During the recent Assembly elections, Raghavendra Rathore noticed how design has crept discreetly into the posters of political parties. Not just the aesthetic alignment of heads with hierarchy, he was surprised that people are using bot software application for multiplying images in quick time. “The next generation of designers has to survive in this way of life. They are competing against visualisers of video games who can change the outfits of the characters in seconds,” says Rathore as he opens up on his plans of starting a design school in Jaipur later this summer. One designer, who talks of value of design in everyday life, Rathore has been talking about his passion to open the Gurukul School of Design for 10 years. “I thought now the time is absolutely right. It is going to be UGC-certified four-year bachelor degree in design. The course covers four hemispheres. One is obviously design. Then business, which is the second most important aspect and the biggest weakness. Young designers are showcasing at fashion weeks but they are not making any profits because their capability to negotiate is weak. Then there is marketing and merchandising taught in a gurukul way of life.”
Integral to culture
Understanding the materialistic side of life with a spiritual attitude sounds paradoxical, but Rathore has a reason. “In Mahabharat, when the wheel of Karna’s chariot broke, you couldn’t say definitively whether it was the malfunction of design or it was his karma (action). Design has been integral to Indian philosophy and society. There were artisans who specialised in wheels and arrows. Unfortunately, after Independence, design in public spaces got reduced to a khichdi. It is hard to find one aesthetically wonderful building that we have built after the Independence where I can take my son. The aesthetic dimensions have been removed from our everyday life, which is a dangerous sign for a culture,” says Rathore who has been rooting for a Ministry of Design.
“The people designing the flyover should be as sensitive as a fashion designer. When a flyover is made in Dubai, they mix the paint in concrete so that they don’t have to paint it later. Here somebody continues to forget it because it is not part of the mandate ,” rues Rathore reminding that it was not always the case. “I believe Jaipur was built on this premise. One colour was decided and all the jharokhas faced the road.”
Designer Raghavendra Rathore
But when we have a section which wants to see even the Taj Mahal in multiple hues, it all boils down to good aesthetics vs bad aesthetics. “You can see a reflection of this taste in programmes like Comedy Nights With Kapil or dance reality shows. They have aspiration but no aesthetics. These are the people who can’t follow a colour scheme in their building, forget the city. I myself cannot judge but a person from outside gets a sense. Anita Dongre is doing a good job in that space as she managed to bring a certain degree of aesthetics there.”
Rathore himself faced the struggle to find good education in aesthetics. “I insisted on going to the most expensive institution because I thought it is necessary to assimilate the right aesthetics in my course of life. From getting foreign currency from the Reserve Bank of India to doing dishes in New York, a lot of hindrances came my way. My father gave me one year’s fees and with it I sustained for nine years in New York. Actually, that was the time when the idea to open a design school took root.”
Understanding consumer
He maintains the students should be made to understand the aesthetics of people whom they design for. “When I was working with Oscar de la Renta, he used to say focus on the personality of the people and clothes will follow automatically. If you understand how culture works and how culture has worked before, you can predict what the desires are. Understanding habits of the people is not rocket science but somebody needs to tell them. A student doesn’t need to go to spa everyday but he should know the customer who spends a good time there. He should have an idea of the kind of music Mozart played. So there will be assignments about global knowledge of good aesthetics. 70 percent of the faculty is drawn from outside India and they have to adjust to the gurukul way as well.” Somehow, he laments, there has been a perception about fashion designers in society that they are flippant. And that’s why he insists, “We are creating entrepreneurs and not just fashion designers. I believe that word will be punishable! It has placed us in a frivolous space — either page 3 or fashion weeks, whose turnover is not worth talking about. And that realisation should happen at an early stage.”
To be successful, Rathore says, either you have to be amazingly talented or you should know how to get the work done. “Vision is more important than the craft because you can always hire the best pattern maker and this will be one of the main factors during filtration. It is practically possible because unlike the West, here you can get a good tailor to work for you at an affordable price. If somebody has the vision but not means, we will try to ensure that he gets the seat he deserves. Those who are not 10 on 10 on all skills, can possibly combine to form a cluster company and supply designs, a kind of design start-up.”
In the last few years, Rathore has moved out of the ramp and the razzmatazz of fashion. “I don’t participate in fashion weeks anymore. It is for young people who are into retail. We are completely into bespoke space. I can’t see RR going beyond nine stores because then they would start cannibalising. Other lines like the Imperial India Company are growing. So, the slowing down part is just a perception. I only sell through my stores. I can be symbolically attached with somebody but our business model is like Domino’s pizza. You order it and we will create it for you,” he chuckles.
Isn’t he going against the tide? “Recently, I was talking to Arun Gupta of the Future Group. He suggested ₹800 to 1800 main range karo and become a billionaire in six years. I said that at this age I will not be able to do that. My calling is what people did before me in my part of the world and even in the school though it is tempting to fill it by charging less, I won’t allow it to go that way till I can hold it.”
Master of bespoke space
With the old money getting stagnated because of demonetisation and lull in real estate business, he says fashion is increasingly becoming a very cut throat space where designers are giving an achkan free if you buy an expensive lehenga. “Eight years back, I took a call that we won’t make lehengas and keep the embroidery to bare minimum. People come to us for bandhgala. Even if they buy everything from somebody else, when it comes to bandhgala, they head to RR. But then they don’t need more than one or two.” So he changed his strategy and went to spaces where people need a bandhgala every day, which is the Bollywood and corporate world. “Because they can’t repeat outfits. We now do whole wardrobe solutions. Once they get used to that they want it for next season as well. It is very good because you are only making a wardrobe and not a fashion collection.”
With the GST regime taking root, Rathore says bespoke is the way forward. But, when he can’t name his clients and clients don’t flaunt his name, isn’t it creatively frustrating? “It is not, bespoke basically emanates from the essence of whispers. The bespoke customers are highly evolved and don’t want to give their size and measurements away. Their clothes will never scream but they fit so well that it puzzles people. It is the hardest business to promote yourself because you can’t talk about the people you design for. But that's also the beauty of the business that people trust you.”
In fact, he adds, “The latest trend is to have no label clothes made by the best in the business. It is an irony of sorts. You know that you have put in time and effort but you don’t want to flash it. There is a painful period. Then you become loyal. I am asked to make silver frames and cuff links that somebody’s grandfather had. These are the challenges that I thrive on.”
A decade back, Rathore spoke to me about the school. Going forward, he has plans for a bandhgala themed restaurant where everything will be in the shape of the iconic Jodhpuri outfit notionally and designing a stitch-less bandhgala put together by heat. “There is one Italian company that is using the technique. But here it is going to be radical.” Indeed!
