Lakme India Fashion Week 2003 :: Raghavendra Rathore

Focus of Raghavendra Rathore's Collection for Lakme India Fashion Week 2003

The "calling" of Rathore's hometown can be felt in the collection. Re mixing and reinventing the strengths of Rajasthan in an extraordinary modem way is the new look that Rathore expresses in this transitional collection.

Ideas are carefully designed for both summer and early winter seasons, as the buyers attending will be buying for the winter festive season and for the summer of 2004. Silks (his forte) blends with Egyptian cottons in ways that demonstrates the challenges that make his colloection crisp and global.

Ascents of color hold the collection together, a departure from the front button jackets to funky "separates" and tops bring a fresher look to the collection. However, the RATHORE Bandgala does reappear as a hallmark, occasionally on the runway.

Raghavendra Rathore Profile

Childhood
Born to a mother who painted in her earlier years in parda, watching her son grow exposing him to all creative esthetics and most importantly taught him to respect the arts. Growing up as a child in the corridors of the Janana section of his house where no men were acceptable, virtues of desirable such as embroidered poshaka, custom made sari's, assorted hand spun silks from Banaras, where under constant scrutiny of his discerning eye as he watched the ladies of the house fuss and show excitement as the trunks were empted for display.

Rathore's father on the other hand taught him to value the land, understand the code of conduct, treasure the richness of culture. His great grandfather ruled the state of Jodhpur as a sovereign King, and hence till date Rathore has great regard for the 1200 years of history that draws him time and again to his roots for inspiration .

Aesthetics and design was a way of life in this dusty hometown, he watched the buttons being prepared for him farther Achcan, while colour coordination and accessorizing the outfit in the Janana was a constant attraction for him.

Schooling & College
After his school was bombed during the Indo-Pak war in Jodhpur, Rathore at the age of eight, was sent off to a boarding school in Ajmer at the Mayo College. Besides breaking, the school record for 25 meters in swimming at nine he was involved proactively in almost every activity on campus, he then went on to swim for his state before graduating from school.

Rathore excelled in the humanities with a keen interest in electronics a special award was created by his housemaster to endow the aspiration in this felid.

His head master had this to say about him as he bid farewell to his school... "Raghu is a perfect ambassador of India to any college abroad..." His love for technique and the quest for always knowing how things work, led him to look beyond the narrowness of subjects offered in Indian universities and move to the US.

There after, he joined Hampshire College in Amherst USA, to peruse a degree in the arts shortly moved to Marlboro College in Vermont and finally transferred to Parsons School of Design in New York.

From Astronomy to Greek Mythology and Modern American Fiction to History of Design, the spectrum and the vastness of courses that he was exposed to during his voyage through these three colleges, taught him to gage the depth of human progress and understanding, in all aspects in relation with Time.

Work
The experience of living in Manhattan, while studying and researching Design was more than a dictionary of ideas. Re-calibrating to the American sensibilities and esthetics was a challenge for a person from Jodhpur.

Understanding the shades of pastels over the rich overtures of the Rajasthan colour palette and creating it into an USP by offering that richness back to the consumer became a part of Rathore's portfolio that set him apart from the rest in context with Fashion.

Donna Karan hired him over 120 pupils in his graduating class to work for her as an assistant designer for the sportswear division DKNY.

He was then offered an opening at the high design atelier of Oscar de la Renta, 70 sketches a day with house models always standing by for any fetish the designer would like to drape on them. Rathore became the youngest designer at the atelier sending shock ways in the 7th avenue circuit.

Paris became a permanent vocation as Oscar de la Renta, became the head designer at the couture house of Pierre Balmain. These years were special as he spent time in the heart of the fashion capital learning the ropes, sedating the press and wooing all the lunching ladies of Paris, to promote the new vision of Mr. De la Renta for Pierre Balmain.

He studied at Parsons School of Design in New York. Immediately after graduation in 1992, Rathore gained experience working with prominent Manhattan labels including Donna Karan, Bill Blass and Oscar de la Renta. This exposure enabled him to refine his design knowledge before setting up his own label, 'Rathore' back in India. Rathore has been in the design and innovative concepts realization business, for the past nine years.

Mixing old-fashioned workmanship with modern aplomb, Rathore finds newer, subtler ways to evoke the sprit of a by-gone age with a fresher approach. Splitting time between home in Jodhpur and work, he is always on the move working on assignments and projects all around the giobe. Working in various mediums such as lifestyle & Home, Interior & furnishing design, Outdoor Iron & Wood Furniture Design, Fashion Design and now gourmet products, he works towards setting newer standards in the design frontier.

Fashion
Established Rathore as a brand when he arrived from New York couple of years ago and subsequently launched his new label called Inde Pret countrywide.

The Brand-"Inde Pret"
Fashion is a statement of our life-style encompassing all age groups and segments of the society .Keeping this in mind, the latest Inde Pret collection designed by Raghavendra Rathore, is the perfect Indian answer to the international concept of commercial clothing with style. The Inde Pret from 'Rathore Jodhpur' will now be available in select premium outlets in New Delhi. The latest collection from 'Inde Pret' offers a fantastic variety in men's and women's wear.

With a luxurious look and feel, the garments are fantastically priced within the range of Rs 800 to Rs 3500. Some of the clothes from the collection have a sporty look and are an excellent choice for a casual evening wear.

The latest Inde Pret collection is a perfect blend of traditional work on fabrics with contemporary art. Each outfit has special detailing which gives it a distinct appeal. The choice of the shirts, jackets and trousers/pants is varied and hence a complete wardrobe option can be worked out. Wide range of fabrics have been used in the collection ranging from silks from all parts of the country like banaras silk and madras silk. The fabrics are intelligent and interact with the season.

Clothing today, is a statement of our economic abilities, tastes and preferences hence the personality. The Inde Pret collection is targeted at the intelligent youth today in the metros and the satellite towns who are dynamic, lively and willing to experiment. Indian consumers have become as demanding as their western counterparts when it comes to quality. The industry needs to shift the production lines according to demand rather than supply. The Inde Pret collection by Raghavendra is one such step in this direction.

Commenting about the collection, designer Raghavendra Rathore says, "We are taking a very confident approach towards this project. The Inde Pret collection is a very corporate attempt to re-look at Indian fashion."

The collection draws its inspiration from the romance of Jodhpur with ouches of crisp New York style."

Inde Pret line from Rathore Jodhpur is a hallmark of world-class styling, cut and finest fabrics, imported tram the luxurious ateliers of the Rathore brand. IndePret is a brand inspired and designed on international standards, always keeping its customer in mind.

The Brand- "Rathore"
Fashion today has long ceased to be one theme, one mood, and one idea. Imagine waking up to a fresh day, unlike the one before that, breaking away from routine Rathore offers just that, through a superb mix of textures, modern fabrics, slinging cuts and a vast color palate that binds the richness of the collection. The designer, in a sense pays tribute to the secrete tailoring technique's of the Orient, by developing ideas that are brought to life in exciting incarnations, a feel of eastern and western philosophies are predominant through out the collection.

Silk brocades, pleats, long bias and asymmetrical cut skirts paired with jackets. Snug fitted jackets re-emerges as an important look in the collection this season. Clever mixing of these clothes gives the customer endless choices of putting together a look for almost all occasions.

E-mail: raghavendra_rathore