more than 20 years. Over time, Rocky S, (born Rakesh Singhvi, until
he took the name that his grandfather had fondly given him) has
worked on more than 350 films and is rather popular in B-Town for
being the man that Bollywood divas turn to, to look their gorgeous
best. And the temptation to be dressed by him is not restricted to
Bollywood; even Beyoncé Knowles, Paris Hilton and the Pussycat
Dolls have strutted in his designs.
At IBFW, Rocky S seduced the audience with his modernistic
and embellished approach. What can be termed unapologetically
contemporary, the Rocky S Vida Collection had influences and
traces of the baroque and gothic time periods with dramatic
silhouettes and decorative prints for evening resort wear. And while
his best friend, Bipasha Basu, was missing, Esha Gupta added the
oomph as the showstopper.
Very few know that Rocky S started off working primarily with
Bollywood, designing the costumes; getting into mainstream
fashion was a transition that happened about 7-8 years later. When
asked about his current space in the industry after having toiled
endlessly for over two decades, Rocky admits that times have
indeed changed a lot. He says, “When I started, there were hardly
any designers getting
into the field. The new
designers are well
prepared. They have a
platform ready. They
know exactly what they want to get into, what they want to sell.
They come with a complete package – with a PR company, their
marketing company, etc. Also, we as a country are a very fashion
conscious crowd now with all the international brands pushing
fashion to the consumer. The trend, the market, everything has
changed a lot. The designers are so talented. For me to still be here,
keeping the niche that I have created, has been difficult but very
exciting.”
Rocky S has almost finished working on what he calls his
longest involvement in any film yet – the Rajnikant-Akshay Kumarstarrer,
‘2.0’ the sequel to 2010’s blockbuster ‘Enthiran’/’Robot’.
The film has taken two years to happen and if rumours are to
be believed, is ready to release in January. Speaking about his
experience designing the costumes of the characters in the film,
Rocky says, “Working with a very intelligent director like S Shankar
and to reach that level of intelligence, was a challenge in itself.
He is brilliant. His vision and the way he portrays his characters is
amazing. Also, working with a legend like Rajnikant was great. He
comes with an amazing sense of simplicity, like a blank canvas. For
this film, I have travelled to a lot of countries to source things that
are specialised. A lot of costumes were done in Los Angeles; I picked
up a lot of fabrics from London. The characters were quite complex,
with each actor playing three different roles. I can’t wait to see the
end result.”
If you thought having Rocky S in Goa to present his collection
was good news, there’s great news in store. Those in Goa can now
finally get their hands on the works of Rocky S as he has teamed
up with COMO – designers collective, which opens its doors in
Goa in a few weeks. Speaking about his involvement with COMO,
Rocky says, “I was really happy when I was approached for COMO.
It is something that is going to be special. Pallav (Ojha) understands
what the Goa market is. He has been in Goa and he knows the
pulse, the customers and the designers who are right for the
market. So I think it will be a very successful project.”
