Fashion is deeply woven into the subconscious of India, says Designer Gaurav Gupta

Hyderabad, February 27, 2019: Couture is about customization, a personal touch and understanding the need of the customer. It is only in India that we do so much customization. Fashion in India is young, just 30 years old; whereas it is more than 200 years old in Europe. Fashion is deeply woven into the subconscious of India, Gaurav Gupta said. Today's fashion conscious customer is eager to explore, to go out and look for their personality in the clothes. He was speaking at an interactive session 'Future of Couture' with Priyanka Khanna, Fashion Features Editor, Vogue India organised by FICCI FLO here at Hyderabad today. About 300 women entrepreneurs in various businesses and professionals participated in the interactive session.

Fashion industry is very glamorous from outside but there is a lot of hard work involved said Gaurav Gupta, Fashion Designer. A designer has to do designing and styling, and look after merchandising, marketing, production, business strategy, etc. Fashion is a beautiful and growing industry, he said.

When I started work here in India, I was making extremely avant-garde clothes but sales were not happening. It was so shocking for me. So much cultural shift happened inside me. My designs were too conceptual; I was making traditional lehengas and sarees. Then a personal evolution happened for me. Now my designs are innovative, experimental and progressive, Gaurav Gupta said.

Answering a question from the audience on the expansion of his brand in Hyderabad, Gaurav said that an exclusive Hyderabad store will be coming up in Hyderabad soon. Answering a query on trends in the industry, Gaurav said, "I don't believe in trends, I don't follow trends."

Asked for advice for younger designers, Designer Gaurav Gupta said that Fashion is glamorous and many people think that it is easy to do in India. Buy it is not so. We see many society girls start fashion business with lot of interest and after some time close down. Fashion is an artistic business, it requires lot of perseverance and a killer instinct, he said. There are a lot of career opportunities in Fashion viz., Fashion Journalism, Fashion styling, Merchandising, Marketing, Social Media, etc. Fashion industry is still young in India and the evolution is happening now, he said. For example Instagram is inevitable now. Much of the business comes through social media. The fashion industry is creating new type of jobs, he said.

Speaking about celebrities and their endorsements Gaurav Gupta said that celebrities are the best marketing tools today for anything not only in India but across the world. When the celebs endorse you, it resonates not only in terms of sales but it translates in acceptability, reach and visibility, said Gaurav.

Elaborating on his journey in the world of Fashion, Gaurav Gupta reminisced about the design of sarees. It was in the year 2010 that we introduced the Saree gowns, then Zip-up Sarees, then Saree-Lehanga Gown, he said. Gaurav Gupta said that Saree is the only surviving costume in India for thousands of years. You don't see people wearing Kimonos in Japan, but the Saree is worn daily even now, he said.

Speaking about designing for weddings, Gaurav Gupta said that more senior designers are getting into wedding sector. Asked about the modern bride and her choices, Gaurav said that the bride is ready to take the risks, ready to take the extra step. And the Indian weddings are getting smaller, intimate and subverting traditions. Individuality is coming back to weddings, he said. The lehanga is no longer just a lehanga today, the Saree is not a mere saree. It is changing today. There is a cultural shift. The future is now, the future is individualization. The future is very personalized, custom-made, Gaurav said.

Addressing the gathering, Priyanka Khanna, Fashion Features Editor, Vogue India, said that when they started the magazine in India; it was about educating the reader. Now the reader knows what she likes, what she wants. Now readers look for the Vogue stamp for their choices. Priyanka Ganeriwal Arora, Chairperson, FICCI FLO, Hyderabad Chapter said that the interactive session was organised for the benefit of the members of FICCI FLO to know and understand Couture, to have a conversation and know what goes on making the clothes.