Thank you for digging this out. While i read it, i get to know so much about Paco Rabanne as a person and i also clearly see that the interviewer has done his research but i ask again-What happens if the person is not known this famous in the industry?
Good question. First of all, you have to ask yourself a basic question: why are you going to interview the person? The answer will usually be that the person is interesting and has something to say.
Is the person famous? No? Then what is going to make them interesting to the reader/viewer? In this case, you touched on it when you referred to his working visa hassles and to Fashion in India.
The visa angle is relevant to so many young people who would like to work in Europe or the United States, either in the longterm or just to gain experience that they can put to use when they return home.
The Fashion in India angle should be interesting to anyone who takes Fashion even half-seriously. As I am sure you and your friends know, the majority of Westerners are alarmingly ignorant about what goes on outside the EU/US bubble and
fashionistas are no exception. Two weeks blasted on skunk in Goa does not amount to absorbing Indian culture and street style…
Another point worth remembering: just because you might feel that a topic or sub-topic could be uninteresting to your audience, it is not necessarily true. So ask those question and if the subject is a bit hesitant, push him or her a little to get them talking. Once you get them talking, their words create the interest.
There again, your questions also create the interest...or should. You edited out the following passage because you felt that his answer was not up to scratch:
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Me: A book i read, “Ramp Up” by Hindol Sengupta, in a certain section says this about fashion/street fashion in India:
“Where is the climate for luxury? Luxury needs infrastructure; a comfortable lifestyle; ambitious architecture. Where are the great buildings? Where is the architecture that inspires us? The last great buildings were all built by the British”
The point it was arriving at was different, which had more to do with designers and their designs, as it further says, “that is the vital point. Our inability to get our basic infrastructure right kills the development of our aesthetic at a level and yet, our determination to bypass that and see white swans in a polluted river is the key to success” So what do you think?
Nikhil: I do think that's a problem. Even if you have the vision where is the infrastructure or the vision. Actually where is the interest of the masses? A very small part of the population would really find solace and inspiration in art galleries/museums. I really am in no position to comment heavily on this subject but yes I do think a little more exposure and professionalism might get us to go miles ahead in the fashion industry.
Great question! Good, strong literary reference. However, and this is only my opinion, you should not have included the bit I have italicised. I think you lost him there. It should have been:
Me: A book i read, “Ramp Up” by Hindol Sengupta, in a certain section says this about fashion/street fashion in India:
“Where is the climate for luxury? Luxury needs infrastructure; a comfortable lifestyle; ambitious architecture. Where are the great buildings? Where is the architecture that inspires us? The last great buildings were all built by the British” So what do you think?
Nikhil still managed to come back with a strong response:
Nikhil: I do think that's a problem. Even if you have the vision where is the infrastructure or the vision. Actually where is the interest of the masses? A very small part of the population would really find solace and inspiration in art galleries/museums.
Where is the vision? Where is the interest of the masses? Most young upwardly mobile Indians with whom I have supped cocktails in the Taj in downtown Mumbai don't even care enough about "the masses" to factor them into their conversation. Nikhil raised the question. Good chance there to digress into a short discussion about the nature of India's cultural renaissance. Why do "the people" care so little about their cultural heritage?
The answers are clear, if one knows India just a little, but remember that many of people reading your blog and reading this website hardly leave their bedrooms let alone their countries. So, educate them.
Nikhil finished up by remarking:
I really am in no position to comment heavily on this subject but yes I do think a little more exposure and professionalism might get us to go miles ahead in the fashion industry.
I wouldn't let an interviewee get away with that. He is clearly in a position to comment as "heavily" as he likes on the subject in question, having proven himself by getting it together to move from India to Britain to work in the fashion industry. What sort of "exposure"? Does he mean that magazines like Vogue India ought to support up and coming homegrown talent a little more than they do?
Of course, there are some really boring, uneducated people out there and many of them are very famous. I adopted a rule early on: avoid interviewing ‘celebrities’ unless they have proven that they are worth it beforehand. Just focus on interesting people, whether they are famous or not.
I mean i sort of know everything about Nikhil on a personal basis, till the time he was my senior at NIFT i felt asking personal questions made no sense. At the same time, I did want to talk about things like:-
theme of his award winning graduating collection. how he & his dressing style was affected when he joined fashion school. I'd asked him these but just ended up not including because he was hesitant and his answers were not elaborate. I guess non-inclusion of more personal questions made the interview look shallow?
I would agree with this. The extract you showed us, which I have just critiqued, was actually pretty good as it was. If you have more stuff like that in reserve, perhaps you should consider re-editing the interview.
If he felt uneasy talking about himself on a personal level, you could have prodded him gently into talking about the topics already mentioned, like the fashion scene in India or even just Mumbai, leading him slowly into expressing his opinions as a young Indian
fashionista assisting in the cultural renaissance of India.
You could also have talked, again, about the visa thing, and why it is so hard for young people to come to Britain to get some work experience. If you wanted the interview to have some ‘teeth’, you might have referred to awkward sub-topics like colonial times, and how Britain should make it easier for young professionals other than bankers and computer programmers to come and spend time in “the Mother Country” gaining education and experience. After all, you did actually mention British influence in India, although you edited this out.
OK, so I know a lot of people under the age of 35 have little knowledge of history but history is more important than many youngster imagine. It is a guidebook to human nature and behaviour through the ages and also gives you a good contextual environment in which to frame your topics.
What do you think? Also, if you don't mind and have time i'd like to see more interviews.
I’ll happily send you some if you send me your e-mail address but I am wary of putting too much of my archive up on the web as I have had stuff stolen and published on various websites, including Wikipedia, without any reference to me.
And Bombay is hot, humid & crazy. I love it more than any other city in India. You should probably visit Bombay for the fashion week this September.
I probably should. I never have much time in September and I know next September will be very busy. But if I can find some time, I may follow your advice. I know how crazy it is: I have ridden an Enfield around the city. It is a bit like riding a motorcycle in Dublin, or Paris. Not quite as dangerous, though.
PK
eople are traveling more, there are more brands seeping into the market so I did see some really nicely dressed people. People’s dressing style is evolving.
