Indian designers are going places on the international celebrity scene

Hyderabad: Gone are the days when the mere suggestion of an international celebrity donning an ensemble by an Indian designer would result in a mini-celebration back home.

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen was famously shot in a green sari by Suneet Varma. Designers Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla draped Victoria Beckham as she posed for the cover of an Indian fashion magazine. Jewellery designer Farah Khan designed a bejeweled crown for Beyonce Knowles’ album. From Katy Perry to Rihanna, Manish Arora, known for his contemporary designs, has been a favourite among international celebs. And then we have designers Shane and Falguni Peacock, whose designs have been worn by Paris Hilton, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Madonna and others.

“For us it all started with Fergie, the first international celebrity to wear our outfit which helped grab a lot of eye balls. After dressing Fergie there was no looking back – pop stars, Hollywood actresses, TV hosts, celebrities and others, everyone wanted to wear something from us,” say designers Falguni and Shane. Designer Manav Gangwani’s ensembles have been worn by Lady Gaga, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and others. The wedding attires of supermodel Kendra Spears and her husband Prince Rahim Aga Khan, son of Aga Khan, was also done by Manav.

The designer admits that it’s all about cultivating your relationship with the stars. “Naomi Campbell was the one who first wore my designs. In fact, she recently wore my sari for the Charolotte Olympia Launch in London. It’s all about knowing the pulse of the celebrity because once you get that right, they never go anywhere,” says Manav.

And once the designers have made their “appearance” internationally, the ripple effect takes care of the rest. “I have an agency in LA, which does the PR for me,” says Gaurav Gupta, whose designs have been worn by Lady Victoria Hervey Shirley Manson and others. “The fashion industry is a small world, so the moment you go international everybody knows about you. I remember the dress I designed for Lady Victoria Hervey; she wore it for the Golden Globes. It was reported in 10,000 blogs and the Huffington Post wrote that it’s a dress that shouldn’t be seen by children. That was certainly the turning point for me,” laughs Gaurav.  Designers also admit that many a times, they hardly get to interact with the celebrity as it’s their stylists who first show interest in their designs. “We have been showcasing at NY Fashion Week for years where we invite various celebrity stylists. This year when Lady Gaga’s stylist attended our show, her team loved all the looks. They took lots of pictures during the show and the very next day we got a sourcing request from her team. We have met Lady Gaga at her perfume launch. It was exciting because she knew us as designers and was also aware that she had worn our outfits in the past,” say Shane and Falguni.

“An advice I would like to give designers who want to go international is this: Don’t talk about your collaboration with an international celebrity before they do. I worked on Kendra Spears’ dress for 10 months, but it was she who  first Tweeted about it. I always wait for the celebrity to break the news,” says Manav. “One also needs to be very professional and network with stylists.  In the West, everyone is looking for something edgy and different. Everyone wants to stand out in the crowd. So as designers it’s very important to experiment and constantly evolve,” add Shane and Falguni.