Pushing Creative Boundaries

I recently wrote to a fashion critic asking for feedback and thoughts about my brand and my designs. I was pleasantly surprised to receive a reply within a couple of days, but it took a while for his feedback to sink in. He said that I needed to push myself and do something that is not just different, but completely revolutionary.

Not to get defensive, but when you make clothes that have semi mass-appeal, it's hard to be revolutionary. I came into this business for my love of textiles, so part of my goal is to work towards ordering larger volumes from weavers (so that they will be more receptive to working on quality and experimenting with different fabric constructions). To order larger volumes I have to make more garments, so even though my clothes are not as mass-market as a store in a mall, I do want the clothes to cater to a relatively large niche. My point is that when you try to make clothes that are not highly exclusive, it is difficult to be revolutionary. The fashion critic is trying to tell me, I think, that only if I do something revolutionary will I get noticed and create that buzz that gets many people talking about my store.

After my initial reaction ("Of course I am doing something revolutionary! Who else uses beautiful fabrics to make such well-cut clothes at affordable prices?") I realized that he did have a point. Unless someone were to really engage with the garments, feel the fabric, try them on to appreciate the fit and the feel of soft fabrics against skin, it is difficult to understand how special they are. It is true that many women walk into my store and ask me why the prices are so high for cotton clothing. Should I focus more on the visual aspect of my garments; make sure they are visually distinct in some way that is easily (and immediately) noticeable?

Still, I'm a bit confused. There have been styles that are less conventional like Kolam Kurta and Marsupium (pics below), but while Kolam Kurta flew off the shelves I noticed that Marsupium was bought mostly by women who live abroad. In my latest collection, Pastry Layers is my most unconventional style. It remains to be seen how much attention it attracts.

The challenge ahead of me is to be more unconventional (and perhaps revolutionary!) without forgetting my target customer. The first step in that direction is being creative at the fabric stage, so I need to choose my fabrics for future collections really carefully. Good timing, as I'm in the process of finalizing my Monsoon Collection fabrics this week.