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International stylist has India affair
Top international stylist Caroline Young has decided to divide her time between India and France, having fallen in love with the country after styling Raghavendra Rathore's fashion week collection this year.
Top international stylist Caroline Young has decided to divide her time between India and France, having fallen in love with the country after styling Raghavendra Rathore's fashion week collection this year.
"I'm very excited about the market in India," Young, who lives and works in Paris, said. Young has worked with some of the biggest names in the world including Armani, Givenchy and Vogue.
"India is in a very dynamic position and has real potential to be a powerhouse."
Among the designers Young finds really exciting are Rajesh Pratap Singh, Wendell Rodricks, Abraham and Thakore, and Raghavendra Rathore.
"These people have the potential to carry forward the Indian idea of fashion in the 21st century. They have a strong sense of individuality and are rooted to their tradition, and then are clever enough to tweak it to fit international sensibilities," said Young.
Young, a salt-and-pepper-haired 40-something, is already learning the tricks of living in India - like bargaining at flea markets.
"I tell the shopkeepers, 'Don't take me for a ride just because I have white skin. Do I have idiot written on my forehead?'" laughed Young, who thinks that Indian fashion must be better promoted to take on the world.
"Fashion around the world is hugely about advertising - large billboards, massive campaigns, so that you just can't miss it, so that it's registered constantly in the mind. I don't see that happening in India, perhaps because all that needs lots of money.
"So that's the corporate backing and finance Indian fashion urgently needs."
Young also said that Indian fashion also doesn't have the kind of celebrity endorsements that fashion gets around the world. "I don't see a big Bollywood actress or actor as the face of a fashion label. That, I think, would really help."
In India, Young said she would use her contacts in Paris to promote the country around the world.
"There is a need to understand the uniqueness about India and Indian clothing which needs to be promoted - perhaps I can play a small role in doing that," Young added.
