Rahul Mishra’s memories of his youth

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Mar 4, 2018

In many ways Mishra is a couture designer who stages his collections during the Paris ready-to-wear season, so intricate is the craftsmanship seen in so many pieces. 

Few designers quote C.G. Jung in their program notes, most have never heard of him. Yet the Swiss psychoanalyst provided the intellectual underpinning to the latest collection of Rahul Mishra, and indeed its name. Rhizome, a positive idea that Jung extolled, referring to the botanical term for the extended roots of a plant, was the basis for an intriguing and frequently beautiful collection by Rahul Mishra.
 
Much of the imagery was based on the designer’s own childhood dreams. One felt like a youth travelling on the train up to the big city. Through the windows: the tilled landscape, fruit trees and a flight of storm petrels embroidered on beautiful woolen skirts; arriving at the central station with the first Indian skyscrapers, bathed in sunset, seen on a tapestry of sequins on a neat bolero.

Growing up, the MTV era echoed in the cobalt blue beaded party frocks. Though his greatest inspiration was in fact Western, the drawings of Dutch artist M.C. Escher, making another appearance in a Mishra collection. This time, via some brilliantly made Art Deco black and white, beaded satin gowns, visions of staggered geometrical towers and apartment buildings stretching into infinity on the shores of the Indian Ocean.
 
In many ways Mishra is a couture designer who stages his collections during the Paris ready-to-wear season, so intricate is the craftsmanship seen in so many pieces. Which made his decision to mingle in more traditional elements of his youth; from soft cashmere tweed coats in pine green to powder blue corduroy trench coats, smart.
 
“I think athleisure is done to death, it’s about creating special pieces that evoke emotions,” said the designer in the backstage. Could not agree with him more.