Q. We see designers going separate ways very often. What has kept the two of you united?
A. Paras Bairoliya (PB): Like all labels, we do have discussions where we come close to throwing things. But I think of these sessions more as deliberations. And we know that the label and the work is bigger than all of us as individuals and we are responsible for the entire team. We value each other’s opinion enough to not want to forcefully change it.
Shalini Jaikaria (SJ): I trust his opinion and have a lot of respect for what he brings to the company. I know the mutual intention is for the company to grow. Plus we were best friends in college and go a long way back.

Q. Geisha Designs has evolved from an Indian wear label to a brand that caters to women all over the world. What led to this evolution?
A. (SJ): Our ideology is still the same and we still make clothes that evoke romance, fairy tale and believe in feminism. But the market and practices have changed quite a bit since we started the label 15 years back.
(PB): Today, people no longer change their wardrobe every six months; there are pre seasons too. Compared to the generation of our parents, the level of disposal income is higher, hence the demand is higher too. Plus technology has changed so many things, we can make larger number of garments faster and have fun with it. The garments still have to be prized possessions hand-crafted though.
(SJ): Earlier there were just two or three stores, today we are stocked all over the world. Also, we might still be doing sequin embroidery but the sequins are different, we use laser cutting for fabrics, there is computer precision, and the craftsmen need to be updated with these techniques too. All of this has lead to a change in the output.