The Butterfly Effect

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In a country obsessed with doctors and engineers, any individual looking the other way, is considered academically weak, especially if it’s the arts his inclination deviates towards. Yet every once in a while, a prodigy comes along, compelling people to redefine these notions. One such young achiever – Rahul Mishra – academic scholar, award winning designer, agent of change and a whole lot more talks to us about his journey through time.

Was only one to utilise handloom fabric for his collection. His reversible dresses get a thumbs up from ELLE…”
—ELLE

Raised in a non-descript village – Malhausi near Kanpur, Rahul’s academic inclinations were noted at a young age when at the age of 6, he was directly granted admission to school for the first time in class three. And this after having been educated only at home by his mother & his aunt. Proving his admissions committee’s decision right, Rahul displayed his scholastic abilities early on and topped the board exams in class five.

However, it was fine arts that were his true calling. “As a child, I used to sketch cows, animals, village landscapes, Lord Krishna and all of this from what I saw around me or in comic books,” says he. But like every other child genius, once his parents realized his capabilities, they wanted him to excel in academics and sent him to a boarding school in Lucknow. Fortunately for Rahul he could keep alive his interest in drawing and sketching while there and it is because of this that he is able to call upon boarding as one of the most interesting phases of his life “If nothing else, I sharpened by drawing skills by drawing biology diagrams for my classmates.”

The real change for Rahul came about in class 12 when he moved to Kanpur. He explains the move, “Almost everybody at the boarding school was academically ambitious and wanted to be an engineer and get into the IIT’s. It was sometime in class 9 that a chance mention by one of my teachers about her son applying for a fashion design programme at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), made me aware of the existence of Fashion Design courses. I knew then that I wanted to turn my hobby into a profession and attend design school.”

Rahul will score very well not only in Paris but also around the world.”
—DIDIER GRUMBACH
(President Federation Francaise de la couture, du prêt a porter des couturiers et des Createurs de Mode)

Things did not come easy as one can imagine the resistance from Rahul’s father who had engineering dreams for his bright son. Even after a lot of discussions, Rahul had to end up taking Physics, Chemistry & Maths at Kanpur University and decided to wait his turn after graduation. “My sister had recently moved to New Delhi after her marriage, hence after BSc I ran away to her place. I met a few people at NIFT who suggested I take the entrance exam of the National Institute of Design (NID).”

As expected, Mishra cleared the entrance for both institutes and eventually took up admission at NID where he shone as a star student, going on to graduate with the “Best Student Designer of the Year” award in 2005 and followed it up by winning the “Pride of NID” in 2006.

After creating waves on the Indian Emerging Designers scene, Rahul went on to be the first non-European designer to win a prestigious scholarship at the Istituto Marangoni, Milan where he pursued a Masters in Fashion Designing. In 2008, he was voted as the Pepsi MTV ‘Youth Icon’ of the year and has recently won the ‘International Designer of the Year award’ in the most Commercial Design category at the IAF (International Apparel Federation) annual convention held in Netherlands.

Step through the looking glass into a world where a dress in classic muted hues of black reverses to indigo blue dress. This is the parallel universe of Rahul Mishra…”
—VOGUE

Inspite of his achievements, Rahul’s attitude remains modest and he claims his inspiration comes from within during the time of the day when he does his morning prayers.

One of his project – which he took as his NID project is still going on but at the large scale. It was inspired by his visit to the museum located at Trivandrum and gave him an understanding of ancient Kerala clothing. “In ancient Kerala the lifestyle and clothing was entirely dependent on the caste, profession, religion and occasion. The draping style and the border color used to vary according to the class the wearer belonged to. This project has been a sincere effort towards creating awareness and bringing Kerala handicraft on the center stage of global scenario to employ and empower weavers of rural Kerala. The idea is to enhance the experience of tourists through appropriate and comfortable clothing. Clothing plays a big role in cultural exchange. It will help in strengthening cultural identity of Kerala. Subsequently, a strong tourism industry will uplift overall economy of the state,” extrapolates Rahul of his ambitious project.

This collection has turned out to be a product of research, exploration, sketches to finally filter down to ensembles in the collection “REVERSIBLE”, outfits that can be worn inside out.

While Indian designers are increasingly turning westward, Rahul is promoting Indian handlooms and handicrafts. He strongly believes, “Our Indian weavers have great potential which can be used to create wonders. I like bringing the best work from different regions together. You can see traditional Indian handlooms and handicrafts in my designs.

In order to promote the Kerala and to give back to the society, Rahul is also working on the community development and Kerala handlooms and crafts project. It will help in developing the Apparel training and production centers, tourism and other cultural exchanges and retails and export market.

Apart from Kerala he has been closely working with Benarasi handloom (U.P.), Chikankaari (Lucknow), Chanderi (M.P.), Maheshwari and Khadi (M.P.), Bandhini and Bhujodi Shawls (Gujraat), Bhagalpuri handloom (Bihar), Double Ikat (Orrisa)

Rahul Mishra, with his conviction, grit and an overflowing bank of creativity, will definitely take India places.”
—SOCIETY MAGAZINE

The winner of several international and national awards, was recently featured in the eminent list of 20 young Indians, who are transforming India for INDIA VISION 2020… the list includes likes of Rahul Gandhi, Chetan Bhagat and Abhay Deol etc. In 2006 he was winner “Fiesta Italiana Fashion Design Talent Hunt,” and also rated as Best Debut by publications like Elle, Times of India, Hindustan Times etc, amongst many more, Rahul sums up his achievements in his vision of fashion:

“Fashion is a mere continuous hypothesis of perfecting and enhancing the body. Ultimate truth lies in genuine feeling of wellness.”

The latest collection on which finished working was THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT (Showcased at Wills India Fashion Week A/W ‘10/11). The unique collection showcased in India Fashion Week has been rated, as one of the best collections of the season in India for its modern feel.

The innovative graphics seek to portray the journey of the human race and the process of metamorphosis our planet has undergone in the last century.

This collection is doing exceedingly well in India and abroad, the collection was showcased in BOI (Best of India) section at Singapore Fashion Week in April and recently in first week of May was showcased at prestigious “India – Sweden: Cultural Collaboration through Contemporary Art and Fashion” an event organized by the cultural ministry of Sweden.

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT is already going places and making waves in the international fashion scenario, it will be available some of the best stores across the world.

JAM (just a minute…)

If there were one person for whom you would like to design a thing. Who is the person and what would you design?
Mahatma Gandhi

One word that would define your designs/style?
Problem solving exercise

As a designer, one thing that you would like to change in the present system?
Corruption

If you were an animated character, which one would it be?
Chacha Chowdhary

What is your favorite color?
White/off white

If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
No name – Not sure

What are you afraid of regarding the future?
I used to be afraid of not being successful but not any more

How do you differentiate yourself with other designer?
I never try to differentiate

What are the challenges you face in the present context?
There is nothing like challenges and difficulties. One just learns from experiences and utilize it.

One aspect of design you give the highest priority to?
Thought and ideas

One design-related book you highly recommend to read?
Thinking Design by Prof. S. Balaram

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