Indian design schools need thoughtful transformation: Rathore

The present curriculum and the learning ambience offered to design students need a "thoughtful transformation" if Indian fashion schools want to be at par with their Western counterparts, ace designer Raghavendra Rathore has said.
The internationally-trained fashion designer who is all set to launch his school 'Gurukul School of Design' (GSD), says the lack of customised education supporting Asian fashion trends is a matter of concern.
"The experience that existing design schools offer in India need a rethink and a thoughtful transformation of the curriculum and the ambience they offer.
"Students must demand a more customised education that is fit for the Asian region and not just an associated programme with a western university. These changes will help in bringing back faith in what is there on offer in design schools in India versus the West," Rathore told PTI.

With his new school, the designer wishes to combine the Indian way of learning with contemporary international sensibilities to not just create successful designers, but also a successful brand out of his students.
"Right now we are going through a silent revolution in the country where in we are shifting from a manufacturing to a design-oriented outlook. The shift created will require huge talent in future and we need to be prepared to optimally leverage this design revolution.

At GSD, the aim is to not just create a designer but a successful brand. The deeply rooted Indian Gurukul way of learning juxtaposed with new global commercial wisdom, will be the key differentiator and disruptor for Gurukul School of Design," he says.

According to Rathore, who pioneered the Jodhpuri Bandhgala suits across the globe, Indian fashion industry is in a nascent state in comparison to the West, and it would need time for luxury brands to take a front seat.
"The Indian fashion industry is nascent in its origins compared to the Western hemisphere. The impediments that the industry will constantly battle with will be the high rate of doing business on real estate and the lack of upscale retail. Mid market brands will flourish while the luxury brands will have to wait a little bit longer," he says.
The designer has chosen Jaipur over any other metropolis for the campus of the school owing to the culturally rich environment of the city which, he says, will provide the students an instant access to handicrafts and rare techniques.

"The location of the campus in Jaipur will give students immediate access to handicrafts, endless textiles, rare techniques. This makes this region a global cultural hub. The aim is to provide a new way of 'thinking design' and provide a sound and holistic education," he says.