential conditions for a dignified life. With this gesture, Mishra is protecting the reservoir of local knowledge. 2000 working hours that’s how long it takes to make some of the pieces in the latest collection. “It would have been easier and cheaper to make certain pieces by machine, or abroad. But the result wouldn’t have been the same. What’s more, these garments provide food and shelter for 20 families”.
Ecological fashion is all about fighting the extinction of traditions and enabling people to live.
My guiding principle when I design a collection: will these garments, which I imagine, allow people to work? -Rahul Mishra
Rahul Mishra’s fashion: a tale for the whole family.
By providing hours of work for the Indians, it provides hours of communal life and sharing for families. “By providing families with an income, I prevent parents from having to go to work in the city, and live in deplorable conditions (…) Have you seen Slumdog Millionaire, and the slums where people pile up? I want to fight that. In the villages where my collections are born, people can come home in the evening to their children after a day at school and enjoy a home-cooked meal (…) They’re happy, and that’s essential in the work process”.
Reuniting with parents: in every fairy tale, the threat of separation haunts the narrative. Rahul Mishra is the gentle voice of a story where parents and children are reunited. Family is an essential element in understanding this man, who doesn’t hesitate to share photos of his daughter with us. She’s just two years old,” he says, “and I miss her on these long tours. He then receives a message “Daddy I miss you”.
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- Collection Hiver 2018
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- Collection Hiver 2018
His daughter is a true source of inspiration.” Have you seen the film Zootopie? Even though I’ve seen it over and over I’m always happy to see it again.” This playful, light-hearted world of childhood gives rise to the“jungle” prints in the latest collection. Children’s drawings. The design of a united family.
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- Collection Été 2018
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- Collection Été 2018
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- Collection Été 2018
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- Collection Été 2018
“I saw bees with my daughter: that’s rare these days! I immediately took it as a sign. Bees are guided by light and always return to the hive. These days, people move so fast that they can’t see the details. It’s like stopping and taking the time to smell the roses.” So the summer 2018 collection pays tribute to bees, and all they can symbolize. Bees are a vital part of our ecosystem, now under threat.
Adapting, loving and integrating everyone’s needs into a vast picture. If Rahul Mishra loves impressionists, he’s one too. This elegant visionary confides that Paris remains the strongest fashion scene. On the eve of Fashion Week, it seems important to repeat his words
“It’s the most international scene I know. Belgian, English, American, Asian and Indian designers… That’s what makes it so powerful. I was talking about it with an Italian journalist: she agreed with me!
A smiling interview in which he says “au revoir, in French.” I’m learning, it’s important! “. For the presentation of the new collection this Saturday, his French is sure to flourish again.
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