*What does
fashion mean to you?
Fashion is like food (and ironically, both are the epitome
of my existence). Just like many courses make a fine meal, distinct elements
craft the perfect look. Overdoing food will cause you to feel uncomfortably
full, and exaggeration in attire will come across as artificial, too. If
fashion is the shell you show to the world (when you cannot show them your
skin), you better make sure it makes you feel great.And fits.
*Who are some
of your favorite designers?
It’s strange that when I sit to think of who my favorite
designers are, I always think of those that are the antithesis of the designers
that I find too drab, or too distressfully over-the-top. However, I really
admire the western works of Phillip Lim, Simon Spurr, KeanenDuffty, Marc Jacobs
and Michael Bastian. From the Eastern hemisphere I enjoy wearing and seeking
inspiration from Manish Malhora, Abdul Haldar andNarendra
Kumar.
*What are some
of your favorite clothing stores/catalogs/websites?
I am admittedly promiscuous. My preferences vary seasonally,
and I usually prefer not to brand myself with a handful of single store
offerings alone, as I believe in having more than one statement. But some of my
recurrent picks come from Armani Exchange from the US, Topman, Ben Sherman and River
Island from the UK, WE from the Netherlands, and Spykar and Mufti from India.
*Do you
consider yourself an artist?
I am engaged in multiple spectrums of activities related to
art: photography, craft, fashion design, modeling, hair design, literary
writing, print editing, and many related facets, all of which demonstrate my
passion for the aesthetic marriage of colors, shapes and expressions. I think
these qualify me for the artist medallion, do you?
*What are your
favorite colors to work with and why?
Red. It is the color of sunrise, sunset, blood, love, blush,
a stop sign, an alert, an emergency, and a red light district. In each case, it
startles, shocks, and slowly but surely seeps into your conscious. Even a brief
hint of red – through a button, a lining, threadwork, a belt, a watch, socks –
is enough to intrigue passerbys. And I definitely don’t like black. I do work
with it from time to time, but its commonality and poetic charm seem too forced
to me.
*Where can
readers find out more about you and your work?
I am a social media thrillist, and am totally consumed by
the internet. Despite not spending much time on it, it is coincidental and
intentional that a google search of my alias - sssourabh- yields a plethora of
results. The page to my center site sssourabh.com, and with this alone, feel
free to stalk me anywhere. You name it, I’m no it – my blog, Facebook, Twitter,
Tumblr, Pinterest, Gentlemint, Flickr, Carbonmade,Instagram, and the list goes
on.
[you can link based on the links below]
*What are your
likes and dislikes?
I photograph and blog like a racing plague. Nothing consumes
me more than the passion for photography. What I capture on my lens is what
creates most of my likes – food, plants, high end dining, traveling oft the
tourist route in metropolitan cities and suburbs alike. These inspire my
tomorrow.I also obsess over ice cream flavors (ever tried olive oil ice
cream?), and quirky flavors of chewing gum. I wear sunglasses all the time,
mainly so I can gape at future lookbookers without staring directly. I obsess
over anything chocolate, and if I was stranded on an island, I would indefinitely
eat soft baked cookies, Indian biryani and super red grapefruits.
I
despise the attitude of talking without listening. There is a reason that
listen and silent are composed of the same letters. I also cringe at lack of table
manners or basic etiquette. Cultural ignorance used to amuse me in a negative
way, but in a well networked world, it now severely bothers me. People who
adapt to trends with obvious discomfort evoke my sympathy – think harem pants,
muffin top tees, unfitheavage. And my pet peeves include grunting gym trainers,
incapability of chewing gum, unclosed kitchen drawers, and inconsiderate
airport or hotel staff.
*What outfit were you most proud of?
My promiscuity with clothing and
brands and colors ensures that I have looks that vary tremendously from each
other. However, snakes constitute my many obsessions. At the tender age of
five, I visited a snake park in Tanzania and fell in love. With aforementioned
objects of reptilian lust defined, I felt it apt to construct a look that
slithered down my spine, and titled it Hisss. Hence a silver foiled party tee,
more apt for snaking into a club rather than a disenchanted sunlit day. The
pale slim jeans slip into the backdrop. The grey leather snake print shoes make
it mysterious for the daytime, sultry for the night. It completes the entire transformation
from man to reptile. Even better when worn after a workout.Time to peel the
skin?
*Which outfit were you least proud of?
I’m
glad this is asked as least proud, as I am
usually more and less proud, but nevertheless proud of all my outfits.
However, the one on lookbook that I could have bettered is called Stairs
Sequins and Secrets. It was something I put on in a hurry from a zesty holiday
wardrobe on a desert safari. Individually, I love my eggplant colored sequined
tee, my comfy cardigan with toggles and the ultra skinnyblack jeans. But
together, they are a dark, glimmering cloud on a sunny day, on a tired me.
Hence, the sexy Blue Steele photography and mystery infused palace photos were
present to counter my displeasure of the attire combination. At the end of the
day, it is all about balance.
*Where do you
hope to be with your fashion? [Modeling, fashion designing, top lookbooker,
ect]
My greatest satisfaction is to inspire someone. If this is
done through modeling (and I have been twice too many times a hair model),
fashion designing, or through a top notch on lookbook, then so be it. For me, it’s
more than just expressing myself through fashion – it is more about inspiring
others to craft their own style, even if it is with a sprinkling of mine.
*What advice
would you offer aspiring fashion designers/lovers?
I have always believed in having my clothes tell a story.
And this is my advice to designers and lovers of fashion. Drama, thriller,
suggestive, or simply a passing-days-of-life type of read, any attire should
resonate with onlookers as something which reminds them of something else
altogether. The more interpretations, the better in garnering a variety of
attention. The fewer the interpretations, the more accurate you have been in creating
the perfect look. Story telling can
never go wrong, especially when clothes are your words, your body the paper,
and your look is your plot.
