Resuscitating the dying arts and improving the socio-economic conditions of the marginalised communities of Rajasthan is as much a priority for noted Jodhpur-based designer Raghavendra Rathore as is leaving his imprint on each outfit to be showcased at the upcoming India Bridal Fashion Week.
In fact, both aspects are intertwined for this couturier, who is working with a non-government organisation with the intention of providing a financial package to help workers access a nutritious diet and provide elementary education for their children.
Rathore says he supplies fabric to the Sambhali Trust, which gets the fabric worked upon. The livelihood opportunities make workers confident of their craft and feel proud that their work is becoming part of the global fashion scene, as the designer has an NRI clientele in New York, Ontario and other international cities.
“We are providing livelihood to workers of this NGO. It is a proud moment for us as the men and women work for us for months. So the collection is a balance between social awareness and the respected values we want to impart to our customers. In fact, it is heartening that today’s grooms are more patriotic than their forefathers. While Dadaji would like to dress up in a tuxedo, the groom wants a traditional outfit on his wedding day.”
The dhoti has become a part of political debate and the designer fraternity hasn’t remained unaffected by it. Rathore would be giving a special treatment to the dhoti at the four-day-long fashion extravaganza which gets underway at DLF Emporio on August 7. “While presenting the dhoti, we would be narrating a story. We will be giving five or six different varieties of dhotis.”
In contrast to designers who employ heavy embroidery with the aim of impressing the uninitiated and augment the price of an outfit, Rathore would be restricting his creativity. Though embroidery will be found on anarkalis and suits, it will not be overdone, he says.
“Definitely, I will be presenting embroidered outfits at the India Bridal Fashion Week but not disproportionately. Many tricks of the trade are known to a designer to reduce the cost of an outfit. I do not want parents to waste their hard earned wealth on outfits which are unnecessarily heavily embroidered. Embroidery on the front of an outfit is okay, but why on the back?” he argues.
Though Rathore does not like to speak ill of his contemporaries, he openly criticises a leading designer who used embroidery on virtually every outfit at the recently concluded India Couture Week. “Fashion-conscious people can easily decipher such pretentious and deliberate acts.”
Rather than heavy outfits, the designer is all for light stuff which he will be showcasing in his collection.
“Non-resident Indian customers of mine do not want heavy stuff for either the groom or the bride. A dress has to be benign looking and look good even 20 years down the line when the couple want to flip through pictures of their wedding day. People make embarrassing requests to do heavily embroidered stuff but I refrain from such work. I can never entertain this thought because I make dresses not curtains. Embroidery has to be done sensibly.”
