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After eight consecutive seasons showing in Paris during couture week, Indian designer Rahul Mishra is debuting his new contemporary label AFEW Rahul Mishra (an acronym for air, fire, earth, water) during Paris Fashion Week. The ambition? To take the brand international with a network of stores and less reliance on stockists.
Mishra, who won the International Woolmark Prize in 2014 and this month received the French government’s distinction l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters), pivoted his attention to couture after showing ready-to-wear in the past at Paris and Milan fashion weeks. His new collection, which features couture details, is coming to life thanks to a partnership with the country’s largest luxury goods retailer Reliance Brands Limited (RBL), a subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited. RBL currently has partnerships with more than 90 brands.
When Mishra was invited to show at Paris Couture Week in January 2020 — becoming the first Indian designer to do so — he decided to wind down his ready-to-wear label. “Fashion labels need corporate backing, which was a learning, and to do two ready-to-wear and two haute couture shows would have been impossible,” Mishra says. His first namesake ready-to-wear brand was sold through a vast network of retail partners, in more than 100 stores globally before the pandemic. This time, Mishra has plans for its own stores. “Slowly, we intend to have our [own] retail spaces and to be less dependent on stockists. It is important for a pret label to stand on its own. Then there is the sourcing and production for ready-to-wear. For all this, we needed a partner like RBL.”
India is the world’s fifth largest economy and, this year, became the world’s most populated country, according to UN figures. A recent host of the G20 summit, the South Asian country is having a political, economic and cultural moment. Darshan Mehta, managing director of RBL, believes AFEW’s presentation is just the start of more Indian-born labels making their global footprint. Indian brand Falguni Shane Peacock made its return to New York Fashion Week this season with a show with creative direction from stylist Law Roach. Anita Dongre, who has had a store in New York for six years, recently opened a store in Dubai. Sabyasachi Mukherjee also opened a flagship store in New York’s West Village last year. “This is India’s moment,” says Mehta.
In the last year, RBL has been on a shopping spree, acquiring local labels including veteran Indian designer Ritu Kumar and Bollywood’s go-to designer Manish Malhotra. “There is no ‘one that fits all’ solution, so we look at each label individually,” says Mehta. AFEW’s Paris debut will be followed by a showroom in the French capital open until 3 October — though with global flagships in the works, the goal is to raise awareness rather than secure buys.
Slow and steady
Scaling abroad has historically been difficult for Indian labels, which have been known to flame out before they could gain international traction. RBL is hoping to change that, with Mishra’s past global success as the hook. “We are coming from a position of strength,” says Mehta. For Mehta, Mishra’s track record — from positive press reviews to industry prizes and celebrity relationships — made him a strong creative bet. Recently, Mishra dressed Zendaya in a custom sari gown for an event in Mumbai. “It is a journey, and it’s not just about shows and dressing. You need to make a product that customers want, and you need to be able to produce the order.” While Mishra is the creative director of AFEW Rahul Mishra, RBL will be taking on the responsibility of the production of retail for the brand under the joint venture.
For the collection’s debut, Paris was the strategic choice — a presentation in India will follow.
“Most global fashion is based in Paris, and you find a critical audience at Paris Fashion Week,” says Mehta. “We are more interested in understanding the point of view of the buyers who attend. We will make mistakes; some may say the fabric was not right or maybe the cuts need to be sharper. I will write orders, but I will not sell merchandise, I want to own the merchandise. If stores approach, we look at work in a concessional format,” says Mehta.
In India, the label will first debut at Rahul Mishra’s six stores in the country, and the first AFEW Rahul Mishra flagship will open in January in Mumbai. While there are plans to open stores internationally for Mishra, Mehta says, “Right now, the focus is having the right product.”
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