 "Bibhu Mohapatra: Eye On The White House")
Flashes of red and gold…delicate lace on sleeves…sumptuous silks, sparkly metallics, stylish furs…all tied together with a whimsical dragonfly motif — Bibhu Mohapatra brought his Fall/Winter 2016 collection to Toronto late last month, for a fashion show that served as the finale to the annual gala of Anokhi Media, a Canadian lifestyle media company catering to the South Asian community.
The New York-based fashion designer had debuted this collection way back in February during the New York Fashion Week. But in Toronto, he looked as intense as if he was unveiling it for the first time, huddling with his staff, issuing instructions and hurrying backstage several times before the models strutted out in what Vogue had described as “fine fabrics and metallic textures (that) drape sinuously around the body creating enticing asymmetries”.
The New York-based fashion designer had debuted this collection way back in February during the New York Fashion Week. But in Toronto, he looked as intense as if he was unveiling it for the first time, huddling with his staff, issuing instructions and hurrying backstage several times before the models strutted out in what Vogue had described as “fine fabrics and metallic textures (that) drape sinuously around the body creating enticing asymmetries”.
The designer’s intensity was an illustration of the fact that fashion may be an art form, but a fashion brand is a business, and Mohapatra takes his responsibilities as an entrepreneur as seriously as those of a fashion designer. In an interview, he said the balance between creativity and commerce is one he has to work on all the time. “Gone are the days when I would just come in and sit and sketch. When the business grew I kept my team very tight, so we all are wearing different hats. My calendar is filled with PR meeting, licensing meeting, reviewing cash flow…So I’m very cautious not to get entirely consumed by the business aspect of it. People love the product because it’s well thought out and has a DNA that continues to build on itself with every collection and if I don’t spend time on the creative part there won’t be a business.”
Seven years after striking out on his own, the Indian-born designer has not only planted his flag in the world of haute couture, he is raring to conquer more territory. He has already made a name for himself as a designer favoured by well-known women like US First Lady Michelle Obama and filmstars Gwyneth Paltrow and Hilary Swank. But it’s not just about celebrity – his clothes are described as a mix of fine fabrics, colours and architecture, and are sold at luxury stores like Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus.
Deepika Padukone in Bibhu Mohapatra.
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Now, Mohapatra wants to go beyond merely dressing women. “My plan is to build a luxury brand that has different aspects of lifestyle, whether it’s shoes, accessories, whether it’s home collection, interiors,” he says. “I want the brand to be present in a lot of other aspects of my client’s life, meaning she would have shoes, she would have a living space that is designed by Bibhu, or she would have the home collection, the fine linen that she sleeps on.” A bridal line is a long-planned extension, as is a more accessible line with slightly lower prices.
The foray into diamond jewellery in April, when he launched the Artemis collection in India in collaboration with De Beers’ premier brand Forevermark, is part of that expansion. Mohapatra said he had already been presenting the collection in various markets before the launch in India, and will soon take it to the UAE, China, Europe and the US. He also has a fur collection, sold through Saks Fifth Avenue.
He learnt to work with furs during a nine-year career with the French furrier and design house J Mendel, where he turned his unfamiliarity with the material to his advantage. “There are traditional rules of course, but I didn’t know anything about that so I sort of started breaking those rules unknowingly and creating something unusual, things that were modern and not traditional or old looking,” Mohapatra says.
He learnt to work with furs during a nine-year career with the French furrier and design house J Mendel, where he turned his unfamiliarity with the material to his advantage. “There are traditional rules of course, but I didn’t know anything about that so I sort of started breaking those rules unknowingly and creating something unusual, things that were modern and not traditional or old looking,” Mohapatra says.
His dream of going into business for himself ran headlong into the economic slump triggered by the 2008 financial crisis, but the designer with a Masters degree in economics persevered with his plan, telling himself, “Anything you start any time you’d have to do the groundwork for a couple of years and then it will start getting traction. So might as well do the groundwork carefully when the economy is sensitive and then by the time the economy turns around I would be ready to take on the bigger opportunities.” That’s exactly what happened, he recalls. “I was very careful with my first 4-5 collections, doing everything on a shoestring budget.”
Michelle and Barack Obama arriving in India in January 2015 to attend the Republic Day parade. Michelle Obama is wearing an outfit from Bibhu Mohapatra's Spring 2015 collection.
Even in the short time he has been in business, Mohapatra realizes the market has changed, thanks largely to social media. A season’s worth of feedback is now available almost instantly, and from a variety of sources. For instance, he has a big following in the West Asia, and says people reach out through email or Instagram. He is very active on Instagram, but it’s a “very business and brand-focused presence”.
Mohapatra meticulously collects data showing retailers in the West Asia are switching their preference for colorful, opulent collections, to something more minimalistic and geometric. Or that tastes in China are evolving from flashy logos on products to refined, unique pieces. He also mines his own past collections for data, with a laser focus on how to increase sales. “I look back at things that were successful. Not only things that were critically successful, how people wrote about it, but also what actually sold.”
Mohapatra meticulously collects data showing retailers in the West Asia are switching their preference for colorful, opulent collections, to something more minimalistic and geometric. Or that tastes in China are evolving from flashy logos on products to refined, unique pieces. He also mines his own past collections for data, with a laser focus on how to increase sales. “I look back at things that were successful. Not only things that were critically successful, how people wrote about it, but also what actually sold.”
He is currently working on his Spring 2017 collection, and while unsurprisingly cagey about what he will send down the runway, he offered a hint: “My next collection is about giving due credit to amazing muses that have always inspired painters, writers, sculptors but never got their due credit in a social setting.” But one part of his collection will be predictable – a set of “Bibhu classics”, comprising sheath dresses, tailored canvas jackets and stretch crepe trousers with wide and narrow legs. “Sometimes we reinterpret it with different colours, different fabrications. It may not always walk the runway, but we have a version of those outfits that we know people love season after season,” he says.
The Rourkela, Orissa-born Mohapatra says his passion for entrepreneurship came from his late father, an employee of the town’s famous steel plant, who wanted to go into business making industrial steel products. Now the son has translated that dream using silks, furs and diamonds.
While Mohapatra and fellow designer Naeem Khan are now marquee names in fashion, and also the best-known Indian-born designers in the US, the most powerful endorsement for both arguably came from Michelle Obama, who wore their creations at high profile events. I couldn’t let Mohapatra go without asking the inevitable question – no, not about Obama, but with the presidential election just two months away, about the next occupants of the White House.
“I would love to dress, make something for Hillary,” he said, referring to the Democratic candidate. “I think she’s amazing, so if the opportunity comes I would definitely be there to support her with my craft.” And should Donald Trump’s wife Melania become the First Lady, and Ivanka the First Daughter? “I think they are beautiful and they have their own sense of style. I think we did dress Melania a few times when I was designing for J Mendel and so if they like my work, sure, why not?”
“I would love to dress, make something for Hillary,” he said, referring to the Democratic candidate. “I think she’s amazing, so if the opportunity comes I would definitely be there to support her with my craft.” And should Donald Trump’s wife Melania become the First Lady, and Ivanka the First Daughter? “I think they are beautiful and they have their own sense of style. I think we did dress Melania a few times when I was designing for J Mendel and so if they like my work, sure, why not?”