To celebrate the company’s 20 years of work in the fashion industry, the ready-to-wear brand, Splash, will launch its limited edition calendar for 2014 in an intimate private event next Thursday, December 19th. Dubaibliss.com caught up with Raza Baig, CEO of Landmark Group’s retail outlets Splash and Iconic for an exclusive interview.
Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? What’s your educational background? What was your first job?
I am from Mumbai but Dubai has been my home for the past 20 years. I am a graduate from Mumbai University and my first job was teaching a KG student when I was just 13 years old. In my early years in Mumbai I did a variety of jobs including being a PR executive for Dynasty Culture Club, a tour conductor, a ticket agent in a travel agency, some key modeling assignments, ran a cable and garments business side by side along with a successful tutorial.
What does fashion mean to you??
Fashion to me is all about convenience; it’s about expressing personal style and moods through clothes and accessories.
How would you define your city’s fashion?
Dubai’s fashion is very dynamic. The city is a melting pot of cultures, nationalities and age groups and people who are well read and well-traveled. All these elements work together to bring forth Dubai as one of the most fashionable cities, with a very high ratio of international brands being available making fashion accessible to suit all pockets.
Who are some of your favorite designers?
DSquared, Louis Vuitton and Issey Miyake are some of my favorites along with Prada for shoes and Bvlgari for accessories. I adore Jean Paul Gaultier & Alexander McQueen.
What do you dislike about this industry?
There is nothing that I dislike about this industry in particular but the fast pace can be both a bane and boon at times and also sometimes when Fashionistas have a chip on their shoulder. I am turned off by the business because it creates devils.
What is one characteristic that every leader should possess?
A leader must empower their team and put in their trust in them completely in order for them and the Brand to flourish.
Salman Khan is Splash’s brand ambassador; if you were to choose from Hollywood, who would you likely pick to represent your brand?
I would chose Brad Pitt from Hollywood and David Beckham from the sports industry.
Do you shop from Splash?? Which is your favorite store??
60% of my work wardrobe is from the Splash and Iconic. However only because of convenience my favorite Splash store is the one at Mall of Emirates as I stay in Palm Jumeirah.
Lots of recent (and not so recent graduates) continue to struggle to find a job. What is the one piece of advice that you wish you knew when you were graduating?
In my days most students didn’t know why they were studying a subject, just like me. I never loved Accounts and had to do it because it had to be done. If you study something you love, I am sure you will excel and that passion will show in the CV and at the interview. I did Accounts but had no agenda of becoming an Accountant. Even if I tried I would have failed. God was kind to me and directed me to an industry which I grew to love. I can only imagine what an expert I would have been if I had studied fashion.
I presume even today students are studying for the sake of education, but their heart and soul lie in other fields or sometimes they just don’t know. These are the students who are continuing to struggle and the passion is lacking.
Where can Dubaibliss.com readers find out more about you and your work??
To know more about our work you can connect on our social media channels and to know about me personally, Facebook is where I am the most active as Raza Beig and on Twitter @razabeigsplash.
Official Website: http://www.splashfashions.com/