Thaindian News

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) India as a nation is progressing at breakneck speed and this reflects in its fashion space too, a leading British designer says, noting this country should leverage the skills of its artisans to become a global leader.

“I think India as a nation is progressing at breakneck speed and this reflects in its fashion (sphere) as well. Where India obviously leads is with the artisan approach it brings to fashion,” Christian Blanken told IANS.

“India is a leader in beading, embellishment and ornamentation and other countries cannot copy or duplicate this; so i think India will continue to develop in this area. Also it has a massive and highly skilled labour force that is relatively affordable. I think this can power India to become a major player in this area,” Blanken told IANS.

Blanken was born in the Netherlands and grew up in the Far East and Britain. He graduated in fashion design from Central Saint Martins School of Art, London.

Blanken has worked with some of the most iconic and successful names in fashion industry. He debuted on the London Fashion Week ramp last year with his fall-winter collection and has since then been a regular designer there.

A number of western designers like Jean Paul Gaultier and Judith Leiber look to Indian designs as inspiration for their collection and Blanken says he too does so.

“Apart from Paris, which has a tradition of haute couture, embellishment and embroideries as part of their culture, India is the only significant country with these artisan skills and has, therefore, been massively important to many western designers. I myself have a few Indian embroidered pieces in my collection every season and I regularly work with Indian craftsmen,” Blanken said.

He also added that with the way India is evolving as a nation, it will be interesting to see the country emerging as a fashion capital in few years.

“I think we will get a much better idea of where Indian fashion is heading in the next five years as it will develop its own identity with each passing day. I think Indian fashion will continue to develop at a fast pace as it is very dynamic, outward looking and ambitious; it will find its own feet year upon year,” he added.

Blanken, who defines his collection as “very clean, luxurious and a bit tough,” designs for both men and women. He believes that his passion for his work helped him achieve his goal and this is what he suggests to budding designers:

“To be a successful designer you need to have talent, of course, but also perseverance, determination and patience as it is a very difficult industry. Be sure that you are properly financed, that you have good production infrastructure and a good sales and PR team behind you. And don’t be afraid to fail because you can always dust yourself off and try again.”

(Nivedita Sharma can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in)