A lesson designer Rahul Mishra learned from his 4-year-old

Designer Rahul Mishra is one of the busiest
names in the Indian fashion industry as most of his time goes in ideating and
implementing collections for Indian and International runways including Paris
and Milan Fashion Week. 

Usually on the move, the celebrated designer is
spending some quality time with his family during the lockdown, implemented in
India on March 24 to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed
over five lakh lives worldwide, including 16,475 in India. There are over 1.01
crore confirmed cases, including nearly 5.5 lakh in India – the fourth
worst-affected country. 

Talking to Opoyi, Mishra shares how he is making
the most of this “self-quarantine” period and keeping himself positive.

“Last two months in quarantine have been quite beautiful in a way,
although there has been stress also if you look at the situation around the
globe, but beautiful in a way that personal journey has been really amazing for
me,” says Mishra who got some rare me-time with his four-year-old daughter
Aarna, parents, wife and his nephew, who stays with them.

Talking about his life away from runways,
Designer Rahul Mishra said: “I have been mopping the floor, doing a
bit of gardening, engaging myself in cleaning activity which I find very
therapeutic and also at the same time I also try to correct my rhythm in terms
of sleep and waking up cycle.” 

His four-year-old, he says, has taught him to “live in the present
rather than being worried about the future… We can’t see the future, so the
idea is to make ourselves happy in the present and enjoy small and beautiful
happiness which life gives us because our time on the planet is limited. It is
important to engage with positivity with positive people.”

He adds, “Read some good things and stay focused and stay positive (sic)”.

“We are doing yoga every day and apart from that I have been thinking
about a lot of new ideas, sketching a lot with my team. I have been working
quite deeply. I think although we have been working from home we are very
connected with each other in terms of sharing ideas. We have a WhatsApp group
on which we share sketches, ideas and prepare ourselves for the next season.
There are different teams, like my morning starts with speaking to my accounts
(team) then with the merchandise team to prepare for the entire week. Next, the
sales team and finally a lot of time (is) spent with the design team discussing
new designs and new samples (sic),” says the internationally acclaimed designer
about his “stay at home” period.

Mishra, who created history after he became the first Indian ever to
showcase his collection at Paris Haute Couture Week 2020, was born in a village
near Kanpur. He completed his post graduate degree from National Institute of
Design in Ahmedabad. It was in the year 2008 that the world was introduced to
the brand Rahul Mishra and was appreciated for its textile and craft
innovation.

In 2014, he was announced the winner of the prestigious International
Woolmark Prize during Milan Fashion Week and since then the designer has
just gone far and beyond. He showcased his designs at global platforms in New
York, Sydney and Paris.