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"They
are various cuts and styles in maroon, off-white,
electric blue and rust which I have used
keeping in mind the 6ft 3in height and medium
complexion of Abhishek," said Datta
who for decades has reigned supreme in the
men's fashion world, weaving magic on otherwise
bland pieces of kurtas and achkans.
"Brinda
Rai had met me way back in 2003 when Aishwarya was shooting for
Rituparno Ghosh's "Chokher Bali" in Kolkata and bought
two shawls for Ash. Now she came back to me for the Ash-Abhishek's
wedding. It is a nice feeling considering that I'm not into the
ramp circuit and the occasion is one that every designer would have
loved to be a part of," said Datta who brought a gust of sartorial
freshness to the orthodox world of male fashion a decade before
the word "metrosexual" was coined.
Sharbari
is a designer who gate crashed to only dress up men in ethnic chic
and herald the re-arrival of designer kurtas and coloured dhotis
in a throwback to the rich old sartorial traditions of the country.
From
Jagjit Singh, Vijay Mallya and Russi Modi to Leander Paes, Kapil
Dev, Imran Khan, M.F. Hussain, Baichung Bhutia and Sourav Ganguly
- none could resist the elegantly intricate designs by Datta.
"I
am not divulging every detail of the attires because there should
be an element of surprise that all brides and bridegrooms love to
unveil," said Datta.
"I
have only avoided using black because that is not considered auspicious
for Indian functions," Datta added.
"I
can dress up Abhishek and not Ash because you know I only design
for men. But from what I have heard, the bride would be wearing
a benarasi sari. They have bought a large number of saris from Varanasi,"
said the designer.
ABOUT
SHARBARI DATTA
Sharbari
Datta is the daughter of celebrated Bengali poet Ajit Datta. She
grew up to the rhythms of poetry on the one hand and dance and music
on the other, imbibing the essence of culture deeply. She did her
graduation from Presidency College and took her Master's Degree
in Philosophy from Calcutta University. Yet, arts remained an enduring
love.
"It
was a bleak world of stripes and checks that I gate crashed into.
A drab world, where the most daring sartorial adventure man could
imagine was a silk tie that has, over the years, managed to shift
from diagonal bands to paisleys and floral motifs. Or a dhoti with
a border and a kurta with modest embroidery at the neck and shoulders,"
recalled Sharbari.
"The
traditional cuts and styles that you have seen in period films found
a social place in my works. I am a revivalist designer. When I started
it was a new concept. They said it was effeminate but I changed
all those notions," said the designer proudly.
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