LAKME

INDIA

fashion

WEEK 2011 COLLECTION BY ROCKY S

The range includes a wide range of clothes - from sophisticated formal wear, party wear to casual and ultra-casual garments A rare combination of khaki and white presented in style. "The whole line is very fashionable and affordable. The first show was presented to show that affordable dresses could be fashionable. That was the whole energy of the show," said Rocky . Nicole Faria models a pretty yellow frock from the collection. Colours from the garden are all over in this Rocky S creation.

Actress Dia Mirza who was the other showstopper walks the ramp in a white flowing gown. Rocky says the colour white always reminds him of the actress. "Dia is very feminine and she is young, sweet and innocent and white makes her beautiful. Every time I see white, I see Dia," Rocky told IANS. Actor Zayed Khan, one of the two showstoppers, walks the ramp for Rocky S. Zayed said: "Tonight's show was to break the audience's notion and show that affordable garment could look beautiful and stylish. Rocky never fails to impress. He always makes clothes according to everyone's persona and physicality and makes sure we look our best."

BIOGRAPHY
Rocky S has made quite a name for himself in the fashion fraternity of India. Having an artistic mind and a flair for creativity, he moved against the normal flow of work and chose to make a name in the fashion world. The young and talented designer has renewed the way fashion is operated in India. His ingeniously created designs were not only creatively applauded, but also changed the trend in the industry. He brought an age of revival and this time, the revival was for clothes. After making a niche in the industry as well as a successful venture into the retailing forum, with the launch of his brand 'Rocky S', he has moved further, being the first Indian designer to launch a fragrance. Rocky S Noir Femme and Rocky s Noir Pour Hommes was unveiled by Arjun Rampal at Aurus Lounge.

Early Life
As a college student, Rocky studied commerce, but his haunting interest in clothes pre-occupied his mind always. He recommended people what to wear and helped them in their dressing sense. It was then that he decided to take up fashion designing as a profession. His father was a chartered accountant. His elder brother was into construction, while his other brother was an accountant by profession Being a family which was into main stream work environment, his desire of being a fashion designer was not taken swiftly by his family members. All they understood about fashion designing was that it was a sophisticated version for a job of a tailor. The idea seemed absurd to them, but after much resentment, Rocky S had his way. He joined the J.D Institute for fashion designing and got formal training. Being blessed with an innovative mind and novel ideas for clothing, he just needed to polish his skills.

Career and Success

Rocky S has his first job at the Roopam, which served as the turning point of his career. His profile, as the official head designer, in the organization worked wonders for him. In three years of his association with Roopam, he grew as a designer. His first break into the glitz world, as an individual entity, was when he designed for Akshay Kumar. This was Rocky's launch pad in Bollywood. His designs became a rage in the industry and he was thus approached by producers who lined him for their various projects. He had already set up a small scale manufacturing unit, but it seemed like destiny had other plans for him.

Being overloaded with designing offers from Bollywood, Rocky S left Roopam for a full fledged career in designing the outfits of stars, for their films as well as privately. After getting a hold in Bollywood, he launched his own boutique 'Rocky S' in Juhu, to give a vent to his creativity. The boutique has both men and women designer collections. Known for giving a young, vibrant and full of life collection, he has participated in a number of fashion shows, displaying his inventive and original styles. The drive to gain international fame and success took him to Dusseldorf-Germany, where he participated in IGEDO fair, in September 1996.

Brand and Clientele

Rocky S makes clothes under his label 'Rocky S' only. Known for his excellent construction, detailing and finish, Rocky S has not only mastered the art of designing clothes for movies, but has also plunged into the other sectors of the industry. He started doing bridal couture, club wear, home furnishing and accessories and now, has made a jump into the fragrance industry. Rocky S is now planning to launch a children's wear collection and a line of ethnic indo-western fusion garments.

He has collaborated with the corporate house Sepia as their creative consultant and has come up with contemporary, reasonably priced line for the modern working woman, who likes to be fashionable yet conservative. Rocky S would open a lifestyle store, by the name "Boulevard Benzer" His client list includes stars likes John Abraham, Bipasha Basu, Shilpa Shetty, Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra and even Beyonc Knowles. He plans to venture into the international forum and be globally recognized as a trendsetter

Hand bags by Rocky S

Bollywood connection..
Designer Rocky S has clothed Bollywood star Akshay Kumar for eight long years and says the actor is the most stylish and metrosexual man around.

"I have worked with Akshay for eight years. I really respect him for the way he has groomed himself. He has become one of the biggest metrosexual stars, most stylish fashion icon and he is so successful that I am proud of him. Just look from where he has come and where he has reached," said Rocky.

However, he is no longer designing for Akshay.

"I started designing for Akshay in 1992. But I stopped working with him in 2000 because I had to move on. Also, both of us needed to take a break from each other," he added.

Unlike most other Indian designers who started their career by showcasing their collections at fashion shows, Rocky started his stint designing for Bollywood stars.

"I started 16 years back. At that time the only opportunity I got was in Bollywood. I think it was good for me, as it has created awareness about my brand. I have met a lot of actors who want to wear clothes designed by me."

Currently Rocky's clientele includes big names like John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Bipasha Basu and Shilpa Shetty.

Rocky claimed: "The people I dress up are the best dressed. They are really great with clothes. They have a great body to carry off anything and they have a good style of their own."

Talking about the likings of his female clients, he added: "Shilpa likes deeper and rich Indian colours. She likes to wear emerald, she loves red and it really suits her. Even Bipasha likes red. Katrina likes pastel and lighter shades."

His most recent project was the hit flick Singh is Kinng. He dressed Katrina in the film and is also working with her in Yuvraj. Apart from that he has designed Bipasha's clothes for Pankh and Kangana Ranaut's for Raaz - The Mystery Continues.

Rocky says designing for the actors is challenging.

"It is fun to work with actors and also challenging to make them look different every time. It is also a challenge for them to get into a character every time with different clothes and looks. A lot of hard work is required in Bollywood."

On an average, Rocky takes up almost four projects in a year.

The Mumbai-based designer entered mainstream fashion around 1997 to cater to the general public. He introduced the collection under his label Rocky S.

"When I started, fashion was not even taking off in a very big manner and I think it was after four to five years that I felt the need to do creative work for myself. That's when I started doing clothes that were more wearable and saleable.

"I came at the right time for mainstream fashion. Luckily, I have kept a very good balance between Bollywood and mainstream fashion till now," he said.

He is gearing up to participate in the upcoming Spring-Summer edition of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) to be held in the capital from Oct 15-19.

Akshay Kumar was the first artist he designed for. He was Rocky's launch pad in BOLLYWOOD. Soon he started getting several inquiries to design costumes for actresses. To keep up with his orders he set up a small-scale manufacturing unit. Keeping all interests in mind he took up a few artists & interacted with the likes of Raveena Tondon, Shilpa Shetty, Rekha, Manisha Koirala, and Sridevi. Now he designs for Hrithik, Amisha & Aftab. These artists are often looked upon as role models & people have the desire to look & dress like them. Media being a very effective form of communication, particularly films, definitely has a strong influence in the world of fashion.

After establishing himself in the industry he decided to branch out into the commercial aspect of the trade. He opened a store retailing exclusive ladies & men designer wear, located at Juhu named ROCKY-S. This Brand label selling prt was greatly appreciated. The drive to gain international fame & success took him to Dusseldorf- Germany where he participated in the IGEDO fair in 1996 September. Later planed on venturing into the international market and globally be recognized as a trendsetter

Other collections by Rocky s.

Collaborations
He has collaborated with the corporate house Sepia as their creative consultant and has come up with contemporary, reasonably priced line for the modern working woman, who likes to be fashionable yet conservative. Rocky S would open a lifestyle store, by the name "Boulevard Benzer" His client list includes stars likes John Abraham, Bipasha Basu, Shilpa Shetty, Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra and even Beyonc Knowles. He plans to venture into the international forum and be globally recognized as a trendsetter.

Lines Rocky s deals in.. Rocky S designes for several lines: NOIR, COUTURE, CLUB, BAGS, HOME, PARFUMS. NOIR: looking at these designs two words are on my mind: ROCK & PUNK. Fabrics are cool, the silhouttes are sexy and it is stylish COUTURE: this is an exclusive collection of haute couture ethnic wear. A very stylish line with the traditional elegance CLUB: This a youthful collection for men and women. It is playful, hip and has the Rocky S attitude HOME: yes, even in your house you can have a designers touch What I like about it is, that there is a mixture of Indian fusion. Colourful with high quality fabrics

PARFUMS: he created a fragrance for men and women and according to Rocky S it is a reflection of his style

Some of runway

Rocky s best on

designer

Rocky s