20.7.10

Interview with Bibhu Mohapatra: Fashion’s newest star-Vogue India






VOGUE INDIA

JULY 21, 2010

Interview with Bibhu Mohapatra: Fashion’s newest fare

If there are two things Bibhu exudes, its humility and candor. Add unassuming to the mixture and it just isn’t your typical designer behavior. Bibhu Mohapatra, Orissa-born designer, FIT graduate, Assistant Designer at Halston, Design Director for nine years at J. Mendel who finally launched his own label in 2009 Fall – is all about putting personality over fashion and individualistic style over image-enhancing brand mania. From designing for the stars like Cate Blanchett, Salma Hayek and Sienna Miller to being selected as part of the CDFA Fashion Incubator program, to receiving the Young Innovator Award from the National Arts Club, Bibhu is all set to take his fashion stakes a notch higher this year. His Fall 2010 collection is another feather in his cap with In conversation with Vogue India on his visit to the office, Bibhu, in all modesty, tells us why brand India is making waves in the west and why his Fall 2010 collection is all about precision.  
 Have you met any Indian designers? Had a chance to look at the work coming out of India?

Personally I haven't met anybody, but I've seen a lot of work come out of India in the recent years. I was at Bombay Electric yesterday and I saw some great work. It's beautiful; I also make it a point to read about every new Indian designer even when I’m in New York. News travels faster, and I think the best work that has been recognized is definitely the designs of Sabyasachi and Rajesh Pratap Singh. I love nachiket actually, Very promising young designer.

The news is clear, India is on the radar.  People are very well aware of Indian designers in the west; they want to experience all that’s new out there. There's a lot of amazing talent and many new things to say.
Odd choice that you have decided to launch your label in recession?

It's a little bit by design, a little bit by luck. In the last year, 500,000 new businesses have started in NYC area alone. Recession is known for entrepreneurship. At this time people have lost their jobs, or have been given the pink slip and they are more prone to take on challenges because they have nothing to lose. For me, any business or anything new that you start, you need some amount of groundwork to bring it up. I would rather do my incubation and my ground work now while the market is still tender and by the time the market turns around, I would have already paid my dues.
Smart strategy, did it work?

It worked. All my designer friends were wondering how it will be. I was the design director for J.Mendel for 9 years and it was a great job, but I really needed the challenge. So I took some time off and then came back and started the brand. I have a Masters in Economics, I needed to begin somewhere.
How difficult is it to stand out among new talent, among much variety out there in NYC? What was tough about working on your own label?

It is extremely tough to stand out and say something important. But it isn't as much difficult if you have something new and exciting to say, through your work. What's tough is the commercial aspect of it. The nitty gritties, the real business side of it- that’s tough. I am very hands-on that way. I take out the garbage at the end of the day; sweep the floors when I come in the morning. Every small thing is a part of the whole process and I love it. Finances, running the business - to me that is the biggest challenge of all.
There must be a lot of pressure as well?

You know every time a collection is out; it’s critically acclaimed or trashed out. Whatever it is, it gets tougher even if you're doing well because you have already set the bar higher. Then, the only choice for you is to perform better. If it's not that, then there is no challenge. I'm happy to take on bigger challenges. I am true to my craft. I believe in small things: getting my fabric, draping it, creating the shape, making paper dolls. I'm super hands on. I do have an understanding in the technicalities. When i was a kid, I would watch my dad put his motorbike apart and try to put it all together. People think I'm a control freak.
Any Indian influences you have brought to your design?

India, it’s my heritage, I can never have enough of Indian influences in my design. But sometimes I have to tone it down because I am trained in the west and my clients are from the west. In many subtle ways though, be it the fit, the drape or the colour, the 
jali work on modern materials- all of it, it’s very Indian. The juxtaposition of opposites is my design philosophy. Taking something old world to make something modern, or taking something very masculine to make it very feminine.What’s the inspiration for your Fall 2010 collection?

I was always fascinated by the fascist era in Europe, the 30s when Hollywood was at its peak, when aviation was big. I’ve loved the movie, Conformista and it gave me the canvas. I remember a scene when they would make clothes with metal straps for people and they would measure them to the precise inches, because human bodies are not 100 % symmetrical. I was fascinated by the whole movement. Metal straps are tough to sew; needles have to be changed all the time. My attempt was not to romanticize the era; it’s to show you how people lived every day during a certain time.
How do you describe a woman who wears your label? 

I think it would be someone who has a real passion for life, someone who loves life. Definitely not someone who is passionate about fashion, but someone who is passionate about art, literature or even raising kids, or having a  family. Someone who is dynamic, who does things for herself and for her life. I don’t want to categorise them into any age category, they can be anyone from 20s to their 60s. I find women fascinating, in every woman I met, I experience something new in them.
Icon who fit your bill?

Definitely Cate Blanchett. I dressed her once and I've seen her and I think she is her own self even if she’s wearing a design. She has that aura about her, it’s really inspiring. My outfits lend her a crutch to be herself.
Isn't it sometimes the other way around, designers wanting to dress a certain woman and make her become a part of their tribe, their design? 

That’s not true, then, I might as well, make a mannequin wear my dress. The clothes come to life, and it should be what they do to the clothes, not the other way around. I think in India, Kareena Kapoor wears beautiful clothes, but it’s not about the dress, it’s what she is doing to that dress. It is then that fashion comes alive.
Have you had a chance to understand Bollywood? Have you dressed up any Bollywood celebrities?

Actually in 2008, I was dragged by a friend to the sets of Teen Patti and I played a small cameo in the movie, with Big B. I was excited to be on the set, I loved playing an extra. I love Bollywood, I have great respect for the craft. It’s all about team work and that’s common between Bollywood and me. Katrina Kaif is a classic beauty, she’s very strong. I also Dimple Kapadia, my all time favourite. I would love to dress up Aishwarya, Kajol and Deepika. I have the biggest film library at home, Bollywood is like 
dal-chawal.What does fashion mean to you?

To me it’s a marriage between art and commerce. It starts from art and then depending on how far you take it, it could be anything. Fashion has to go beyond the gallery. For me fashion has to go beyond art into a common person's life. If it cannot do that, then its just art. I want it to touch someone’s life every day.
Give us five style essentials every woman must have?
A classic LBD, the perfect high heels, the most amazing perfume, an evening clutch and curiosity about new things in life.

Hillary Swank in Bibhu Mohapatra

Hillary Swank in Bibhu Mohapatra
on way to Late show in New York

Me

Me
in the studio

Bibhu Mohapatra fall 2009 Presentation