Designer To Stars Like Zendaya—Rahul Mishra—Discusses His Vibrant Pieces At Paris Fashion Week

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Rahul Mishra

In contrast to the stark cold weather throughout Paris Fashion Week, the designs at Rahul Mishra’s Fall Winter 2020/21 ready-to-wear presentation were vibrant and full of life. After being invited to present his collection on the official Paris Haute Couture schedule in January, Rahul Mishra is powering full-stream ahead with his latest designs. While Rahul Mishra’s couture pieces require nearly 5,000 hours of meticulous hand work, the ready-to-wear items require about 1,500 hours; nevertheless, the ready-to-wear pieces are impeccably designed and gorgeously intricate. Rahul Mishra, who won the International Woolmark Prize (Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent also earned the prestigious prize in their nascent years) helms a burgeoning design house which has been lauded by many fashion industry stalwarts.

With his Fall Winter 2020/21 collection, Mishra took his couture collection and interpreted the pieces into what he calls, “easy-to-wear,” as oppose to ready-to-wear. For instance, the cascading couture shirt-dress Zendaya wore on the red carpet for Bulgari’s B.zero1 Rock launch event, the plumage of Zendaya’s couture piece is translated to a suiting look with separate organza blazer and ornate skirt.

Another distinct interpretation from Mishra’s couture collection are the scenic images featured in the ready-to-wear collection, depicting lush foliage and paradise skylines. As he walked through the collection during the presentation, Mishra explained that the embroidery from his vacationing on a sustainable living resort in Bali, where he had his first snorkeling experience. In addition to his time in Bali, the designer shared that he also drew inspiration from his young daughter, who loves the animated film Madagascar,—which he revealed he had watched “over 30 times.”

“Months of development of embroidery techniques, material exploration, and building of a color story in preparation for our couture show gave birth to a continued narrative for this collection,” Rahul Mishra states.

Photo Credit: Getty Images/Bennett Raglin

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Rahul Mishra

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Rahul Mishra

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Rahul Mishra

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Rahul Mishra

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Rahul Mishra

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Rahul Mishra