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Fashion with the family
Rina Dhaka with her son at her residence in Sainik Farms. Photo: Sandeep Saxena.
`MUMMY, I think I have cut my finger.' `Dear go, wash it. You are a man, you know.' Bold isn't it? But that is the word that defines Rina Dhaka in the fashion industry for more than a decade. It is just that this talk with her toddler at the end of a frenzied day giving finishing touches to her collection for Lakme India Fashion Week presents the flip side of the expression. "For the last one-and-a half months they are missing me. That's why they shriek and want attention the moment I enter home. I want to get through this toil quickly and want to be with them. Dropping them to schools, helping them in their studies," says Rina between the sums and smiles session.
For Rina, whose show will open the show, this year is crucial considering last year's dull response for which she holds the timing of her show and over dependence on the assistants responsible. "Travelling to Mumbai with small kids also added to the problem. This year I am relying on my strengths and thoughts. I will convey my thoughts through a story. A common thread will run through all my designs for the Fall-holiday collection." And yes, for the first time we would see Rina delving into the territory of men's wear.
One of the pioneers of fashion in India, Rina took the hemlines above the knees with devastating effect in the late `80s. "What I designed then, has become a normal feature today. So the bold tag no longer fits me." On the dress renaissance for the urbane Indian female arriving before her own mental and societal liberation, Rina narrates her experience, "Our society particularly the lower classes still look down upon the party wear. One can do anything wearing a sari but in a short top and skirt you would be judged guilty without trial. I do not want my guard or my workers to give me such looks, so I make sure to wear salwar-kurta during working hours and while going out for party, wrap myself with a cloth."
However, somehow the new generation designers are getting more bytes, more praise for reaching out to the emerging Indian market. "Indeed, they are. But don't forget that most of them have started as assistants to the seniors. It were people like Rohit Khosla, I and Rohit Bal who introduced fashion to India and then faced a period of fashion bashing without compromising on our creative instincts. Over a period of time the smart ones have copied us." As for the talk of practical and functional aspect, Rina argues that unlike her the young lot is not established in the West so they can't afford to be expensive and are trying out the retail route in India.
"I will remain a high-end designer. Even at the Week where we are supposed to show pręt and diffusion, my collection will be pręt only if valued in dollars or pounds." At the same time Rina agrees, "At the time of world wide recession, Indian market is doing well and is more prepared for fashion clothing than a couple of years earlier. That's why I want to strengthen myself in India." Time for the son to sleep, but with fittings still to be done, which according to Rina if don't fit the bill can jeopardise the show, rest is out of her designs.
ANUJ KUMAR
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