Rifat Fashion

Rifat Fashion is located at No. 42 Gobinda Banerjee Lane, which is right by the RSV Hospital in Tollygunge. It’s a busy little stretch of road. We share the area with a lot of other small shops and people heading in and out of the hospital. Our workspace is pretty simple. We have our machines lined up and piles of fabric sitting in the corners. It is not the kind of place with a fancy showroom or mannequins in the window. We mostly focus on getting the sewing done. The floor is usually covered in bits of thread and scraps of cloth by midday. We just sweep it up when we’re finished. It’s a small team here, and we’ve all known each other for a long time. We don't use any big words to describe what we do. We just take the measurements and do the stitching. The light in the shop isn't the brightest, so we have a few extra lamps over the worktables. Sometimes the traffic outside gets backed up, and we hear the ambulances going past the hospital. It becomes a regular part of the day. We don't have a big sign outside, just a small one so people know they have the right house. It’s a quiet life of work and talking with the neighbors who stop by to say hello. We don't try to be anything we aren't, we just focus on the garments.