London-based designer Luke Rooney, who specialises in womenswear and loves celebrating the use of colour, texture, print and embellishments through his creations, says he would love to collaborate with an Indian designer as he believes it would churn out something “really” special.
Rooney was in India to showcase his work at the Vaunt International Fashioner Week which was held in Delhi’s The Umrao Hotel earlier this month.
A fan of ace Indian designer Manish Arora, Rooney told IANS in an email interaction: “I would love to collaborate with an Indian designer. Collaboration is such an important output and I think by collaborating with somebody from India, together we could make something really special. I have always been a fan of Manish Arora and I also love the fabric work from Ritu Kumar.”
Rooney says the vibrant colour palatte that Indians use inspires him and his work a lot.
“The colours of India, I feel, are exactly what encompasses my design,” said Rooney, who had been invited to the extravaganza by London School of Trends.
Sometimes, designers tend to introduce or fuse elements of their native place with those in a place where they plan to showcasing their work.
Rooney, who hails from Birmingham, said: “My hometown is Birmingham. In Birmingham, I always felt I was a bit of an outsider. In Birmingham, we have areas where Indian communities live and the shops are full of beautiful, bejewelled and bright Indian clothes”.
The designer, who has his own label, finds it a lot more “difficult” to run one’s own brand in today’s time.
“There is a lack of funding for people who need it. You just have to really push yourself through that,” he said.
