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Creating a fusion of fashion and VM

By Susmita Das | August 20, 2013

As Head of both Visual Merchandising and Design at Elle, Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd, Mohita Rastogi has been able to fuse together both the functions in order to create a signature identity for the brand. In a chat with VM&RD, the designer talks about her design philosophy, about what would take Indian VM to greater heights and more…read on.

Mohita Rastogi, Head - Visual Merchandising and Design, Elle at Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd, has been a part of the French label Elle since its start in India, is currently handling the dual position as Head - Visual Merchandising and Design at Elle. Holding a degree from NIFT, the lady started her career with Sahi Export House in the year 2003 and then gradually moved to Reliance Trends before being a part of the Arvind Lifestyle Brands. Mohita is one designer who strongly believes that India will soon start influencing and defining a number of global standards in the area of VM. We caught up with her to get a better understanding of her beliefs shaped by ten years of experience in the field.   

1.Can you share a bit about your background and the recognition you have received as a Visual Merchandiser?


As a design graduate from NIFT, I have always sought multiple outlets for my creative expression. My experience has been mainly in the area of fashion design in the apparel space, for both Global and Indian retail brands. Following up on my interest, I have always dabbled in Visual Merchandising through college and have been involved in the in-store merchandising of the brands that I handled. In Elle, I have taken on this function officially. Being Head of Design and VM, I have been able to merge the two influences and create a unique signature for Elle that stands out amidst all brands. This has been critical in the successful launch and growth of the brand.

2.What inspired you to become a visual merchandiser?


Design and Visual Merchandising are always interlinked since VM is the graphical and visual representation of the abstract design theme that makes it come alive for the consumer. Therefore, it is a natural progression of a creative interest. My ability to portray the theme in the visual sense has always been strong and this has driven the passion to make it come alive visually as well.

3. Do you have any role models in your design and creative philosophies?

I have always had an innate design sense and while I have been inspired by multiple creative inputs, there has been no specific role model or creative philosophy that I have adopted. I find creativity in every walk of life and have been inspired by the work of many designers. However, I have strived to create a unique style of my own that has been influenced by all these inspirations.

4.If you had to attribute your success to a unique skill or competence what would it be?

Success is defined in multiple terms but I believe that true success lies in the iconic stature of the brand. I have always strived to remain true to my core design philosophy and put myself in the shoes of the customer.

5.Any personal favorites in VM for you (Window Displays, Graphics, Merchandise Presentation)?

While I think that all parts of VM are equally important and critical, the key to a VM success is the Window since this is crucial to creating the persona for the brand and enticing the customer. Therefore a lot of attention and detail from each collection goes into the windows and this is changed frequently to keep the customer interest alive. The window is one of the best ways to visually interpret the brand persona for the customer and thus move from attracting the customer to engaging them.

6.Can you give a brief gist of you career milestones and the learnings at each milestone?

In my view, every challenge is an opportunity and meeting it head on and overcoming it is a milestone. There have been many memorable milestones in my career. One of the most memorable was when I was fresh out of college working for an Export House and within a few months of joining; I was given an opportunity to travel out to international markets and study international trends. During this visit, I had to make my first solo range presentation to iconic brands like JC Penney and American Eagle. I was entrusted with this responsibility very early in my career and in many ways, this early exposure helped me to learn and prepare myself for the challenges ahead. This has been further stepped up when I took over as the Design and VM head of Elle, an international brand which had to be completely created afresh for the Indian market. This voyage made me learn that customer centricity is a key success factor for design and that while creativity is an art; there are many ways of structuring design that is scientific.


7.What has been your biggest achievement and what impact did it have on the business and your repertoire?

One of the most significant achievements till date is the creation and architecture of Elle's design style and signature. This has been a great experience in terms of learning on the road to creating the brand and making it real for the young urban woman.

Additionally, this experience has allowed me to learn about creation of a brand from the start and has increased my exposure to a cross functional efforts in this direction.

8.What was your most fun project? Can you describe the experience?

There have been many fun projects in my career. If I had to pick only one, I would say it has been the creation of Elle. The entire experience has been fun filled and at the same time enriching, right from hand picking a team and working with them to building something this large from the scratch along with the  market research on the Indian consumer in multiple situations like high street and colleges to finally creating the first line for the brand. In the midst of all this, I have had to take care of all creative aspects of the brand.


9. What do you think of the current global trends and how do they impact / influence India?

In the Visual Merchandising function, the trend is more pronounced with the emergence of strong brand imagery and a differentiated shopping ambience. There has been a significant impact of technology which has over a period of time been integrated with VM. Additionally, sustainability as a concept is catching on very strongly and will continue to shape many trends going forward.

There used to be a time when India was lagging behind in terms of global trends in the industry. However, this has changed with the evolution of the well travelled Indian customer and the increased exposure to these trends early on. Today, India keeps pace with global trends in every way.

10.How exactly does the Indian VM industry in India differ from that overseas?

The VM industry in India has caught up with global trends and today presents the Indian customer with a retail ambience and experience that is in no way different from the high streets in Paris or London. However, there are specific aspects of the industry that are still playing catch up. Use of technology in Indian retail is still very limited and sustainability as a concept has been slow to catch up here. The main reason for this is a cost led approach to Visual Merchandising in the Indian context. One other area which needs a lot of focus and development in the Indian context is the skill of execution. While a lot has happened in the ideation and creation part, the execution part is still to become global class mainly due to the fragmented nature of execution agencies in the country. However, this process has started and will soon catch up.

11.Could you tell us about the initiatives you have taken in your company / role to bridge these gap?

In Elle, we have tried to address sustainability as a concept within the framework and have focused on reuse of materials and also use of recyclable material. Since Elle is an International French brand, a lot of international inspirations influence the collections styles and also the Visual Merchandising aspects within the store thus bridging the gap between International and Indian markets. We have also handpicked some of the best execution agencies across the country that we work with. We engage in defining our expectations with them clearly and thereby setting the tone for the final rendition. Going forward, we will also work with them in terms of training and integration into the concept at an early stage. This will help improve the execution standards.

12.What has been your experience in finding, training and retaining talent in VM in India?  What do you recommend to soften the challenge?

VM as a function has found its place in the sun and there are a significant number of people who want to seek career options in this field now. Institutes like NIFT and NID today turn out some amazing talent. Therefore, the availability of talent is slowly but surely improving. However, retaining talent is a challenge due to the current status of the Industry where customer expectations have risen so sharply and experienced professionals who can address this adequately are limited in number. One way of addressing this is to increase the global exposure of the professionals in the field at an early stage of their career. Another way would be to focus on training and development of young professionals.

13.Where do you see the Indian VM industry in the next 5-10 years?

The Indian VM industry has already kept pace with the global industry and the current trends in the market. I feel in the upcoming days, we will not just adapt the global techniques but also, the international market will take up our ethnic trends and render it according to the international need. So it will be both ways.

14.Any dream that you would like to live?

I would love to see a stage when Indian design comes of age and India becomes the benchmark for global trends and standards in fashion design and visual merchandising.
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