DenimHunt

to Shubhankar, social responsibility is not an option, but a condition of doing business today and he has committed the brand to the UN mission until 2015. The list goes on and on and it would be easy to rave about his accomplishments, which he graciously credits to the members of his team, and are numerous enough to fill several pages of any magazine. However, what I found most impressive was his far from ordinary backstory and a novel concept he liked to call "Mindstyle".

Armed with a Chemistry degree from one of the top five Universities in England, Shubhankar worked nights for UK band New Order which exposed him to London underground music and culture. Eventually, becoming disillusioned with his day job, he went on to get an MBA and was moved to the marketing department. The disparity of being a scientist working in the Marketing department would eventually kick off a creative philosophy of juxtaposed elements, unexpected combinations and changes of context that can be seen throughout his work and most prominently in G-Star RAW programs.

According to Shubhankar, there is no selling of a lifestyle when it comes to branding ---an idea which is in direct contrast to the philosophies of mainstream companies--- but only the offering of styling possibilities. To expand on this idea, he regards the G-Star design team, not as product designers, but as product engineers who offer styling solutions to consumers. This all is incorporated into a term which he's coined called "Mindstyle."

Mindstyle, is the opposite of lifestyle. It is more of an intellectual concept that gives consumers more chances to engage with the brand. As an outsider, his creative philosophy of contrasts combined with the concept of Mindstyle, at first, might seem confusing, but when talking to Shubhankar it all made perfect sense. Case-in-point, G-Star's current campaign features the world's number