Made in India: Exclusive interview with Rixi Bhatia and Jayesh Sachdev of Quirk Box

When someone thinks of fashion in India, a couple of thoughts may come to mind. Two major ones would include Big Fat Indian Weddings where more is better and bling is ideal and the other of a hybrid between traditional and contemporary wear. In recent years, more designers in India, especially the younger ones have been venturing out to explore new aesthetics and develop more innovative design elements that are positively shaking up the fashion industry there. And pleasantly so as well.

In fact, one such rapturous brand would be Quirk Box. Described as creative, experimental, kitschy, doused with a bucket of colour, the label fuses art with fashion ever so imaginatively. Founded by the ingenious minds of Rixi Bhatia and Jayesh Sachdev, the once streetwear label has now moved towards resort wear as well, essentially catering to a wider group with different style sensibilities.

As their most recent Spring/ Summer 2015 runway show at Lakme Fashion Week just wrapped up a couple of weeks ago, we took this opportunity to speak to the creative duo for a better insight to their brand, setting up as a label in India and of course future plans.

Marie France Asia: How did you decide to start Quirk Box and what’s the story behind the name?

My partner Rixi Bhatia and I are co-founders of Quirk Box and we both come together with our own sets of credibility. I am an artist and have held exhibitions from across New York to Singapore. I hold a national record for painting India’s largest new media artwork and run my design studio Emblem. Rixi, on the other hand, is a fashion designer who started her career with a label, Half Full, and also partnered at the lifestyle store, Attic. As The British Council Young Creative Entrepreneur Award Finalist and Runner up respectively we teamed up to put our individual potential to launch Quirk Box. Wanting to extend our creative forte into new mediums, into new domains, wanting to create a label that we found exciting and original, that was unique and spelt individuality, we spent months figuring out the plausibility of such a collaboration. Thus, a project I had wished to initiate for years, finally saw face with Rixi as my very able partner.

There is an oddity and sense of innovation that is the virtue of Quirk Box. This oddity, this ‘quirkiness’, and this implicit need to be original and fun, put together in a box, is what we like to call the ‘Quirk Box’.

MFA: What were some of your biggest challenges starting up as a fashion label?

The initial challenge was always to find a common sensibility, a common goal, to have equally high ambitions, to find mutual trust and respect for each other’s personal and collaborative achievements. After we had found our peace with that, it was a matter of agreeing to disagree or accept the designs, strategy and structure of business.

MFA: In your opinion, how has the Indian fashion industry evolved over the years?

The fashion world is always evolving. It changes and what is really hot right now will most likely be seen as an old, expired trend tomorrow. Fashion watchers can see the fashion industry practically introducing brand new looks every day to respond to an increase in demands. The Classics have prevailed over the years while the Fads have come and gone! A lot of people however have become very bold with their fashion decisions. Some have managed to pull off unusual prints/ silhouettes/ styles while the others have struggled to do so. Some have experimented with bold colours while the others have stuck to the basics. Also, in the past, people were a little less aware of the ongoing trends, and fashion was not as important as it is now. Social media has changed the face of the world especially this industry. Viewers are a mere 3-4 clicks away from owning a runway garment in just a few minutes. There is more competition, more awareness, more buyers and more thirst to stand out!

MFA: How do you balance creativity with commercial viability?

Creativity sells these days! We have never tried to compromise on the creative front. Both Jayesh and I are creative bugs and we thrive on creativity largely because we are both heavily inspired by everything around us. We are keen observers ad translate our observations into our prints, designs etc. We may target a slightly niche market but ensure that our designs/ prints can correlate to our audience. Our creativity lies in the  kind of prints and silhouettes we work with and both are receiving an overwhelming response and appreciation worldwide.

MFA: What is the inspiration behind your current collection?

Wanderlust, inspired by the Global Traveller, is an art print collection characterised by colour blocking, loud hues and mellow pastels. Inspired by the monuments and postcards from around the world, this collection sees a lot of these prints on fluid georgette and crepe silhouettes and summery chanderi shirts and tunics. The contemporary artworks with an overlay of romanticism gave the silhouettes statement prints and intricate detailing. The colour story displays a transition from subtle pastels to bright colours through the course of the collection. Mint scarves, bralets, pleated jackets, fishtail skirts, bell sleeved tops, trench jackets are the highlights of the compilation in tones like mint, white and colourful prints. This elegant trousseau, contributing heavily to the modern aesthetics, will have everyone lusting over it!

MFA: Future plans for the label?

Quirk Box strives to reach out to larger number of people, indulge in line extensions and reach out to those sitting across borders more effectively and efficiently.

Tarandip Kaur