Indian-born designer Bibhu Mohapatra, who
has dressed Michelle Obama and Gwyneth Paltrow, unveiled a stunning
fall/winter collection in New York inspired by one of the most important
women
in Chinese history.
Mohapatra, who has been a fixture at New York Fashion Week since
2009, was
inspired by empress dowager Cixi, the former concubine turned 19th century
regent who was a powerful figure in China for nearly 50 years.
British Indian author Salman Rushdie, one of the greatest living
writers in
the English language, was guest of honor and posed for a series of selfies
with Mohapatra and female guests backstage.
Mohapatra said the collection celebrated “the prowess and poise of the
mysterious female mind,” and was greeted by ecstatic applause when he
appeared
on the runway at the end of the show.
The designer, who dressed the first lady when she and Barack Obama
made a
landmark visit to India in 2015, said he would “love” to dress Hillary
Clinton, campaigning to become America’s first woman president.
Dragonflies were leitmotif of the collection, fashioned into double-wrap
leather belts, made into leather chokers and picked out in embroidery and
sequins on evening dresses and coats.
“Dragonflies really have a lot of cultural meaning to everything,”
Mohapatra told AFP backstage between being congratulated by friends.
“They’re prophetic in a lot of instances, it’s about good crop, good
weather and it’s meaningful,” he said.
As a child, he used to try to catch them but his mother would warn him to
be careful. “They’re very delicate, so I love them so I wanted to
incorporate
them,” he said.
His 2016 fall/winter collection also celebrated opulent furs — his
mastery
testament to his past nine-year stint as design director at iconic French
furrier J. Mendel.
There were furs in all shapes, sizes and colors: a black fur collar and
hem
on a black leather trench coat, a stripy red and orange fur coat, a teal fox
vest and rosewater mink.
Despite the discomfort that some designers feel about using real fur,
Mohapatra said it was important that they were sourced responsibly.
“As we’re going into global uncertainty climate wise, it’s important to
be
protected and furs are really practical no matter what,” he said. “They have
their stigma — so does silk, so does cotton — and as long as they are
sourced responsibly they are fine.”
A photo posted by Bibhu Mohapatra (@bibhumohapatra) on
Feb 17, 2016 at
1:59pm PSTDay wear was a lean silhouette with high necklines and long skirts.
Evening
wear was sumptuous — the overall effect princess meets Bollywood meets Star
Wars with regal trains.
There were strapless ball gowns, figure-hugging sheaths and black
velveteen
that fell in soft folds. Grecian-style dresses in silk chiffon billowed in
white and green, and his final gown was strapless ivory and ebony with a
thick
gold train.There was lavish use of imperial red, pagoda embroidery, embroidered
dragon
fly and a chocolate chinchilla coat with alligator waist detail.
The collection hit several key trends of the season, including buckle
accessories as also seen from Alexander Wang and Vera Wang.
As at Oscar de la Renta, Mohapatra included a giant bow at the back of
the
neck on an evening dress, his in gold, and there was metallic brocade as at
Michael Kors in the morning.Mohapatra grew up in Orissa, in eastern India and moved to the United
States in 1996. After getting a masters in economics from Utah State
University he studied at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology.
He launched his eponymous collection in New York in 2009 and his clothes
sell across the United States, Europe, Russia and the Middle East. (AFP)