So, hi, it's really nice to have you here. Hi, hi, Ashwin. Thank you so much. It's my pleasure. Thank you. We really appreciate your time and effort

00:02

So, hi, it's really nice to have you here. Hi, hi, Ashwin. Thank you so much. It's my pleasure. Thank you. We really appreciate your time and effort to be a part of this. Thank you so much, Ashwin. Since it's recording, I would just like you to confirm that you have signed the agreement sheet and you're ready for whatever is after this.

00:30

And you've confirmed. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes, I am. So I just, so let me give you a small insight as to, you know, why I'm doing this. So I'm pursuing fashion, like my fashion studies. And I'm looking like, like fashion styling and you know, everything of that, like anything that's related to, you know, styling, like it might be personal style or celebrity style.

00:56

anything associated with that. And I've seen your social media and I've seen how you deck your clients up or your models or even yourself for that matter and I feel it's amazing. It's very inspiring genuinely so I'm really happy to do this with you. So I want you. Thank you Ashnini.

01:20

So I want to know what's fashion according to you? Like what is your type of fashion? How do you describe your fashion and what's your fashion? Like what's your personal style?

01:30

So to be very honest, my personal style is being in my comfort zone, which is always, usually you'll see me in my whites, to be very honest. But then of course, I do love, you know, playing around with sheer fabrics, doing a lot of organza's like, you know, I love laces, I love pearls. So that is what all my, you know, usually everything that I work around with is.

01:58

And that's what I usually create. But however, having said that, fashion to me is also adapting to trends, but at the same time, really having the understanding of what silhouettes or colors really work for your body type. I think it's so important to really understand the colors that work for your skin tone. And to understand the silhouettes that really suit your body shape. Right, absolutely, absolutely.

02:24

And fashion being such a big industry and being extremely competitive everywhere around like globally, how do you accept criticism? I, okay. So the best way forward is criticism. It really works for me. I mean, I think it's very each to its own. So in my personal life as well as my professional life, criticism really works for me because it's always taken me only forward and upward. I've had clients in the past right.

02:53

back in the beginning of my career, you know, when I was just starting off and trying to source fabrics and I was, it was very limited because I hadn't yet started traveling for my fabrics. I used to source locally and I had a lot of criticism regarding my fabrics, about the purity of the fabrics, about my finishes, about the, you know, just the fits. And I think to be very honest that that is the best way to really learn from.

03:22

what needs to be done and you know, if you really want to sustain and you really want the client, I mean, they're not going to sugarcoat things if they want to spend and purchase something with you, right? So they are going to tell you. So I always remember one particular episode where a client walked in and told me, oh, but this is artificial Georgia. And in my head at that second, I was like, oh, but what's wrong with that?

03:50

And after she left, I was like, okay, so if this is bad, then what is good? You know, and I started looking out for my other alternatives. And obviously it has stirred my work in many ways. So I have not regretted criticism ever. I'm very, very happy to accept criticism. Positively, basically. Absolutely. I think it's the best way to understand what's really, why things are not working.

04:20

I completely agree. Amazing. That's really nice to hear. And what's your styling philosophy like?

04:31

So I think a bit of what's going on out there, but also a lot of what you already are because I mean, there's so much out there now, especially with social media, I think there's so much out there. There's too much being served on the platter, but it's really a lot about what you are personally and then adapting a little bit of that, but more of what you are. Right. Okay. So because you're like...

04:59

like a hole as a fashion designer. I wanna know like, you know, would your designs talk about and your brand, Renasi. I hope I'm spelling that correctly.

05:13

Yes, it is. It is right. Yeah. Yeah. So what inspired you to get like, you know, to keep your brand like to that name? And is it okay? So do you or as to what is it? Okay. So the name, they're both okay. They're both two. You've asked me two different questions then. So I want to clarify one by one. Renasi was not Renasi earlier. It was Montage, which I'm sure you remember since you've seen the brand right from the start.

05:42

It was montage, but when I started off, I literally started off without doing any kind of research on, you know, trademarks and things like that. I just like the name and like, I think I must have found it on Google, like the meaning. And I just started off and I didn't have any knowledge whether that I need to register these things and I need to check that it's not already existing. Also, probably wasn't thinking so big then that, you know, I mean, this could get.

06:10

into trouble legally in the future. And then it happened when I got into trouble legally because there is another company that has the trademark for this name and I was sent a notice and I had to react and I realized oh my god and initially it really hurt it really felt bad because I loved the name by then I was attached to it and I felt like you know how am I going to

06:39

you know, get those followers again, or you know, everything's gonna be difficult. But so Renasi basically means to be reborn. And that's why we renamed it to Renasi because I just wanted to give it a very positive meaning and also wanted to actually have a name that begins with my name's initial. So that's how Renasi came in. When we speak about

07:09

what inspires my collections. So usually my collections always speak about stories from my childhood. For example, I had this whole collection inspired by Malipoo, which is a flower very popular in Chennai. It was my father's favorite flower and I had so many stories as a child, like seeing him buy the flowers from the temple, keeping it near the AC vent so that the room always smells in a certain manner. And you know, fragrances always mark a memory.

07:38

and a moment in your life. So I created a collection with that fragrance in my heart. And that I feel like has actually been the most successful collection of Renasi so far because it's still selling. I feel like it's the story, it's the moment, it's the story that I shared when I presented the collection and I think.

08:03

I think people got attached to the story because every child has memories with their parents and it's somewhere related to every child born in the south I think because Malipu is relevant in everyone's life in the south. So somewhere that collection just really really worked for us. So I think most of my collections are inspired by my childhood. That's amazing. That's extremely hard touching. So how does styling play an important role for you in the fashion industry?

08:33

How does it make a difference? How does it matter? How is it just there? How is it important? So in recent years, I think styling has begun to play a very far more superior role. I remember when I was at London College of Fashion and styling was of course available even then, but I don't know of many people who chose styling as a subject, or understood.

09:02

how important it is in designing. It makes it a lot easier for consumers to understand how things can be worn, how trends can be adapted. However, it's also extremely commercial now. And I just believe that with all due respect, I believe very little of it is real now. Right. Okay. Yeah. So...

09:30

Like, of course you have a lot of clients that come up to you, you know, to ask for help as to how to style it and you know, stuff like that, because you're creating something with a vision as to this is how you, it can be anything, like it can even be a personal style or even for your client. So you're doing it for your client. What is it, you know, that how do you select it for them? Or, you know, their accessories and like, how does it work with you?

09:56

Okay, so a lot of times, I mean, if I know the person and I know their personal style, it's a different story. Like, for example, if it's a client who has shopped with us before, or is a friend or you know, somebody I have known in the past, it's a lot more easier because I know they probably like drama or they don't like drama. And you know, it just gets easier. However, even with other people who are meeting for the first time, I first asked them to just like take a walk around the store. While they're doing so I just observe

10:25

you know, which hangers they're more drawn towards like colors, fabrics, whether, you know, they're enjoying touching and feeling a certain fabric. Are they leaning more towards a certain color, then it's easier for me to combine all their likes together and, you know, based on their body type, what they're comfortable with, I try to design something for them then. Yeah, so it's a bit of experimenting, but with a bit of newness.

10:53

Amazing. So you can be like, you can customize it according to their needs as well. So there's nothing rigid. Absolutely. I love customizing because it's, it's, it's, I feel like women's wear is now becoming like kids wear. It's so customized. You know, like, I mean, we do kids wear, but we don't hang anything on the rack because every child comes in with like 200 dreams. They want this of Cinderella and that of Snow White, you know, and it's the same with women, you know, they want to

11:21

In fact, we get incidents where some people want to show the right arm, but not the left arm, because an arm is an inch broader than the other. So we need to keep all of that in mind and customize and create things that make them feel happy and comfortable. So I think customizing is a bit of my forte. Absolutely amazing. That's crazy. Nice. So and how do you like? So what's the most important thing when you're styling somebody?

11:51

Like what do you think about when you're styling?

11:55

I usually first think body shape is very very important. So you know it's whether it's your apple shape, pear shape. I think body shape is the most important thing when I am styling. In terms of purchase, I always give advice to my clients that they need to make sure when they buy like a quad set, or even if they buy like

12:19

We try to make things more multi-purpose because they're all customized. So say it's a gown with a trail, I try to make the trail detachable. If it's a quad set, I tell them please hang them both completely separately, not together. Because we have a tendency of hanging quads together. But I always tell them try to use them in different ways. Like use a tank with the printed pants or wear the shirt with just another skirt. So we try to...

12:48

also tell them how they can use the same outfit in different ways because from what I see, people don't want to repeat outfits, right? So you want to at least give them different looks when they're investing in something. Absolutely. Okay.

13:05

And do you have any styling tips that you would like to give your clients? Or anything that the same thing, like what I just said that don't hang two garments. I mean, don't hang a set together on a single hanger, just hang them separately and far apart. So you really know how to pair them in different ways. Yeah, fair enough. Okay.

13:28

And fashion trends being like very like to what my knowledge is, I feel fashion trends right now is a very big thing, you know, as this is in trend, that's in trend, but people still stick to their comfort, like what they're comfortable in. Like even for me, that matter, but how do you relate the past and present fashion trends? Like, do you think it's a big difference? And does it impact today's generation?

13:52

I think it's a cycle. Like, you know, the same thing keeps coming back. There is no past and present. I also believe that nothing really goes out of fashion. It's how you style them. I also feel you should really invest in luxury. I don't think it ever dies. Right. And what, according to you, is, like, a favorite part of being a fashion designer? Like...

14:19

Meeting my clients. I love meeting my clients. I think that is my favorite part of being a designer, to know the end consumer, to know who is actually appreciating my art. So I enjoy making them feel like Cinderella for some time. So that keeps you very driven and motivated. Absolutely, that's my favorite part. Yes. And lastly,

14:46

What's the greatest lesson you have learned like during the time of working in the fashion industry? Like good or bad, it can be a mix of both. Like you can't just see the brighter side, of course. So I would, I would like to. Tons, I think definitely like what I mentioned, criticism, I think is very, very important to take criticism. Also, I think the most important thing is to be the best version of yourself. Like,

15:14

know, to your team, to the people you're working with, meet my tailor, my staff, my management, my clients, I feel it's so important to be nice to be connected, to know about their life, to know about the people important in their life, to know remember birthdays. I feel like, you know, when you're good to others, you're the best to yourself. So I feel I have a better day at work, if I apply that every day. Right.

15:41

That's amazing. That's extremely positive to hear. Thank you. So that's it for this interview. Thank you so much. It's extremely inspiring. And I just love, you know, each and everything that like, you know, you've told me, because genuinely now when I'm going to keep like, you know, listening to this audio, I'm just going to be so driven and motivated.

16:04

Oh, God, I'm so glad. Thank you so much. I'm glad I'm glad. But yeah, amazing. Thank you so, so much. Again, thank you. Was great. Thank you. Thank you, Ashwin for the opportunity. And I really wish you all the best. And you and you all the very best for everything. And yes, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Bye bye. Bye bye. Take care. Take care. Bye.