You'll have to wear the tag of being Oprah Winfrey's tailor forever," a friend cheekily cautioned Sabyasachi Mukherjee on his recent visit to the Jaipur Literature Festival. The comment referred to a moment that must've lasted no longer than half a minute but made for terrific reportage. American talk show host Oprah Winfrey, on the last day of her Mumbai visit, dropped by at the fashion designer's store, and left it half an hour later, but not before giving Sabya a doting pat on his cheek as the two stood at the store entrance. "A defining picture of my career," he calls it, in between boyish bursts of laughter.
Winfrey came by unannounced, leaving a customer in tears as American television's cult figure brushed past her. "Winfrey shopped quite a bit," says Sabya, taking with her boxes full of embroidered headbands, muslin dresses, and outfits for her goddaughter Kirby. The Kolkata-based designer's association with Winfrey dates back to 2009, when Aishwarya Rai Bachchan appeared on Winfrey's show wearing a Sabya sari. "This time, Mrs Parmeshwar Godrej called me up to say Oprah wanted me to design a sari that she'd wear to the Jaipur Fest," he shares.
That's the only brief Sabya and his team had to work with. Research revealed that apple green was Winfrey's favourite colour. A tonal apple green sari with a sheer black blouse and embroidered clutch was finally put together.
Deviating slightly from designing collections for his stores and dressing India's famous, including Vidya Balan and Rani Mukerji, Sabya is busy with conceptualising the sets for the finale concert of Baajaa Gaajaa 2012, an upcoming three-day festival in Pune that celebrates music from 21st century India.
No comments:
Post a Comment