Rashi grew up in Coimbatore. She has done her education as the London School of Fashion ( 2 years ). " My course was connected to making leather hand bags. Designing and making handbags was the core of the programme. The teachers let us explore and experiment with design. They do not tell us what is right or wrong. Such a thought does not exist in the world which thrives on creativity for it is subjective. My teacher David had given me a lot of inputs which became extremely useful. I worked for some time and then founded my venture - RAFF. The brand is registered and our exclusive leather hand bags are made under this umbrella, " stated Rashi while showing her range of lovely handbags made of fine leather.
Rashi grew up in Coimbatore. She has done her education at the London School of Fashion ( 2 years ). " My course was connected to making leather hand bags. Designing and making handbags was the core of the programme. The teachers let us explore and experiment with design. They do not tell us what is right or wrong. Such a thought does not exist in the world which thrives on creativity for it is subjective. My teacher David had given me a lot of inputs which became extremely useful. I worked for some time and then founded my venture - RAFF. The brand is registered and our exclusive leather hand bags are made under this umbrella, " stated Rashi while showing her range of lovely handbags made of fine leather.
The young entrepreneur had discovered that she was a commercial designer. Her thought process brings out a design and she begins to make a prototype after putting the aspects on a piece of paper. Rashi thinks about the practical and functional aspects of the products envisaged by her. This gets translated into finished goods which are in tune with style and function. Of course, she ensures that it befits the premium market that is catered to by her venture.
Rashi spoke about the handbags made by her, " Most of my bags can be used in multiple ways.
A number of collections have been brought out and RAFF has a jewellery collection too. The first collection has handbags named by my friends simply because they were the first customers. The second collection is named after the artisans who made them. They are known by the names Muthu, Vanitha etc., The third collection is named after artists for I am inspired by art, mixed media, furniture and architecture. The bags are called Golkar, Asger etc.,
My jewellery is inspired by the design movement in Germany from the 1920s - Bauhaus. The Bauhaus was founded as an institution by Walter Gropius ( 1883 - 1969 ) in Weimar. It was a German art school which was operational between 1919 and 1933. The approach combined crafts and fine arts. It became famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. The Bauhaus style later became one of the most influential currents in design, modernist architecture, art, design and architectural education. Again my jewellery pieces are named after artists and masters like Wassily. "
The craftsmen who make the leather handbags are from Auroville, Pondichery. She makes the first bag and the craftsmen just follow her model. Nowadays the team makes it based on her design for they have understood her very well. The bags are made by hand. " The leather is cut manually and stitched by hand itself. Saddle stitching technique is followed by the our craftsmen.
Our bags are really long lasting and get better with age. People buy a lot of stuff and they are disposed after they sometime due to wear and tear. The handbags made by RAFF will stay for years and will become part of legacy. Nature is under threat and irresponsible use of materials are destroying the resources. We at RAFF are trying to give fashionable cum functional products which will last a life time. Even the tanning is done with vegetable oils, seed oil etc., and therefore it takes a lot of time. It adds to the costs and hence our products are available at a premium. We get the leather from a tannery in Ranipet. The leather if unused may end up in a land fill. Conservation is on the top of my mind while moving forward. My parents and my husband have been a great source of support, " smiled Rashi while showing the design magazines Vogue, Elle and Grazia which had featured her. Rashi and her brand RAFF were recognized recently in the west. She came as a finalist in the ' Independent Handbag Designer Awards ' in New York city , USA.
Rashi' s parents Meenakshi and Suresh Agarwal have been extremely supportive. Her mother takes care of the logistics from Coimbatore. Marketing goes on with the help of the social media. The Instagram page is found as @shopraff. While on line sales takes place through the website http://www.shopraff.com The sales is mostly organic and RAFF handbags can be bought in stores like Pepperhouse, Cultmodern etc.,
The designer Rashi is happily married to Mauritz Favier of Netherlands. The brand RAFF is the acronym for Rashi Agarwal Favier Fashion. Her first customer had been her sister in law Ridhi.
The young entrepreneur had met Favier in Pondichery and she is going to be living with him at Amsterdam hereafter. She will be visiting India for her work regularly. Rashi spoke a bit about the Dutch people while adding inputs about the help received from her husband Favier in her initiatives. " The Dutch are nice people. They are really open and frank. Honesty is their trademark and they are direct. Nothing is spoken behind the back. I have been like that and it has really helped me to get along with them. Most of us are familiar with the term ' going dutch '. It means that we split the bill equally amongst each other while going out for dinner with friends. The Dutch use the app Tikkie for splitting the bills. Someone from the group pays the big and sends a Tikkie next day. The recipient settles his or her share immediately. I am going to be enjoying my life in Netherlands, " smiled Rashi.
" Fashion is said to be contributing towards pollution and waste. We are trying to ensure that the RAFF bags last longest. Our products are expensive. Quality, design aesthetics, fair wages, comfortable working conditions are the reasons for the same. We ensure that each and everyone concerned with the making of these leather handbags are happy. Our customers are aware of these features and this makes them come back for more. The bags are lighter for they do not contain hardware or lining material. Business has been good and we have grown organically, " added Rashi while serving a cup of hot tea. Every skin is different and therefore a lot of care is taken by the team. She ships her products worldwide and does not charge for shipping. Rashi had also been modelling for sometime.
The leather handbags are priced in between Rs.4999 - Rs.14449 while the jewellery ( wooden ) is priced in between Rs.1299 - Rs.2299.
Rashi Agarwal Favier and her brand RAFF are set to go places. Good to see fashion and aesthetics going hand in hand with sustainability.