BETTER HR IN THE INDIAN FASHION INDUSTRY Meet The Fashion Wizard Raghavendra Rathore (Designer and Founder of Rathore Jodhpur) talks to Angshuman Paul about structuring the Indian fashion industry better |
 The irony is that the Indian fashion industry seemingly tantamounts to smartly-turned-out, well-heeled fashion shows and there are very few fashion wizards who look at the industry beyond extravagant parties. It is, then, a result of the relentless efforts made by these few, select designers that India is emerging on the brand platform within the global fashion map and the ‘made in India’ ensemble is beckoning global buyers through its ethnicity. Raghavendra Rathore belongs to this zealous group of designers, and he will forever be considered a pioneer in terms of enhancing the value of ‘Brand India’ in the world’s haute couture market. Born and brought up in the epicentre of tradition, in the ancient city of Jodhpur, Mr. Rathore learnt the art of banking on heritage and legacy from an early age. Add to this his training from the prestigious Parsons The New School For Design in New York, and you will know why Mr. Rathore emphasises on creating a brand, and making the Indian fashion industry more structured. He says the biggest hurdle is to manage the trickiest resources of people. In an exclusive conversation with The Human Factor, he reveals how Indian fashion has calibrated with the global fashion industry, and he urges the industry to take up the grooming of manpower. Q. Tell us about your experiences training in New York. A. The New York experience provided me an international edge and I gained insights for maintaining the right mix of aesthetics, craft and heritage while designing my products. The experience of living in Manhattan, while studying Design, was more than a mere learning process. Adapting to American sensibilities and aesthetics was a challenge for me - a person from a typical Rajasthani town - but I knew that if I have to think at the international level, I should necessarily adapt to the changes. Q. How did this exposure help you create your own brand? A. It enabled me to refine my design knowledge before I launched my own label, ‘Rathore Jodhpur’ in 1994. I knew I had to create a company before creating a brand. Today, Rathore is a design-based company that works on diverse design projects ranging from interior designing to fashion, and beyond. I have a great family history but undoubtedly, I learned how to create a brand from it due to my global exposure. Q. Any homework you did prior to launching Rathore Jodhpur? A. Homework? Yes I did do some! I travelled to metropoleis across the globe to find out how much people were aware about the city of Jodhpur and its history. If you want to make a globally famous brand out of a particular region, I strongly believe that it is necessary to first make people aware about the history and legacy of that city. From global fashion shows, I discovered that people knew about the lineage of Jodhpur and its royal designs, but most foreigners clubbed them under the wide umbrella of Rajasthani culture. I knew I had to create a separate image for Jodhpur. Q. And how did you manage to create that separate image? A. At that point of time, the core focus was on creating a brand from Jodhpur and in my view, my own family, ‘Rathore’, was enriching in terms of the inherited arts. So I got enough material to create the brand. Having said that, everything did not come ready-made to me. After creating the brand, the next challenge was the global acceptance of the brand. And I strongly felt the need for a team which could help me in making the brand global. Unfortunately, we did not have trained manpower that could handle aspects of global exposure. |
Q. Has the manpower situation changed since then? A. Not really. Even now, the lack of manpower is disturbing the industry. Moreover, due to a lack of professionals, we are unable to come out from the ambit of lack of structure. There are various institutes in the country but very few focus on nurturing talent that can become a potential resource for fashion houses. Q. Is the Indian fashion industry at a nascent stage in terms of creativity and HR? A. Yes, we are still at a very nascent stage. Like other industries, the Indian fashion industry is also a combination of positive and negative people. But unlike other industries, we do not have the practice of implementing good HR policies that will make people more systematic, in turn enhancing their commitment towards meeting global standards. I think this is not happening because everybody wants to be a designer without creating a personnel base to take care of issues pertaining to global standards. Q. What is the next step then? A. First, let me clarify that I am talking about HR with regard to overall team structures. This means that if there are 300 designers in the industry today, each would be assisted by 30 tailors and their PR companies. So HR practices should be applicable to all three segments, but unfortunately there is no fashion school or HR institute in India that takes care of grooming in all segments. Q. What is the role of bodies like FDCI and FFI? A. They are the governing bodies that have brought the industry under one umbrella, and made it more structured in the eyes of global buyers. But they are not authorised to interfere in the HR initiatives implemented by designers at their studios or workshops. And regrettably, very few of them actually follow labour norms. Q. What about training and development of manpower? A. We do not have regular training and development programmes as the turnover is not very high. In the fashion industry, your actual training happens in the field and there is always scope for implementing this for your team members through globally sponsored projects that require lots of people. I see training as an education programme and the mode of delivery does not matter. Q. How do you keep your key people motivated? A. I work with people who are naturally motivated and passionate, as a majority of them belongs to Jodhpur or has a strong connection with the city. They feel great working on something that will highlight the city on the map. Ideal leaders should motivate their people and this is applicable to fashion too. |
Angshuman Paul
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