It’s again that time of the month, when I can literally say that life couldn’t be more hectic yet the energy is contagious!! A quick introduction, my label name is called Sabashe by Sabah Khan, which I got a chance to launch at this highly esteemed platform LFW last Summer /Resort 2010. I inherited this label from my Mother, it was established in the year 1989, which also happens to be my birth year.I have studied fashion from INIFD, Andheri, Mumbai as a three year degree course and have also done my majors in Psychology from S.N.D.T University.

Fashion has always been my first love, as it was bound to be! I grew up watching my mother (A designer and my inspiration) work relentlessly for our in-house productions – Makers Multimedia headed by my father. I always got to see the “behind the scenes” element and right from the beginning knew it wasn’t as easy as it seemed to be.

How Gen next happened?

I was in my final year of Psychology and with no thoughts about a fashion week whatsoever. But as we say, some things are meant to be! So one day at my institute they announced that we had an internal competition after which the best entries would be sent for Lakmé Fashion Week and immediately my mind raced to thoughts like, “I definitely want to try for this!” Every atom in my body was yearning to design that concept I had in my mind for the past three years, and I immediately knew what I wanted to make and send across. I decided Dharavi- slums as my metaphor, created the pieces for application, got through to the INIFD jury and now was the big moment, LFW jury; the fact that such renowned people would be taking a look at my work was exciting yet nervous. The day came when the results were announced it all seemed surreal till the day of the show.

I learnt a lot of discipline while working for Lakmé Fashion Week. I learnt to value not only mine but other’s time as well. LFW has driven me to maintain an attitude of constantly moving forward in life. I am only one season old but it has been a great experience unlike any other.

So here I am getting ready for Summer/Resort 2011 and I cannot express how excited I am to be a part of this wonderful extravaganza, Let’s take this show on the road with “tuk-tuk”.!!

Turns out when you realize your dreams they are not as easy to achieve as they are to dream it……4 years and several seasons later in lakme fashion week…i realized its no cakewalk to sustain in the business and stay true to your ideas, but i managed to be exactly who i was… an artist who creates clothes that are not just clothes but pieces that would be remembered. My inspirations have been my life experiences… my pillars have been my family and friends but what made me achieve what i did was belief and patience…this industry has a lot to offer but it does not accept everyone easily…it takes a lot of hard work, tons of originality and above all being yourself.

It was a difficult possibility… my parents conservative Maharashtrians but with a belief in their sons goals…for them Swapnil Shinde was a tailor, turned designer, turned stylist, turned businessman, turned young entrepreneur who has worked day and night to get what he wanted…a place in the fashion industry to show what he has to offer!

And having come a long way from having 1 master and 1 peon in 2006 to now in 2010 having  2 masters, 8 tailors, 4 embroidery karigars, 2 peons, 2 admin managers, 1 production manager and 3 interns every month,  it’s been undivided attention to every penny spent and every penny gained in the last 4 years !

Its been a joyride but its not as easy and glamorous as all claim fashion to be….but i can vouch for one thing..when you do get that dream …it feels darn good!

I still remember it was 1993 when i saw my first fashion show….and i knew i wanted to be a designer…fashion as i knew it from the time i began to study in 1997 has changed and definitely for the better, for me Gianni Versace was the fashion icon and back home it was couturier Tarun Tahiliani, for me they were the inventors of fashion and that has not changed….what has changed is the outlook towards fashion that today’s aspiring young designers have.

After judging and being part of several fashion shows at various college fests, graduation shows, fashion shows in wedding’s (yes there are those too) or even a ganpati celebration with a fashion show….yes its everywhere…everyone wants to taste it ! Being given the opportunity to select designers for the emerging designer category was a full circle moment for me… I was going to select the future inventors of fashion in India. And the  core in fashion lies in its inventors, the future of fashion is in the hands of young fashion college pass outs who feel that it has become a cake walk to enter the industry…With tons of attitude, whacky clothing sense, coloured hair and an accent… they all feel they are ready to be designers…yes they can be designers…but without the core being strong its just another designer with bold ideas!

What lacks is knowledge, appreciation and patience. What today’s youth need is a realisation that they are the future of Indian fashion and there is a huge pressure on them to take the fashion industry in India to a new level altogether, the inventors of tomorrow have huge shoes to fill in!

With several fashion weeks being served on a golden platter where each fashion week has a Gen Next category giving young talent a platform and putting them on a pedestal where the entire industry is looking at the future of Indian fashion… they have a lot to prove and a lot to achieve and maintain that consistency which would inspire future designers to be the inventors of Indian fashion.