Watching him indulge in his favourite activity, you cannot fail to see that he is not just a namesake fashion designer but someone who genuinely loves the art of putting pieces together to bring about an absolutely new creation. Rosou Rhi was already playing with designs and colours when teenagers his age were dusting themselves playing with marbles and catapults.
The ordinary village boy who hails from a far flung village in Phek district did not have any second thoughts about becoming a Fashion Designer despite the scorn and contempt of the society that he belonged to. He personifies courage for breaking away from commonness and he dares to bare the fact that the influential talent given to him is meant to be used.
Having developed his love for designing early in life, he was easily drawn to fashion since childhood even though the given place and time didn’t suitably fit. While this profession immensely fascinated him, he made sure that he didn’t lose this gift of being able to create beautifully and he pursued it against all odds- initially as a leisure pursuit that, which he didn’t quite think would actually make waves one day.
He was just another high school student when he first designed his own outfit following which he was flooded with requests from friends and other people to design their clothes. His skill was partially realised even before he graduated from Salt Christian College, Dimapur; but despite already having the almost perfected talent, he chose to pursue a course in fashion designing.
His dream as a Fashion Designer seemed complete when he graduated from the Government Polytechnic Kohima in 2007 where he did a 3-year Course in Designing and Apparel Production. The real flair he has in this field also earned him the Best Designer and Best Creativity Award for ‘Oceanic Wave’ at the Graduation Show. He did two collections during this time - one for personal keeps and the other for competition.
On being asked why he had to spend on being trained when he had already made his mark in designing and gained the confidence of many clients, he was quick to reply that ‘a Certificate still matters when you decide to do it all your life’ and that’s how he is an officially known Fashion Designer now. He also interned at Satyam Garment, Kolkatta for 3 weeks conducted by the National Institute of Fashion Technology.
However it’s not all rosy even when you are in the world of glitz, trends and styles. As a Male Fashion Designer in a land where male chauvinism still exists on a certain scale, he has had his own share of discomforts and he poignantly expresses that there were times when he was greatly discouraged. “It’s a disappointment that many people in the village and beyond measure tailoring and designing on the same level when they are altogether two very different things” he says and is even more concerned that the majority lot can relate designing only to a ladies’ job when in truth, it isn’t.
Nonetheless, he takes pride in the family support that he has always received and is most happy to be designing any given time although there is still this voice of regret when he talks about the parents he lost in the prime of his youth. The seventh child of eight children, he considers himself lucky to be doing what he has always enjoyed doing.
Moving on to where his specialisation lies, he is without doubt an all rounder when it comes to fashion but he has this special place reserved for wedding gowns, a result of which he says the busiest time for him is the seasonal months from November to January. By early November, he is sitting at his favourite place, letting his mind work magic on a particular fabric and the next thing, he is beautifying it- Incredibly! It is no surprise then that he is booked the whole three months to the extend that he has to unwillingly refuse some because he is barely left his own breathing space.
Besides wedding gowns, he does the complete set of accessories. It’s perfection - so much so, that his clients would rather let him decide the entire designing. Right now, while juggling between wedding gowns, he is also involved with designing choir outfits. It’s certainly a busy time for him and yet even otherwise, he would have been busy generating new ideas and blueprinting them.
Someday, he dreams to open a ‘Wedding Boutique’ and I thought to myself - it’s every girl’s dream to have something like it close to our doors. This Promising Young Fashion Designer whose childhood memories include being a village boy and hailing from an area known more for backwardness, whose early education is plainly a government feeding, who had actually felt the pangs of a big family in a remote village, whose dreams many didn’t take seriously but actually thought it funny - has well, beaten all odds and is walking towards more crowns in life.
The professionalism he shows is nothing short of any known fashion designer and although he is media shy, he candidly confesses that his passion for pursuing this career is deeply felt from the heart.
The ordinary village boy who hails from a far flung village in Phek district did not have any second thoughts about becoming a Fashion Designer despite the scorn and contempt of the society that he belonged to. He personifies courage for breaking away from commonness and he dares to bare the fact that the influential talent given to him is meant to be used.
Having developed his love for designing early in life, he was easily drawn to fashion since childhood even though the given place and time didn’t suitably fit. While this profession immensely fascinated him, he made sure that he didn’t lose this gift of being able to create beautifully and he pursued it against all odds- initially as a leisure pursuit that, which he didn’t quite think would actually make waves one day.
He was just another high school student when he first designed his own outfit following which he was flooded with requests from friends and other people to design their clothes. His skill was partially realised even before he graduated from Salt Christian College, Dimapur; but despite already having the almost perfected talent, he chose to pursue a course in fashion designing.
His dream as a Fashion Designer seemed complete when he graduated from the Government Polytechnic Kohima in 2007 where he did a 3-year Course in Designing and Apparel Production. The real flair he has in this field also earned him the Best Designer and Best Creativity Award for ‘Oceanic Wave’ at the Graduation Show. He did two collections during this time - one for personal keeps and the other for competition.
On being asked why he had to spend on being trained when he had already made his mark in designing and gained the confidence of many clients, he was quick to reply that ‘a Certificate still matters when you decide to do it all your life’ and that’s how he is an officially known Fashion Designer now. He also interned at Satyam Garment, Kolkatta for 3 weeks conducted by the National Institute of Fashion Technology.
However it’s not all rosy even when you are in the world of glitz, trends and styles. As a Male Fashion Designer in a land where male chauvinism still exists on a certain scale, he has had his own share of discomforts and he poignantly expresses that there were times when he was greatly discouraged. “It’s a disappointment that many people in the village and beyond measure tailoring and designing on the same level when they are altogether two very different things” he says and is even more concerned that the majority lot can relate designing only to a ladies’ job when in truth, it isn’t.
Nonetheless, he takes pride in the family support that he has always received and is most happy to be designing any given time although there is still this voice of regret when he talks about the parents he lost in the prime of his youth. The seventh child of eight children, he considers himself lucky to be doing what he has always enjoyed doing.
Moving on to where his specialisation lies, he is without doubt an all rounder when it comes to fashion but he has this special place reserved for wedding gowns, a result of which he says the busiest time for him is the seasonal months from November to January. By early November, he is sitting at his favourite place, letting his mind work magic on a particular fabric and the next thing, he is beautifying it- Incredibly! It is no surprise then that he is booked the whole three months to the extend that he has to unwillingly refuse some because he is barely left his own breathing space.
Besides wedding gowns, he does the complete set of accessories. It’s perfection - so much so, that his clients would rather let him decide the entire designing. Right now, while juggling between wedding gowns, he is also involved with designing choir outfits. It’s certainly a busy time for him and yet even otherwise, he would have been busy generating new ideas and blueprinting them.
Someday, he dreams to open a ‘Wedding Boutique’ and I thought to myself - it’s every girl’s dream to have something like it close to our doors. This Promising Young Fashion Designer whose childhood memories include being a village boy and hailing from an area known more for backwardness, whose early education is plainly a government feeding, who had actually felt the pangs of a big family in a remote village, whose dreams many didn’t take seriously but actually thought it funny - has well, beaten all odds and is walking towards more crowns in life.
The professionalism he shows is nothing short of any known fashion designer and although he is media shy, he candidly confesses that his passion for pursuing this career is deeply felt from the heart.
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