Amid the many new fashion labels launched or announced in the recent past — with established designers like Tarun Tahiliani, Ritu Kumar, Anamika Khanna, Masaba, Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra, and others getting corporate backing — none has been as quiet, almost secretive, as designer Raghavendra Rathore’s new ready-to-wear brand, RR Blue. Backed by Reliance — Rathore’s brand received joint funding from Ermenegildo Zegna and Reliance in 2018 (one of the first in the country) — RR Blue is an accessible men’s label that’s aimed at bringing the Rathore aesthetic to a wider audience. But that’s where the similarities between it and, say, a brand like Tarun Tahiliani’s newly-launched Tasva, end.
A full six months after it started retailing online, I chanced upon its Instagram handle by sheer coincidence. At first, I thought it was a lookalike brand, a copy. But when I found it retailing on Rathore’s own website, I reached out to the designer. “The blueprint for RR Blue came into being almost four years ago when Reliance came into the picture,” he said over the phone from a jungle retreat. “We were waiting for the right time… and seeing the rise of online retail over the course of the pandemic, it seemed like the ideal moment to test the waters.” The Rajasthani designer, known for his bespoke bandhgalas and jodhpurs, is quick to point out that he did not want a big launch.
