Rahul Mishra on the beauty of handwork and staying creative during the lockdown 

Every time Rahul Mishra drops a new collection, expect a seamless marriage between heritage crafts and modern tailoring. Mishra’s embroideries have been his point of differentiation since he was awarded the prestigious International Woolmark Prize in 2014. While this year has been full of challenges for many, the designer was yet again invited to be a part of the Paris Couture week and made a mark on the fashion calendar with his virtual presentation for the season. 

Indeed, the present times have posed unforeseen challenges. “During this lockdown, I have had a chance to delve deeper into myself and refocus on our continuing goal of decentralising the design processes of the company,” says Mishra. The designer who has always been an advocate of sustainability is a part Behind The Mask—a multi-media initiative by Condé Nast India, that gives a peek at five of India’s leading designers. Drawing inspiration from various Indian crafts, the designers have each created a prototype of protective face masks in these episodes. These designs further serve as inspiration for five collections of masks that are available on Myntra. All profits from the sales of these will be donated to GiveIndia, which has partnered with seven NGOs helping craftspeople around the country. The six-part video series will rest on Myntra, TLC, TLC HD and Discovery+ as well as on Vogue.in and Gqindia.com.

Vogue gets in conversation with Mishra on his craft, creativity under lockdown and the big business of dressing brides.

When did you discover the power of Indian crafts? How does it inspire you even today?

It was when I joined NID for a course in apparel design, that I was exposed to the prolific history of local Indian crafts and their contribution to the country’s collective cultural heritage, social structure and economy. Gandhian philosophies of sustainable and slow fashion were introduced to me by our late professor, MP Ranjan—who taught us that a design has more value and relevance when it supports the whole system and not only a particular section of the society. As I studied further, about system design and its applications in our social scenario, handcraft seemed to me the best solution. Based on these learnings, if I have the power to make a decision that will initiate support and empowerment of any section of the society, it is the decision I must take. The core of our brand is driven by a larger purpose of creating employment for people and in turn, empower them. While our design sensibilities may have evolved over time, this purpose has remained constant.

Is this an opportunity for you to reset, rethink and rebuild your business strategy?

While aiming to create sustainable luxury through the slow processes that promote employment and inclusivity in the Indian craft sector, we believe that sustainability is an evolving goal; and attaining it, an ongoing process. During this lockdown, I have had a chance to delve deeper into myself and refocus on our continuing goal of decentralising the design processes of the company.

Realising our team’s efficiency at working from home while creating a couture collection for Paris Couture Week, I am now more confident about the kind of work I want to showcase. Since the beginning of this lockdown, I was certain that I didn’t want to create clothes that were economical but focus on more intricate embroidery and finer craftsmanship. We have only hoped to emphasise on the emotional and artisanal value handwork can add to a product during the pandemic.

While the in-store retail experience had been significantly compromised during the lockdown, we also extended services to our consumer through a newly launched online retail platform. Through the website and other digital communication tools, we hoped to engage clients virtually so as to safeguard the physical well-being of both, the clients and our staff. Technology has indeed offered an effective solution at every step of the process and we have been happy to embrace it.

Did this time away from the daily drill energise you in any way?

I have been blessed to be quarantined with my family that includes my four-year-old daughter. Every single moment spent in her company makes me realise how I have needed this in my life. Despite the setbacks caused by the pandemic, it has allowed us a moment of pause and reflection and that has rejuvenated my heart.

My days began with simpler things, such as gardening, bird-watching and cleaning with Aarna followed by pockets of playtime and bonding throughout the day. During the economic upset, she has been both my motivation and inspiration.

You have always been an advocate for your artisans to work from their respective homes and villages. How is the lockdown and work from home going for you?

I believe that a human needs not more than to be just nourished, loved and deeply inspired. And what better place to do that but, at home alongside your family, your old parents, children and friends. This thought had always motivated me to promote artisans working from their respective homes and living a life of comfort as opposed to the unease of an urban set-up. This decentralising of the processes had played to our benefit during this lockdown as many of our artisans were still able to work from their respective homes while our atelier in Noida was shut. And as the lockdown eased out, more and more clusters began to function and our process could begin even before we could get physically back to the office.

The lockdown was an opportunity to pause that I could’ve never voluntarily taken. Working from home was thrilling and necessarily rewarding as I found myself surrounded by inspiration—nature surrounded us despite the boundaries, the sky was blue and trees green, birds returned to the balcony, butterflies into the garden and I witnessed it all with my family, my daughter beside me.

The pandemic is being viewed as a catalyst to realisation. What changes do you think it will bring to the way you work?

While the pandemic had been particularly upsetting for the economic side of things, I understood that it wasn’t the worst we had seen as yet. Divya and I were certain that we wanted to support each of our employees and workers for as long as it takes and in our conviction, we found our strength. I am blessed to have a partner who can share her decisions with me and advise me on mine; amidst our individual roles at the company and supporting each other we realised the kind of a future we wish to create. And that future must be built upon technological advancements, sustainable processes, fine craftsmanship and good intentions.

How do you make creativity last and flourish in the face of such adversity?

As I’ve said before, I am blessed to have spent all of my quarantine with my family, in the comfort of a home. Being in the creative field, I’ve realised that adversities never come in the way of creativity. They may in fact, just fuel it. While I have had my wife, Divya’s support at the business end, my work during the lockdown has been fairly rewarding.

While the pandemic has impacted us largely at many fronts, it has brought to us, simpler joys of life—such as, the time spent with family, conversations and home cooked meals. The sky hadn’t been this shade of blue in Delhi ever before, small rare birds returned to our garden and so did the butterflies. In a situation of great unrest, I was moved by the beauty that surrounded me. Perhaps it always existed but this time, I had a chance to observe it closely. I found joy in activities such as cleaning the floors with my daughter and doing other house chores that I wouldn’t have had a chance to experience in our previous lifestyle.

It is about looking for light in the darkest of times and motivation finds its way to you!

Tell us about some of the biggest takeaways that will stay with you forever.

Among the several things that I’ve learned during the lockdown, one learning shall remain with me the longest. It’s a realisation I have made from my experience of living in the company of a four year old (my daughter).

A child lives with neither any recollection of the past, nor a worry for the future. Their only purpose is to make their present a delightful experience. It is ‘living in present’ that I learned from my daughter in this lockdown and this takeaway has been quite significant for me.

Also read:

Rahul Mishra’s AW2020 haute couture collection “Butterfly People” is an ode to the artisans that worked on it

Rahul Mishra on his Paris Haute Couture debut: “Design should solve problems"