Bag that arm candy

Women all over the world share a common obsession: A love for handbags! Among those who profess to be on a constant hunt for the perfect bit of arm candy is Rishika Agarwalla, whose mother, Malini Agarwalla, heads the famous accessories label Malaga.

 

 

Surprisingly, Rishika says she didn’t always want to work with her mother. “I did not always want to follow her path!” she recounts.

 

“I had my heart set on being a lawyer. But shortly before joining my law programme, I interned with mom one summer and found that my legal studies paled in comparison to the enthusiasm and satisfaction that I felt over the summer. That was when I chose to do a graduate degree in fashion management and join her full time. She’s been the best of mentors recognising that my design sense, ethos and requirements are different from hers, and yet, always being the voice of reason.”

 

Rishika says she’s learnt to view design as a “beautiful, innovative and fresh perspective on ideas”. She points out that in the fashion world, you see eras, themes and collection briefs emerging in a cyclical way, but each time, with a unique and new perspective.

 

With Pimento, says Rishika, the design ideology is clear: “To give a consumer quality and variety.” “Every person is different, with different moods and wardrobe choices given the ‘hat’ they happen to be wearing at the moment and my motivation is to find what’s fresh and usable and to package it with good quality techniques to give the user an exciting product,” she adds. 

 

In ensuring that she creates accessories that are high on quality, comfort, utility and style, Rishika says she seeks inspiration from several things. “For instance, my line Urban Masala is all about fun India its vibrant metros and subcultures’ modern needs have influenced this collection. I wanted to use fun prints that were not iconic symbols of each Indian city, but still identifiable with each metro. These were combined with great graphics in bright colours to create designs about India and its culture,” Rishika says. 

 

Rishika loves working with all sorts of materials for her designs, be it silks, faux leather, metal casings, lace, etc. The one thing she can’t work without, she adds, is colours!

Her travels to different places constantly inspire her sense of aesthetics and this does find its way into her work as well. Then there are all those international design icons and fashion houses she looks up to, which often guide the way she approaches design.

 

“A whole range of brands and designers inspire me to make a match between high street and high fashion,” she says, before rattling off a few names, “Uniqlo is a great combination of functionality and aesthetics. Zara’s spin on fast and attractive fashion is unparalleled.

 

In terms of designers, I’m a fan of Emilio Pucci, Roberto Cavalli and Christian Louboutin, who all translate big themes and ideas into amazing fashion. From India, I would say Manish Arora, Masaba and Quirkbox are all working with colours and ideas in really interesting ways and in completely different market segments, but they are all awesome!”