When you push open the doors and walk into designer Rahul Mishra’s new flagship store in Mumbai, you are greeted by a serene zone, the calmness of which will take you by surprise, considering you have walked in straight from the hustle bustle of the Maximum City. The entrance area is nothing like fashion stores you’ve seen before — the walls are filled with neatly framed pictures of flowers — which you later come to know are all flowers that have featured in the designer’s work sometime or the other. As you walk further in, you enter the amazing world of Rahul Mishra couture — intricately and meticulously embroidered clothing that look global yet rooted in Indian heritage, showcased in artistic arrangements. From the light fixtures to the carpets and the wall decor, every inch of the store speaks of artistry, and great design. It’s like a labyrinth, where you walk from chamber to chamber, in awe.
Maison Rahul Mishra, at Mumbai’s Horniman Circle, spans 7,500sq ft, and has been designed by renowned architect and designer Rooshad Shroff. t2oS was at the launch of the store on August 21, and we caught up with Rahul later to get into his mindspace. We chatted with him about the store, his line of couture bags that was launched along with the new store, a landmark legal win, and his vision ahead! Over to Rahul...
The Rahul Mishra universe
Rooshad has been a long-time friend, and I completely respect his design, and trust the way he works, his perspective about everything, and we kind of have a mutual admiration for each other. So he was involved from the conceptualisation of the store, even from the time of finding the property. He went and looked at the property even before we finalised it.
The whole whole idea was like... everything is almost like layering in this space. It was a very internalised process. So everything which you see once you enter the store, every motif you see here, even if it is on the lamp or on the door... everything was kind of created at our studio. So in a way, the process has been very, very internal. So Rooshad wanted to catch the pulse of the brand, where the space starts looking like a reflection of the brand. It’s a very Zen-like space. When you enter the store, you start looking at the flowers. So every flower had existed at some time in our previous collections. Every motif which you see had existed in our collections. So the idea is, you know, how do you take those elements and create them in a new medium. But every element from our different collections somehow finds place within the store. So if you take out the clothes, it can become like a museum, or it can become an art gallery. Those elements which are signature, you know, to us, are there completely in its full glory. And obviously, Roooshad made us work on that. You know, our studio was really involved in terms of the creative part.
The store is built in a chamber kind of way. Like, you know, one leads to the other. I mean kind of a maze. That’s a very beautiful aspect of the store. You don’t know when you’re entering that, what it’s leading to. When you’re walking into the store from the hustle-bustle of the streets of Mumbai, you actually enter stillness. So, actually, it’s very meditative. Why so still, because you don’t see any elements. So actually it’s almost like the stillness of a garden. And beyond that, you don’t see anything. So the space does not try to sell you anything. The space tries to create a feeling, which is very sublime, which is again, you know, sometimes like bringing nature in a very distinct and beautiful way.
Every chamber is different from the others. When you are in the gallery where all the Paris (Haute Couture) clothes are, you don’t realise what the other chambers are. You play with mirrors, you play with the idea of the ceiling everywhere, you play with the idea of lights everywhere, like those projectors, they also create a very, very organic kind of light on the flooring. And every carpet carries our designs. Every piece carries like our archives.
The Couture Bags
So the couture bag line that we launched now is a project that has been going on for more than a year. The bag project. Divya (Rahul’s wife) was completely handling it. She wanted to create like a complete universe, but almost on like moving pieces. And somehow as a girl, she also knew how she would like to carry a bag. How the bag is going to look like when you carry it with a clean and simple outfit, or how the bag is going to appear even when you are wearing a loud outfit. So the whole idea behind this was also like to create something which is almost like, you know, a couture piece, which is almost a moving couture piece which you can carry in your hand.
So for this, like we went about creating, and you know, surprisingly, at the same time we did some jewellery for the brand... so it was a kind of production in which you wanted a very jewellery kind of detail to create bags. You know, when you get all the metallic hardware, so everything is like gold plated with semi-precious stones and all that, which is part of the bag. But probably what happens when you do a lot of them, then you’ve covered the entire surface. Then it starts looking, you know, not that global.
So I remember when the first few samples were here, I had this amazing person called Richard Baker there at the studio. He’s from (executive chairman of) Hudson Bay Company that owns Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. So I remember, he was looking at the bags and he said, ‘Oh my God! These bags, they need to be next to Chanel. These bags are so amazing.’ And he was telling our business head, work on this carefully, it’s almost a billion dollar idea, just with the bags you’ve got. Because these bags are not just a monogrammed bag, these carry forward the brand’s universe and these are so diverse. Like, for example, we do a golden heart, or we have done dragonflies... we are like naturalists. So in that way, he was visualising how these bags can become miniature canvas of what we create. In a very, very modern manner.
Also, I remember some of the French manufacturers were so interested when they looked at the bags that we designed and they said, ‘Let us make these bags’. They really thought that they are the top of the line in the world. So we had been getting amazing feedback. Once we launched it, some styles got sold out.
Space Design
I am just sharing with you, although like this is something which I’m not going to do right now, I’m an industrial designer from NID (National Institute of Design) and I’ve done science education, so I have got a keen interest of creating architecture. So you know, that is something which is probably next. From ground zero, I (re)built an old house in the hills, and mountains. It is very functional, very, very easy to maintain and at the same time, very inclusive to slow processes. So how I built it over there in terms of looking at off-grid idea, sustainability.... I also wanted to create a space which is not interfering in my thought process. So, in your space, your office, your house, everything has to be in very clean balance, so that it allows you to think differently, think new every time you are there. And your retail space should be like when somebody walks in, should project your thought process or your signature to the buyer.
A Landmark Win
I got messages from a lot of people saying you are not just standing for yourself, you are standing for the artisans of India. This (plagiarism) is a big disease in my country. Designers who work hard and are creators get copied. And somehow, in this country, the kind of attention that has to go to this plague — I will call it plague — is still not there that much. And I’m so honoured and so happy that honourable High Court has done this ruling in our favour. If you open the court order, you will realise how comprehensive the court has been. So usually, (after a court order against copying) people do five-six changes and get away. But this order is very very comprehensive (so they can’t get away by making some changes to the copy). This is the first time I think the court has come down very heavily.
A lot of times, if you are representing a craft differently, which is already in the public domain, if you take a motif from a book which is already in the public domain, how do you go ahead and protect it?
If you take a craft which already existed before you, how do you go and protect if somebody else copies that, or takes inspiration from that? Now the thing is, how we work differently, we create all of our motifs without taking like a complete reference from any other source. We create like arts studios, we create our motifs on our own. There’s no prior documentation of the motifs. For example, there was no representation of exactly the same motif with a tiger entering into water, a lotus flower around her and all that. So in that way it becomes easier for us to defend it, and then we also copyright our work.
You know, by the time we produce... by the time we could display it in our store and try to take orders — every order takes two months of time because it’s handmade — machines and computers in different parts of India start copying it. I know about the shops. So I’m also very silently watching, collecting evidence against all the shops. And I know I’m going to take gross penalty from these shops. I will make sure of that.
Ultimately, it’s not just about your own designs. Like my designs are old, they are last year, does not matter. I will get a lot of money from these guys who are copying. But it also creates a very, very nice message. Like, it’s not just IP theft. It’s also theft of opportunity, for a craftsman who has worked to create a sample that sells as a slow process, and somebody is printing and doing digital embroidery and is able to copy it faster. And then we are seeing some celebrities wearing those pieces (in the recent case, the counterfeit garments were worn by Kapil Sharma, Orry and Badshah). So that’s even more painful. And actually we keep seeing it every day. So I am here, I have got the wherewithal, a legal team to actually control it, to be able to fight for it. And we will fight for it. We will set a precedent.
So it’s not just one case. Like earlier also we have won such cases. This case becomes a very landmark case I think. Other designers can in future put a petition or request to the court where this ruling will be quoted. Now because the court has given such a clear directive in the case it also strengthens a law at large in the country.
Two Decades of Fashion Week Debut
Wow! Sounds like a long, long time, like two decades. I remember, in 2003-2004, in Lakme Fashion Week, I was ushering... I was an usher, like all these boys and girls who are kind of guiding you to your seat. And I remember in 2005, witnessing this beautiful show. It was the first exposure to us. And I remember my whole class, we were just sitting over there and just sharing what we see ourselves doing in future. And I remember, like everybody said, you know, somebody’s going to buy a house, somebody will join a big designer.... I said I will come back to showcase here. So I just said that. In 2006, I sent my entry with three sketches, and I got through. It was an easy break.
And then cut to 2009, after completing our studies, I was just confident about it. So I was saying, you know, give me 10 years, I will be at global platforms, with the best designers. Even now, I must say, like it’s just the beginning. It’s a big thing for us that we are able to showcase alongside Chanel, Dior and all these kind of brands.
The Vision
So, you know, success is always a moving target. You always keep looking at that almost like a moving target which is always there and you want to keep doing what you’re doing. I also believe like brands are often defined with their marketing and the retail experience. We are looking at creating experiences. I think, what should be a differentiator between true luxury and just every other noise is how you make things. And, you know, what are the processes you follow. Not just how you pack your things. I think packaging has been one of the most overrated things in the last 10-12 years, as a part of marketing. But how you make things has to get the focus. Because a lot of brands get away by using a lot of machine processes. And just doing a bit of hand work on top of machine and calling it handmade. I think hand processes should be given more weightage.
I think craft has to create larger amount of employment for the country. And it cannot be seen just as the tool for consumption. You know, a crafted piece. But should be seen as a tool which creates job opportunities. I want to create an employment system so that people are able to have far better control on their lives. How this can be the most rewarding system for everybody, while we make hand-embroidery which is the coolest in the world. So this is our biggest dream right now. And this is something which we all are looking actively at.