“I am whatever I am because of all that I have gone through so far”. Paramita Banerjee
Noblivity Spotlights Emerging Designer Paromita Banerjee
Company/Designer Name: PAROMITA BANERJEE / Paromita Banerjee
Designer Background Summary
Always being interested in the creative arts, I specialized in textile design from the National Institute of Design (NID), in the state of Gujarat in Ahmedabad, India. During this 5-year graduation course, I was selected for a scholarship to the Konstfack University of Art and Culture in Stockholm, Sweden where I also studied textiles and fashion, which helped me gain an insight on different aspects of this art in a country other than my own.
Alongside all this, I have also worked on several craft projects which include research and documentation of craft sectors in India, documenting local indigenous craft styles that would soon die down unless we as designers and creative people take an initiative, and provide them with a market through our designs. My involvement in these craft projects soon came to reflect in my design sensibilities and hence this finds mention here.
Photography, which has grown into a passion, happened as a result of all these ‘endeavors’ and travels and I can safely say that this passion is my food for thought behind each of my design collections in some way or the other.
Finally, I chose to branch out into ‘fashion’ and apparels from solely textiles, since this gave me a wider canvas to explore.
How did you get started?
I only had a single year of job experience; but I knew back during my final graduation project in college that I wanted to have my own company and do my own thing at the first given chance.
It was one fine day that I started making garments after getting a hold of a great pattern maker and it was perhaps this first garment that gave me the impetus to work on many more and before I realized, I had already formed my own company! Now when I look back, it was as simple as that.
What inspires your designs?
To put it simply, a lot of what I design comes about essentially from ‘just looking around’. My designs and concepts, I have come to realize, are a spontaneous expression from the visuals that I see around me or might have captured as a result of my interest in photography. I am inspired by ‘frames’ with great compositions maybe, or even graphics and color. Usually these images are in my head, and the concepts and doodles get formed as a result of this and it all comes down on paper when I sketch it out. It is never forced.
On the other hand, my designs are inspired by the local dressing styles of regions, their drapes, the color and the way the locals treat their clothes and attire. I would like to believe that my collections have a great deal of research work that goes behind it which forms the backbone to each collection; and I believe in going back to the roots while drawing these ideas.
How would you describe your design style, design signatures and who is your targeted customer?
My design style is simple and effective.
Being a textile design student, garments always meant starting with fabrics at the core. I draw inspiration from the feel of handloom fabrics ranging from ‘khadi’ (hand spun) to handlooms of various local regions in India, each with their particular characteristics; hence my garments emphasize the feel of the ‘hand-made.’
I am perhaps yet to come up with my signature style because that would mean I have stopped ‘looking around’ and have stopped growing as a designer. The idea is to come up with new and innovative ways of looking at design with each passing phase of my work.
My target customer is someone who understands the fabric, the essence, and the aesthetics that has gone behind making the ensemble. She is somebody who will not be fooled into buying anything and everything that is available in the market.
What designers inspire you?
(Diplomatically speaking!) I appreciate the work of each and every designer, both domestic and international. Since according to me each of them has something new to showcase in their own way which is particularly appreciative since ideas can stem from anything and everything. To finally streamline them and form a different collection each time is a huge feat in itself.
What obstacles did you have to overcome?
Initially when I had started out, everything seemed right from the creative aspect since I was my own boss, except for that one thing: the business side. All of us being creative people, we end up thinking that our work ideally should do the talking. Coming from a non-business oriented family, learning the business acumen was one of the greatest obstacles I thought I had to face; reaching out to the customers. Knowing which kind of product to send to the boutiques at what time of the year, what color or style would work for which region (since in India, all the different regions are varied in terms of their local culture, styles, aesthetics and market), how to market your designs etc.
I believe, design is all about working within different set of constraints which becomes your learning curve.
How did you overcome them?
I gave it ‘time’! One of the biggest points I have learned in my journey is that there is always a right time for things. Nothing happens overnight and what I thought were ‘obstacles’ soon got sorted out in time.
What has been your greatest moment on your journey so far?
If I were to talk about the past one year; after 2 seasons at the Lakme Fashion Week, the first being in March 2009 with my fall/winter line, the greatest moment so far has been to be able to supply to my select list of boutiques all over the country within such a short span. My label “Paromita Banerjee” currently retails from different boutiques in Kolkata (my hometown) in the Eastern part of Indian, Delhi and Chandigarh in the North, Mumbai in the West and Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai in the South, with many more in the pipeline.
What has been the biggest change in your designs so far?
In my journey so far I don’t think I have ever compromised in my design ideas etc nor have I ever been swayed by popular trends. The only change, maybe, has been my decision to branch out into the use of more popular fabrics alongside my signature handwovens and handlooms. Although I’ve kept my basic design aesthetics the same, this change/ idea has helped me to reach out to a wider market given the differences in the tastes of people in such a varied country like India.
If money were no object what would you do right now?
I would be supplying to as many stores and boutiques that I could, especially to those where my kind of aesthetics would be an extension of their merchandise. So that at the end of the day I am able to cater to different groups of people and fill in the gap in the market where I think my clothes best fit in.
What are the best and worst things about being a designer?
The best thing is the fact that you are perhaps creating history in your own small way and making an entire generation or even cross-generations of people follow your designs. Since I believe ‘clothes maketh a man’ (I would say, woman too!) you are subconsciously building up people’s personalities through what they wear.
The worst is when you are stuck in a mass-manufacturing spree and quality gets replaced with quantity. Also maybe when you are so busy chasing the fashion week seasons, there is no time to introspect or research before each new collection. There are times I wish I had a bit more time before the next season when I could go back to the roots and villages or craft sectors to source my fabrics and raw materials, or to get inspired. Since the best places to get inspired are those places that have remained untouched by fashion.
Describe your typical day?
My regular routine starts off pretty late around 9:30-10:00 am with a mug of coffee or “chai”. Unless I have client meetings or appointments fixed. Aa regular day is spent with the “kaarigar” the tailors and the pattern master. I like to work alongside them, be a part of the team and I personally try to supervise each piece. Unless of course I have work outside my studio, which might involve – fabric sourcing that takes up a greater part of the day since I am always on the lookout for something new or maybe visiting the printing unit or the dyers. I carry my work back home and do most of my background work and brainstorming post- dinner time which goes on till late. This is also the time for me to reply to the emails and shipment queries over a cup of coffee. It relaxes me to think that while the whole world might be sleeping I am busy conceptualizing! This is the most important part of my day.
What’s your philosophy of life?
I don’t think I have a philosophy as yet. I like to take each day as it comes, yes, but I also like to keep some intuitive pre- planning handy since it acts as a quick-fix in times of ‘I-don’t-know-what-to-do’ !
If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?
I don’t think there would be anything I would wish to do differently, since I am whatever I am because of all that I have gone through so far. It would be too confusing to do it all over again in any different way!
When will you know you have made it?
I would never know that I have made it, since as you go along this journey, alongside fashion, in my case, it makes you realize how much more there is to achieve and learn with each passing day. Hence the whole process is never-ending. You would have already made yourself another set of plans ‘just’ when you think you are about to ‘make it’!
