“I think I was 20 when I was in college and that’s when I had a lot of friends taking advice from me on how to dress up and I liked doing that because that’s what I was really interested in. Looking at other designers and getting excited about what they were doing and seeing the actors and movie stars and knowing how they like to dress up. All that was there but I didn’t know this is the direction I wanted to take. It was only when I actually did the course. That’s when I realized that this is what I really feel great about.”

“So I did my course then three years of work where I met couple of actors. Manisha Koirala was my first Bollywood client; she loved my clothes and said “why don’t you style for my movie?” So that’s how I started doing costumes for movies. Through her I met her co-actor Akshay Kumar, and he liked what I’ve been doing for her so he said “why don’t  you design my clothes?” and then I started designing for him; from there on all his co-actors, from Raveena to Shilpa to everybody, started doing clothes from me. From then there was no looking back. It was like going from one thing to another and things kept coming my way. Until one fine day I realized that I’m totally into the film industry!

“I had already left Roopam by then.”

“I was working three to four films at one go; one film is on with Akshay and Shilpa is doing a shoot elsewhere, Raveena is doing some other shoot, a lot was happening together. Though, I enjoyed working and I loved the whole working at odd hours with the film industry. I almost just was churning out films as a stylist.”

“At that point we had to create everything, make every garment.  There was no concept of picking up stuff from the fashion store; just jeans and t-shirts at the most. Everything had to be made.”

“I later started creating for a younger trend through Hritikh Roshan, John Abraham, Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif. All these people started working with me and became trend setters and fashion icons. I have long relations with all of them. I designed for Akshay for nine years, Hritik for six years. Shilpa Shetty for ten years and Bipasha too for ten years. It’s been a great ride and I have done almost 360 movies so far.”

“Halfway down the line, I thought this is not my field; my style is just not coming out. In a movie, you have to think about what the director wants, what the actor wants, what the producers budget is. Doing movies always comes with an outline. This left me with a craving for my creative style to come out and then I wanted to start my own label which I did starting Rocky S and opened a small store in Juhu. This was my pret collection and everything that I felt like doing. It helped me maintain a balance between the fashion and film industry and I started doing shows like India Fashion Week. I only stopped doing films two years ago because I was done with doing the same kind of thing over and over again. Now, if I’m ever going to do a film I’ll look for a challenge; it should be different and motivating.”

“Even now, I don’t feel like I have arrived. I feel like there is so much more to do. I feel like the journey has just started and I have achieved maybe only 5% of what I want. Yes, there have been a lot of great moments, where people have recognized my work and people started talking about me. Those moments do make you feel special, but they are not the ones that make you feel like you have arrived.”

“I’ve done London Fashion Week, I opened Milan Fashion Week, and back then I thought- Yes, this is the moment! They do make you feel great, but you realize that this is not really it. So I’m yet to say I have arrived. Yes, I’ve done some good work but I have a long way to go.”

“Well, it took me a long time to let people know this is my style. There was a lot of trial and error. If I look back at it, I realize that I don’t relate to it anymore. I have a style where anybody who sees black says it’s Rocky S. It’s dark, mysterious, sexy, sensual and it always has an element of bling. It also always has to look glamorous. Inspiration obviously is today’s woman who likes to hold on to tradition but is also way ahead in life. She’s a working woman and at the same time is a family woman too. She takes care of her family back home, but when she’s out in her car she wants to stand out and look amazing. A woman who is a multi-personality is my inspiration.”

“As of now, I’m only focusing on red carpet and party wear. I want to create that style for me. When people say Rocky S, it should be glamorous, shiny and red carpet.”

“When you see a fashion show, those sizes are obviously made for the model. The store has sizes that cater to different body shapes in different sizes. I’m also launching a new label soon called RS by Rocky Star. It’s a label made keeping the mass in mind for the Indian market. We’re launching in 45 stores. Everything is below 3000-4000 Rupees. The range includes Clothes, deodorants, shoes, wallets, bags, lingerie, everything.” “RS is actually to create a fashion brand in the country for women.”

“I believe that more than formal education, it’s the inclination towards fashion. If you don’t have the passion, however much you may want to create something and spend five years studying, you just can’t. A creative person, irrespective of formal education will come out and create the way they want to. Of course formal education disciplines you, but you need years and years of practical knowledge. Even after being in the industry for 20 years, I feel like I am still learning.”

“I love putting textures together, handcrafted embroidery with textures etc. I don’t think the garment I make should be one that is easily replicated” – and he makes a clear, honest point right there. Continuing with his charm all over the place, he says, “I make things with so much love and passion, I don’t want people to look at it and say I can make this. I want them to think- How the garment has been created? What has been done? What has been put together? So it’s never an easy process to make a garment that I make for couture. Its 5-6 elements put together for one outfit.”

“At the same time I feel it should be very feminine, because a woman should feel like a woman. There should be an element of strength in it and she should feel great about it. And her personality has to be strong because I feel a woman won’t be able to carry a Rocky S if she isn’t strong.”

“I strongly believe in time efficiency. I am very strict with my timings and deadlines. You can consider that to be my philosophy. Of course building a brand takes years and years of effort, marketing and a lot of things together but I’m still getting there. I’ve started the pret line which will be selling almost everywhere from Flipkart to Amazon and about 70-80 stores in the country. That is one big aspect which will be taking the brand forward.”

“Secondly, I’m definitely going more couture with my pret line. We have already started selling in Middle East from Dubai Mall to Sunset Mall, to Doha and Abu Dhabi.”

“In the future, I want to do a lot more. I want to create my own perfume line. There’s a lot I want to do. There’s no end to how much I want to do” the burning desire in his eyes is one of a kind. “Of course I want to make my brand completely international which would take many years, but I’m working towards it. Nothing can happen overnight” the passion that radiates from his voice, gives you a sense of certainty and you know he’s going to make it large – much larger!

“I think today the world is more towards online. Even if you advertise in a magazine, that same magazine will put it on their online website which will be more noticed. Online is a very big focus for my marketing brand. We used to do a lot of advertising in magazines but not anymore. Now I want to do more on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. I’m activating a lot of followers with that and I do a lot of tie-ups for the brands in the country. I tie up with certain brands to promote the brand. Then I’m also doing things like styling Ms. World, Ms. Universe, so that also promotes my brand. And I do a lot of shows around, all over the country.”

“For the RS line we are going all out, we’re doing hoardings, ads, because that’s a brand that requires that kind of marketing, it needs to be in your face.”

“Time and again I’ve been pushing certain philosophies of my brand. It takes time. Even a Valentino didn’t happen overnight. When you think of red you go to Valentino, for pretty and funky you think of Manish Malhotra. Similarly when people want to wear something dark, black and sexy, they think of Rocky S.”

“Personality is very important to be a brand today. You can be a great creative person but if you don’t have the package together, you’re lacking something to be a brand. There are a lot of labels which are only labels, but for a designer brand, the face is important. So of course looking good and dressing well is very important.” “You don’t have to be good-looking, you have to look good” he adds with a smirk. “You should have a very strong personality and be presentable all the time.” “For me, I am the brand, if I’m not going to look right, if I’m not going to dress well or present myself well, that will reflect on my brand.”

“I do four collections for the red carpet, four collections for the pret line. But I’m working round the clock just putting them together. At the moment I finish one show and already have another show waiting. In a year I do at least 15-20 shows – minimum.”

“For the couture there are around 80 pieces and the pret line is 75-80 SKUs in women’s wear, around 70 in men’s wear, 25 SKU’s for underwear, and then I have my new line launching soon with shoes, bags, belts, etc. so each department has certain numbers that we maintain.” “It’s taken me a year to create this new brand, it’s been so time consuming and finally it’s happening” he says with excitement screaming out of his voice.

With complete agreement he affirms, “It is VERY difficult but I started my career doing men and women together, so for me it’s that.”

“No, I don’t. I do a lot of corporate events. That’s about it.” “If someone is buying good amount of stuff from me then why not? I wouldn’t mind doing private showings as well.”

“As of now we’re in India and the Middle East. We are planning to expand to New York and Europe. That’s next year’s plans. Right now I’m focusing on India which is the biggest market.”

“I have several teams. One team of 150 people only work on the couture line. The Pret line is not manufactured in house. It’s manufactured in factories in China, Singapore, Delhi and Mumbai.”

“Of course I have a team of designers working under me. Mostly now I’ve become a creative director rather than sitting and sketching. For the main line which is the couture line, I do a lot of sketches myself. But I have a design team; I give them my inspiration for the season, the colors and the texturing I’m looking for.. they work on that back and forth until I finalize on certain things. I sit and work on the main theme, but everything that has to be worked on has to be done by the team. It is impossible for me to do everything alone.”

“I don’t let anything move without my approval. Everything comes to me, even if I am travelling anywhere in the world – all the sketches, designs everything, so my touch is always going to be there. The people who work with me understand my philosophy. They understand what I like, what I don’t like; they’ve been working for me for years. Some have been with me for 15-20 years, so they know.”

“Yes of course, there is a whole briefing session that is held every season. Around three to four briefings happen with the design team, merchandising, production etc. We make a mood board. I show them references, materials etc. At least a month and a half goes in just getting the feel right and actually understanding the concept of the range.”

“If I really trust the person who’s worked with me for many years, they know what I want. Nonetheless I have to look over. My team has the freedom to create in a given outline and that outline is defined by me.”

“I think comfort is the most important aspect. Any garment I make, if the person wearing it is not comfortable, they will not look right. Most important thing is how comfortable are you in the body that I am giving you. The fit is the most important thing. If it doesn’t fit right it’s going to look like crap. No matter how much diamonds and embroidery you put on, it’s not going to look good. It is very important for me that a woman who is wearing my clothes should feel great about the fit, she should not be conscious.”

“No, I just don’t have the patience to deal with marriages” a prompt response and a giggle (don’t worry Rocky, we feel you)

“It’s for a woman who feels good about herself. A woman who understands my philosophy and understands what I am creating. It can be a film actor, a socialite or a woman who is newly getting married and having a cocktail party. I just know that they follow me and like my style and what they see on the actors. They want to feel like that. Those are the people who will buy my clothes.”

“I have a team who handles my social media and I have recently appointed a team to do all the social networking. Plus, I too have my friends so I keep posting stuff as well.”

“My logo has gone through a lot of transformations over the years. I am very inspired by old English; I love the whole vintage feel. That is why I love Europe and London, the whole feel of going back in time is very exciting. Even in my clothes and texturing there’s this old charm that I get very fascinated by and when we created that gothic font of Rocky Star and Rocky S, I was immediately like – this is it. The creative team that worked many years ago showed me a few options and I said yes, this is me.”

“Atleast 15-20 shows a year. 2-3 main shows and then we do the tours in other cities”

“We usually have 30-34 pcs. leftover of the stock and we usually cut it down to first 50% and then 70% which is actually the cost of the garment. Then very little is left which we don’t sell. We just discontinue and stock it. And when we do a trade show or a sale, we put everything there at a very marked down price. I don’t like to keep anything that’s old”

“Any collection of mine is usually not a seasonal collection, it’s a timeless piece. Sometimes we have to freshen up the look or something but that’s about it. Most of my designs are lasting; you can pick it up after 5 years also and wear it”

“Business projections are made quarterly, yearly or three years or so. Right now we are on the verge of making new business plan because the entire strategy is changing and we have a new management team coming on board. We’re looking at new franchisees this year, opening up new stores next year. We’re looking at online sales, amazon and few others.”

“Everything changed from time to time. We review everything every two months. My new management is going to present to me a new plan based on these new strategies. Let’s see how that goes”

“People who I work with, trust me and we have had a great relation for years. So they have all become my favorites, but I’m not partial towards them. It can be a Shilpa Shetty, or Roshan, John Abraham, Kartrina Kaif or Bipasha Basu; all these people who’ve worked with me are my favorites.”

“You know every star has a very distinct personality. What kind of clothes I do always fits in to a Katrina, Bipasha or Shilpa and that is why we gel so well and work so well with each other. All the actresses are so well dressed these days from Sonam Kapoor to Karishma Kapoor, you talk about any actor these days, they’re wearing the right kind of clothes at the right event. Each has their own distinct way of dressing. Either they follow fashion blindly or they know they have the body to carry something off and manage to look great. I am very head strong with my inspiration, actors can come and go but I’m always going to do what I have to do.”

“I don’t think I get free time ever, I don’t like being free. I wake up at 7 in the morning everyday so I have my one hour every morning where I have coffee and listen to great music. Then my trainer comes at 8am so I train for an hour with him and then I work from 9 onwards and there is no time limit to that. When I do get free time either my friends are over, or I’m listening to music or watching American TV series. I’m very simple as a person. I don’t have very fancy taste or fancy things that I require. I don’t look for fancy cars or yacht parties. I love going out, I’m not denying. Atleast once a week I need to go out otherwise I’ll kill people around me” and we hear an evil laugh. “But that’s it just once a week I go out and I really kill it.”

“I have only one right now. It was a conscious decision not to have too many stores right now because I want my brand to have a very strong establishment with the kind of collections I want to do. I will be launching at Shoppers Stop soon and I’m expecting to have more than 45 stores in stores this year. Then we’re planning a franchise module where we’re going to let people open stores for us.”

“Yes, we’re on a working stage for that. We’re working on the brand book where all my philosophies will come together and the brand guidelines will eventually fall in place.”

“For the RS brand we have an entire guideline in place so no one can amend the way things have to be done. The way the label is supposed to be, the structure of the store, color outline, style outline, everything has to be as per CI. RS is something I’ve been working on for over a year and we have a brand book for that.”

“I think mine is a universal collection, it can be traditional in its own way. I do like to hold on to my traditions but the collection is very universal. You can wear it in Paris. You can wear it in Dubai, India, anywhere in the world. It’s never going to be looking out of place. Its classy, its modern, it has the old world charm like I said, it’s glamorous, it’s for a woman who is confident and for woman who want to go out in the night and have a great time.”

“I don’t read news, I don’t watch TV channels at all. It’s great knowledge you get from Twitter, Instagram and Facebook because people are always posting something interesting. I do travel a lot. Every month I travel and see people, I shop, so I do get inspiration from a lot of places and things. It’s never like this is what I have to follow this season. I always follow what I feel great about, what I’m passionate about, what moves me or what inspires me. Of course you have a few trends in mind like the colors or the cuts that are going to come this season, like 80’s is back is fashion. One cannot say I won’t do the 80’s because then you’re losing out on that segment of market which is looking for those kind of features. So you do have to follow certain norms but not go blindly with it.”

“One thing is never to give up, respect time and keep holding on to your passion. This is regular but it’s something I totally believe in.” “I’m very particular about timing, I’m passionate and I never give up; that’s my mantra.”

“I always want to reach the sky. I’m totally inspired by the whole outer world, the sky and the stars.”

“I’m mesmerized by this whole universe and the stars and the way it is created. I watch a lot of documentaries by NASA. I watch how stars are formed and I think to myself, I just want to reach the stars. That’s what keeps me going. There are times you’re down and when things go bad, and I say to myself ‘I want to reach the stars’ and it just makes me work harder.”