After toying with the idea of doing an MBA, Kedar Gawade eventually ended up doing an IATA (Travel) course in Geneva. He came back to Mumbai and opened RA Travels. But it was fashion, his first love, which beckoned him. and very soon he was part of the fashion fraternity of Mumbai. Kedar Gawade who prefers describing himself as a fashion consultant, has a gamut of qualities to boast of and definitely has the gift of the gab, which spells his success in the profession. Grooming some of the most beautiful people in the industry has become a passion for him.

It all began accidentally. Gawade was in college when he happened to do the clothes for model Sampada Inamdar for the Femina Look of the Year contest in 1996. Despite his strong conviction that he had a certain flair for creativity, "Designing clothes happened to be more of a hobby than a profession" says Gawade. He feels that luck has had a major part to play, "Especially, given the fact that I have been around in the fashion industry for only a year and a half and did not really have to struggle. I conduct official grooming classes for models and presently have a batch consisting of forty to forty six students."

Presently, Gawade is grooming Tapur Chatterjee, a contestant for the Femina Miss India contest. "She is extremely well groomed, thanks to the rigorous training she has had with Hemant Trivedi," says Gawade of Tapur. "I am also working with Chayan Munshi who is preparing for the Gladrags Mega Hunt," adds Gawade.

About the kind of training session, that he conducts with the models, Gawade says, "It is more of a question and answer round where they are bombarded with questions and this enables them to develop their presence of mind. I pay a lot of attention on this for mental sharpness is very important when it comes to succeeding in these contests. Different models come with different purposes in mind . Some come for preparing for pageants and some, for entering the fashion scene. It is the gait, the posture, body language, which need to be worked on to reach a certain level of perfection. "

Gawade is part of the faculty of B B Somani Fashion Institute, which happens to be one of the leading fashion institutes of Mumbai. " I groom upcoming designers and make them aware of what the fashion scenario is like, because all they have is theoretical knowledge. It is very vital for them to know how the industry operates and my task involves telling them about body postures, language, diction and building up general awareness, which benefits them to a great extent when it comes to their trade. My focus is on what the current trends are and how a designer can balance individuality with contemporary trends and be a financially successful fashion designer."

With photographers, designers, advertising guys and models interacting with the students these classes lend insight as well as build up the confidence of the budding designers. Working in close association with dancer Shiamak Davar, Gawade has been choreographing some fashion shows. His creative instincts are not just restricted to the ramp. " I recently worked on revamping the look of the shop called Millionaire, which has been an established all men's shop. In trying to keep pace with the times I have added an element of style to it. I redid the clothes as per current trends and also reshot and styled the entire ad," avers Gawade.

Having watched the fashion industry from such close quarters, Gawade observes,"The fashion scene is more open today. Earlier, it was just a certian section of society which was affected by trends, but today everybody in Mumbai is fashion conscious. The fashion industry is definitely cut throat but one thing that sets it apart is the fact that here we get to see real creativity on display."

Gawade ardently believes that designer Hemant Trivedi has given the world of Indian fashion a whole new dimension. He says, "After Lara Dutta and Yukta Mookey won international titles, more people have started looking at modeling as a profession. There are people who come with there parent's permission, not just from the big metros, but also from small town as we have seen in the case of Priyanka Chopra."

Speaking about beauty pageants themselves, Gawade says, "We must accept the fact that we are better off now and India is not just a developing country . We are on our way to being called a developed country. I certainly do not agree with rumours that beauty pageants are rigged, preplanned or predecided. We have Lara Dutta who speaks like a dream and is a very intelligent girl and Priyanka Chopra, who is very articulate. Favorites are always there, but as far as the title goes I really do not think that there is any foul play"

Gawade asserts,"What I am doing is a sincere effort on my part. Being a fashion consultant is my passion." According to Kedar Gawade if one wants to become a model one needs to possess three qualities : good height, average looks and a big attitude.

By: Sharmistha Chatterjee