I truly believe the most inspiring style stories come not from fashion magazines but from real life. So I have long wanted to do interviews with women whose style I admire, women I met through different walks of life and I am finally doing it.
First in the series, I present you Rita Sheth, a fashion designer behind recently launched brand The Many Sides. Rita and I met a few years ago when she was working on her brand launch and I had a pleasure of assisting her with some insights. What appealed to me immediately about The Many Sides is that it recognises that as women we are complex and multidimensional so we need more than one style expression. With her designs, Rita encourages women to make clothes they wear their own and her designs are made to dress outside the box.
Here Rita tells us more about her brand philosophy, shares her own style story and gives some great style tips.
What inspired your to become a fashion designer?
I have always had a strong appreciation for the arts and beautiful things. It was either setting up a gallery or celebrating art in a different way – to me fashion is art in fabric.
I love the concept of many sides we have as women. Tell me more about the philosophy behind your The Many Sides and the clothes you make?
The many sides idea has resonated with so many people! I have many sides and I think most women do. we have all these secret places, are quite complex and have so much potential. It speaks to that. I want people to make the brand, the clothes their own, by using it to explore. The clothes will always be an exploration for me into my own creativity, its an evolving dialogue between me and the customer.
What impact are you hoping to make with your brand?
I hope it breaks more boundaries about who women are and what they can do. I think that will always be a central theme.
Who are your clothes made for and what one style challenge would you help to solve for women if you could?
The woman who is busy and has a full life and she needs versatility and a sense of functionality as well as a distinctive style of course. I wish I could create a brand that meets all her needs and moods – a brand so versatile that within every collection she could find all her needs met.
Has your own style changed since you started designing clothes? If so, how?
I think because there is a symbiotic relationship between what I wear and what I design it’s made my style more directional and my designs more wearable. I think that’s the benefit of a woman designing for women – style and fashion become aligned not two separate things.
What are your current favourite pieces that you wear all the time?
I actually wear a coat from AW 17 every day. Its not available online yet – it’s green, boiled wool and oversized – really warm and comfortable and looks good over everything. I do actually wear my own clothes!
What influences your personal style? How important do you think it is to let personal style evolve vs. sticking to one specific style you know has worked for you in the past?
Style must naturally evolve as we go through life because it’s a combination of trends, short term and long term, as well as being dependent on body shape, age to an extent, lifestyle. So of course it must change. But there is something at the core of a woman that doesn’t change. Thats your signature. I think that is what makes for an authentic sense of style that is still flexible enough to adapt as you grow and change.
What inspired your newest collection? Where can we find your latest pieces?
The AW17 collection, Elegant Harm, is inspired by the dark times we have lived through – the various political and societal hardships we have all collectively lived through. Its been a brutal time in many ways and the collection draw on that darkness and has a introspective feel. The collection will be available in late August online.
Tell us your favourite style secret/tip.
Don’t buy it unless you will wear it. Sounds obvious but it’s not. Think about how you can wear it day to night. If you can wear it in the day and take it into the night then you will probably wear it a lot so buy it.
The Many Sides clothes are available to buy online here, where you can explore the current collection. All pictures provided by The Many Sides and are of the new A/W 17 collection, which will be available for sale from August 2017.
You can follow The Many Sides updates on social media here:
