Renzo Rosso's top 3 tips for fashion and life

“In order for fashion to progress, we have to always be willing to invest in someone or something new and embrace risks, regardless of the economy.”

Renzo Rosso, President, OTB Group, Owner of Diesel Jeans brand couldn’t have put fashion and life in a better perspective than this. He was in Mumbai during the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week 2016, in conversation with renowned Indian designer, Sabyasachi Mukherjee.

One of the first things which hit you when you see Renzo is his energy and aura which he brings to any room he walks into. However, very few know of his rise from obscurity to a famed denim magnate. That was one of the things which was on the agenda when both Sabyasachi and Renzo walked in to commence an hour long talk.

The entire theme of the Lakme Fashion Week 2016 was of fashion meets technology. That became pretty evident, once you stepped into the venue with smartphones, DSLRs, live tweeting, live streaming and online digital contests.

Renzo also had a few tricks up his sleeve.

We’ll get to that later.

Here are 3 key takeaways for anyone stepping into the field of fashion and startups.

1. Be Bold

Renzo was always a bold person at heart since the very beginning. He got fired from his job within a week. His boss claimed that he was too lazy at work. After much coercion, he was brought back to the company, only to resign once again. It was Adriano Goldschmeid, from the Genius Group, who would eventually mentor the young Renzo and paved the way for a pioneer.

Renzo took many bold decisions and gambles in his life because he always wanted to be different than other people.

Imagine taking on the mighty Levis brand by opening a 15,000 square feet store in New York right opposite the Levis store.

That’s a bold display of grit and determination, pretty much like the bold display here.

2. Stay grounded and humble

He’s done it all: became a billionaire, won many awards and is known the world as a management guru as well as a fashion icon. Yet, Renzo manages to keep his feet deep into the grounds from which he has risen up.

Despite the fact that the fashion capital Milan is close by, he chose his hometown Bassano del Grappa as the headquarters for his company.

“I never get jaded.” That’s all that he has to say for himself.

When one stays grounded, nature opens up any vistas for creativity. Stay humble, stay close to our planet Earth in this manner.

3. Hire and communicate with the best team

Renzo believes in the power of a great team. This is one ideal which has stuck with him since his early days. He always goes out of his way to hire the best people for the business and then ensures that he maintains a healthy communication channel with all of them.

He jokingly tells Sabyasachi that 300 is his favorite movie. 300 is the perfect example of how formidable an army can become if they form and stick together as a team. That’s what Renzo has also wanted with his teams all across the world.

In order to communicate with the best people in the best manner, one needs to be swift and gentle as the wind. Here’s a way in which even you can become like the wind.

So, I had mentioned earlier about the tech savvy side of Renzo. He is always active on the social media. He never misses an opportunity to show his consumers, employees and the world the places he has visited or the people he has met. Even during his trip to India, Renzo was happily clicking pictures, tweeting, posting on Instagram and Facebook and liking other posts.