Words: Fathima Abdul Kader    Images: Eka Lakhani

There is nothing like learning from one of the masters of design in the nation to ensure the right education in costume designing. Eka Lakhani, with a number of great projects to her name, started her career as an assistant costume designer to Sabyasachi Mukherjee in Raavanan and Raavan. Her later works garnered mass acclaim, especially with movies such as OK Kanmani, NH10 and Kaatru Veliyidai. When asked about the response to her latest work Kaatru Veliyidai, Eka Lakhani said “While I have received some negative feedback here and there, generally it has been great. Since Aditi Rao Hydari is stunning anyways, she pulled everything off with such ease. I think a big part of a great costume is when whoever is wearing it is comfortable wearing it and they look at ease.”

Meant to be

For someone who swoons at the thought of raiding Sonam Kapoor’s wardrobe, it is surprising to know that Eka Lakhani rebelled initially at the thought of studying design. The designer’s father – Bharath Lakhani is a pioneer in the field of textile in Mumbai and she recounted how she fought tooth and nail not to study design, “There was a point in time when my father took me to National Institute of Design to show me around, but I rebelled profusely claiming that I am an intelligent girl and how can you assume that I’d want to go into the arts field just because that is our family business.”

Her father honored her wishes and asked her to try her hand at studying what she wanted, but said that he had hopes she will come back to the field. What her father foresaw happened two years into her undergraduate studies and she went on to join SNDT PVP to get her degree in fashion/apparel design and winning two awards at the final show – for best construction and collection of the year – was the right ego boost to pursue the career even more. She later went to Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and did courses on fashion design, fashion styling and costume designing.

After coming back to India, she was still torn between choosing her area of focus but her first movie project helped her to make up her mind and she went on to say “when I started working on Raavan, I was still contemplating doing high fashion, but the one year when I was working as the assistant costume designer for Sabyasachi Mukherjee, helped me make up my mind and realize that costume design is what I want to.” Eka Lakhani made her solo costume design debut with the Malayalam film Urumi, followed by the Tamil film Kadal and a number of other great movies.

Making a signature

That particular skirt that Nithya Menon wore in OK Kanmani, the striped tee shirt and jacket that Anushka Sharma wore in NH10, there is a reason behind every piece of apparel that a character wears. While every costume designer’s process varies, for Eka Lakhani designing starts from the script level – look at the story and the character and start creating character sketches. She went on to say,  “while working with Sabyasachi Mukherjee for Raavan, it was hammered into my head that every piece of clothing that we give to a character needs to have a reason; whether she wears a big tote bag, backpack or sling bag all depends on the character’s occupation, mood, situation in the movie etc. If the character is going through a hard time, they wouldn’t necessarily dress in the way they’d normally dress.”

While “the bigger the better” is a mantra many like to use, Eka Lakhani is a lover of realistic costume designs and prefer such works to elaborate costume dramas. Especially movies like Highway or Udta Punjab where you can only work with a limited number of pieces is a great challenge that she would have liked to have worked on. That being said, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s theatrical movies are a costume designer’s dream come true and getting to work in something like Ram Leela or Bajirao Mastani is a dream that she has been nurturing. Eka Lakhani’s latest work Haseena starring Shraddha Kapoor opens on July 14, 2017. The costume designer with a love for realistic character designs has worked with the likes of Santhosh Sivan and Mani Ratnam and has a number of intriguing movies that are awaiting release.

Wardrobe Staples:

This Gucci bag is 4 years old and I still use in every alternate day. It goes with everything that I wear and however old it looks, it still has its charm. Its perfect for office, shoot and semi-formal day occasions.

These brass earrings are nearly 35 years old. My father had bought these for my mom after their engagement. My mom passed these on to me when I grew up and stated loving ethnic earring. I usually wear these for all my first meetings and consider them very lucky.

Amrapali is my favorite jewelry brand. These earrings were love at first sight and I keep looking for occasions to keep wearing them.

This ring is a gift from Saloni, head stylist from my team. I love the intricacy the design has inspire of the big size. Its my favorite ring.

These Rayban shades and quirky yet classic. Suit my face and my attitude perfectly.

This dupata from Vrisa was a gift from my favorite designer duo Rahul and Shikha. I love the colors. Its a perfect add on for any summer outfit.

Haseena

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Kaatru Veliyidai

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Ok Jaanu

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Urumi

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Ok Go – Writings on the Wall

NORMA KAMALI Bishop Printed Bandeau Swimsuit

MARNI Colour-block Metallic Knitted Polo Shirt

There’s been a major rave for videos with special effects. But in 2014, American alternative rock band OK Go opted for the old-fashioned method of using live illusions created by camera shots, sans the overused post-processing special effects. The band’s lead singer Damian Kulash co-directed a video “The Writing’s on the Wall” with creative director Aaron Duffy and Bob Partington, the video’s architect. What’s stunning was a series of visual perspective illusions shot in just one take.Though the illusions were tricky, the colour schemes were simple. Primary colours such as red, yellow and blue were predominant. The playful colours paired with the illusions to bring about a quirky appearance.

AQUAZZURA Pina Colada appliquéd suede sandals

ERICKSON BEAMON Copacabana gold-plated, crystal and enamel necklace

This colour combination is an old school scheme,with one fine example in Roy Lichtenstein’s pop art. Nevertheless, the juxtaposition of bright colours against a negative space has been trending these days. It’s been spotted in Justin Bieber’s video “Sorry” and Pharell’s video, “Marilyn Monroe”.

Gwen Stefani – The Sweet Escape

J.CREW
Glitter-finished
Leather Pumps

LANVIN Metallic Blazer

You may be able to count the umpteen number of videos that use black and white stripes. In the famous billboard favourite of the millennium, “Sweet Escape” by Gwen Stefani was a video streamed for fashion and sets. She redefined the looks of the prison stripes and the raunchy Rapunzel braid.

PAPER LONDON Oria Off-theshoulder Striped Silk-organza Top

PAPER LONDON Electric Striped Silkorganza Wide-leg Pants

Art director Jolie Clemens used a tried and trusted combination of gold, black and white; apparent in styles by master couturiers like Versace, Givenchy, and Nikhil Thampi. Another vivid example of this colour palette is the Great Gatsby’s  album cover.

Kanye West: Runway

VANESSA SEWARD ‘Blondine’ Dress

PAULA MENDOZA Hexagon Gold-plated, Enamel, Emerald Ring

In recent videos, nudes are common. Spotting a tinge of nudes against the rustic setting in Hozier’s video, “Cherry Wine” to the continuously stressed nude body suits worn in Sia’s music videos, Italian art director Vanessa Beecroft’s perspectives are refreshing. She is most known for her scenes of semi-clad women wearing dramatic fashion accessories in huge public spaces. The dramatic compositions and juxtapositions in her videos reflected in the friendship Beecroft shared with singer Kanye West. She claimed to work with him because he was her ‘alter ego.’

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO ‘Susi’ Pumps

OSCAR DE LA RENTA Tasseled Silk, Gold-plated, Swarovski Crystal Clip Earrings

In “Runaway”, her colour tones combined nudes mixed with complementary shades of brown accentuated with dusky pinks and striking contrast with greens.The colour palette is also gorgeously interpreted in Jean-Pierre Jeunut’s whimsical romantic movie, “Amelie” and can also be seen in Joe Wright’s accolade film, “Atonement”. Dusky is in.

Words and Compilation by Atheena Wilson     Photographs from Various Sources

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