Rising level of awareness about body shape acceptance & body positivity

Rocky Star, an Indian designer known for his inspiration from the Baroque and Gothic time periods for all his collections, has designed for international celebrities like Beyonce, Paris Hilton and Pussycat Dolls. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, the designer talks about how the label is adopting sustainability by reusing leftover fabrics, current and upcoming trends of the Indian fashion industry.

Fibre2Fashion: What does style mean to you? Is it a cliche or everybody can have their own individual style and still carry it off with panache?

Rocky Star:

We design for the wanderer, people who are compassionate yet bold and comfortable in their own skin with an inherent ease. People who are not afraid to challenge set norms, inspire us to create styles that cater to their understanding of fashion.

F2F: What makes you draw inspiration from the Baroque and Gothic time periods? How do these styles convert into the type of clothes you design?

RS:

Baroque and gothic traces influence the brand with a design sensibility that is luxurious in aesthetic yet simplistic in style. Creating a neo-Victorian era, we celebrate the grandeur of the past in the present with glamorous and edgy designs. Old world charm comes to life with new-age magic in dramatic silhouettes, decorative prints and intricate embroideries.

F2F: Talking about the market, who are your targeted audience? Which are your major markets?

RS:

Our fundamental footing includes someone who understands and breathes fashion, international clients, HNI’s and celebrities.

F2F: Where are the clothes made? Do you have your workshop or is the production outsourced? How is the retailing part handled?

RS:

We have created a self-sustaining unit with in-house skilled master craftsmen and artisans, who breathe life to every piece we passionately design. For our retail business we have our own online website through which our products are available to the world. We have also tied up with multi-brand designers’ stores.

F2F: What were the disruptions you faced if any in your day-to-day operations and sourcing for raw materials due to the pandemic?

RS:

In the prevailing covid situations, a lot of the artisans had to leave for their native place, wholesale market was shut and therefore sourcing of materials was challenging. But we made most out of whatever we had in-house.

F2F: More brands have become serious about sustainability after Covid struck. What is your take on it?

RS:

Our brand strongly believes in sustainability. We tend to use fabrics which are less harmful to the environment. We reuse all the leftover fabric which encourages sustainability.

F2F: How would you define current and upcoming trends in Indian fashion industry?

RS:

There is a rising level of awareness about body shape acceptance and body positivity, size-inclusive fashion and gender neutral clothing.

F2F: Which among your contemporary’s work you admire?

RS:

All the collections are made with love and compassion. Every collection has its own individual story and it’s difficult to choose between any one of them.

F2F: Who are some of the famous Indian and international celebs you have designed for?

RS:

Hrithik Roshan, Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif, Pussy Cat Dolls, Beyonce, Paris Hilton are some of the celebrities we have worked for.

F2F: Which collection of your label is close to your heart and garnered the most praises?

RS:

All the collections from London Fashion Week are really close to my heart because they are very creative and innovative.

F2F: Where do you see your label in the coming five years? (Give a little brief about your scaling plans if any)

RS:

We see more and more people wearing our garments in the upcoming years and we want to reach out to the world.