As we kick off a conversation with Rahul Khanna, one half of the well-known designer duo Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna (RGRK), a day prior to their couture showcase—RGRK will present their collection ‘Fibonacci’ at the FDCI India Couture Week 2022 in association with Lotus Make-Up at Taj Palace, New Delhi, later today—a feeling of nervousness is apparent in his voice.
“I am shivering; so nervous. It is 25 years of fashion but it still looks like a wedding, not a fashion show… There is so much organisation that needs to be done. But I have a good team helping me out. Still, one has to oversee everything,” Khanna shares.
Meeting at a NIFT workshop, building a brand together, and then completing twenty five years as a designer duo in a highly competitive industry… These are undoubtedly impressive. But what is most note-worthy is how in sync Khanna and Gandhi have known to be—they often mention in interviews that they end up wearing the same clothes in different sizes.
“By the way, we are wearing the same outfit tomorrow night as well,” Khanna laughs. Is there a secret sauce to this brilliant equation? “We mostly end up agreeing on similar things. At times, we have different choices as well. And, our contradictions lead to the best results. He [Gandhi] is my biggest critic and I am his,” he says.
Are they in concordance with each other creatively? Khanna elaborates on their design process, “We conceptualise the themes together. But, he works on a different collection, and I work on a different line… and then we both edit each other’s work.”
We realise, in conversation, that their never-changing DNA adds to this synergy, “You know, our DNA has remained the same and I think that’s also our success story. We started with minimal, architectural, glam, metallic, and we love that—it shows in our art gallery [they own Palette Art Gallery], it shows in our collections. We are both very black-and-white people with a little bit of colour in life,” says Khanna.
Steering the conversation toward what one can expect from their collection ‘Fibonacci’—inspired by the golden ratio, which is often used in weaving and other design aesthetics—Khanna tells us, “It’s like the wave… You know, everything is in symmetry. I think it fell into place as a perfect example when we started designing and we kept on seeing what we like, what our motifs look like, how they were multiplying, matching… there was a perfect geometry between all of them. That’s how the golden ratio came in [as a theme].” But that’s not the only reason, “After two years of lockdown, it is time for a perfect world, where everything is synchronised and aligned. That’s why Fibonacci is the right theme for us this time.”
From pleating to surface ornamentation, 3D texturisation and more, there is a lot to look forward to in this collection. The inspiration, of course, comes from art and architecture. Khanna concludes, “Fashion is our work, and art is our passion; and the two are connected.”