It has not even been three weeks since Delhi based designer, Rahul Mishra presented his Fall 2022 Paris Haute Couture collection, “Tree of Life.” While it received a universal thumbs up from fashion critics, Mishra has not really had the time to savour its success. He had jumped straight into preparations for his India Couture Week (ICW) presentation. Being held this Saturday at the French Embassy, on day two of ICW. Mishra has received an overwhelming number of receiving calls from the fashion fraternity requesting invites for the event. Being the only Indian designer to be part of the Paris Haute Couture Week official calendar and the country’s first winner of the coveted India Woolmark Prize, all eyes are on Mishra. Tailored for the Indian consumer, expect to see drapes and lehengas alongside some handpicked pieces from the Paris collection. The colour palette will be wider, with many pieces having a lighter colour base (for Paris there was heavy use of a black and gold) , that are made for daytime weddings.
As he prepares for the presentation, Rahul Mishra spoke to Vogue India about the differences between showing at Paris Haute Couture and India Couture Week.
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The India Couture Week collection is an extension of the Paris Haute Couture Collection, last year you showed two very different collections at these events. Why did you decide to take this approach?
Rahul Mishra: To be honest you know, it’s impossible to conceptualise two couture collections in such a short span of time. Last year we had a two-month gap between the events and both shows were digital. This means collections are much more edited, so you show fewer pieces.
What is the difference between India Couture Week and Paris Couture Week?
RM: India Couture Week is more focused on real time consumption and Paris Haute Couture is more about the editorials. So, there is a big difference. Which is why I call my India collection, “festive couture”. These are pieces made for the upcoming wedding and Diwali season. Both however are based on crafts . In India, we are blessed to have such thriving wedding celebrations, as it has ensured that our artisanal heritage has stayed alive and relevant. I travelled to remote locations in India, to find the best master artisans. Pieces are all hand embroidered for over 100,000 hours and textiles are handwoven.
In Paris we saw you experiment with exaggerated shapes, will we see similar techniques applied on the lehengas here?
RM: Dimensional embroidery is now a part of my couture design vocabulary, but I also keep pieces as featherlight as I can. The gold leaf motifs of that collection will be seen on blouses. Do look out for our blouses in this collection. Some will have exaggerated shoulders and some longer sleeves. We have also draped our dupattas in a new and experimental way. A lot of fluidity will come into focus, and that will be something different to Paris. But the play with volume will remain.
You are including kurtas too?
RM: Yes, especially in menswear. There are some well-tailored jackets with loose fit trousers and obviously some sherwanis. The kurtas are made in such a way they can be worn by any gender, any nationality and I think they will receive a lot of attention. There is play with translucency and we are taking the giant Poppy motifs seen in the Paris collection and adapting them for our menswear.
You have been showing regularly at India Couture Week for a few years now, even though you show abroad. Why have you been so committed to this platform?
RM: India Couture Week has supported me since 2015 when I started showing in Paris. It has helped me build my couture business, at home and abroad as it pushed me to improve my body of work. You receive a lot of constructive criticism from within the industry here. It is important to listen to the critics in your home country. India Couture Week has helped me raise my savoir faire of embroidery. I must say putting on another couture show just soon after Paris is mentally exhausting and a challenge. But that just pushes you to become better at what you do.
Do you get to rest after this?
RM: Maybe for a couple days. My family and I will go to the mountains after the show. Then it’s back to the drawing board, I need to start work on my new ready to wear label, the one I am working on in a joint venture with Reliance Brands Limited. It should make its debut soon. So, it is back-to-back for me!
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