Inspired by old miniatures and murals, Rimple and Harpreet Narula’s creations represent what India’s heritage can offer to fashion. Given the regal nature of their elaborate ensembles, it’s no surprise why they’ve become her Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s go-to designers.Rani Padmavati (Deepika Padukone), Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh) and Singh of Mahalawal Ratan (Shahid Kapoor) are the brains behind Padmavat’s extravagant costumes. must wear Challenged them to dress up Kriti Sanon, Pooja Hegde, and Kriti Calbanda wear embroidered lehengas as the film takes them back in time. Recently, they received praise for dressing up his Tabu twin avatar in his Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. In a charming interview, the designer duo discussed their journey and how they created their own ensemble. Decipher the process you go through to create a .

He has found success in everything from designing couture to designing costumes for blockbuster films…

Wrinkles: We have thoroughly enjoyed our journey in the realm of Bollywood costume design.Working and interacting with some of the most creative people of our generation has been a rich experience. It is a fulfilling feeling to be a part of the film’s success in our own way, being able to create costumes that help move the film’s narrative forward and bring the director’s vision to life.

If you’re designing a period piece like Padmaavat and you’re doing a horror comedy like Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, how do you differentiate between the two genres?

Harpreet: At Padmaavat, he designed costumes for four historical figures. We were dealing with his four different state characters. Ratan Singh, who was a Rajput king, Kirji, of Mongol/Afghan descent. Melnissa who was an Ottoman princess of the tribe. So it was necessary to do a thorough research to get the costume right.We regularly visited the museums of Jaipur and Calico and from the 15th century she read the traveler’s notes of the 17th century . I read a lot of books from that era. The fabrics and color palettes we used are earthy and organic, mixed with elements of gorgeous kitsch. I took the opportunity to use an eclectic set of references, such as Kazakhstan and Turkish tribal attire. Various princely Rajput warrior costumes. In order to properly express the nuances of the drapes, I studied the carvings and murals of various forts and havelis spread across Rajasthan.costume of Padmabat We were able to combine different crafts and techniques as well as explore endangered textile crafts. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 dealt with a more contemporary era and the dual role played by Taboo. It’s a classic story of a good sister and a bad twin, and it’s reflected in the costumes we’ve designed. We used heavier fabrics and a darker, more brooding color palette with black as the dominant color for Manjurika (Wicked Sister). The surface decoration also reflects that.

Aria Bhatt’s white sari on the Berlinale red carpet defied the norm.

Harpreet: For Aria’s appearance at this year’s Berlinale, we wanted to create an outfit that captures the particular sense of joie de vivre Aria is associated with and the nuances of her character’s style on the red carpet.The ensemble had to evoke the iconic Gambai Painted by Aria and at the same time reflecting our brand’s aesthetic philosophy and love of vintage.Once all the details of the ensemble were finalized, we set about the look and feel, embroidery, etc. Sublime the overall effect I wanted to make it look elegant, so I decided to reference Edwardian and French lace shawls that are part of the archive.. Over the course of two weeks, the sarees were handcrafted in my atelier using a variety of embroidery techniques. Did.

Now that you’ve designed for the movie, how do you see your signature look fitting into Bollywood fashion?

Wrinkles: We have never thought of ourselves as fashion designers, we have always considered ourselves fashion revivalists. and our strong love for vintage textiles. We never mentioned predictions, we never tried to follow market trends, or even try to create fashion trends. Our approach to color and motifs is always maximal. They may become fixated on certain techniques or motifs, and the repeated use of the same thing will seep into the aesthetic sense of the viewer. I have a personal archive of about 5000 vintage textiles, print fragments and costumes. Evolving as a designer means juxtaposing the different layers of your life on top of your work. Sometimes it’s all about research and technical exploration, sometimes it’s interaction with artisans, sometimes it’s more instinctive and spontaneous. Sometimes the designs we create for our label also have the look and feel of a movie costume. It’s the same with film work.

Are there any recent Bollywood fashion trends that incorporate your own signature style?

Harpreet: Bollywood tailoring trends have always been our benchmark as designers. Rustic rural landscapes like Do Bigha Zamin and Mother India, Mughal-e-Azam Or Pakeezah and Umrao Jaan, or hardcore commercial movies like Sholay, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Mr. Natwarlal, all give us a lot to steal and enrich our sensibilities as designers. Not just Bollywood, we also look to international cinema when it comes to understanding how costumes help move the story forward. Bhanu Athiya’s work has always been a great source of personal inspiration for us. Her costumes make the characters and vice versa. Again. And if we can create a costume along these lines that could be called iconic in a few years, that’s what we aim for. But working on film allows us to do it on a larger-than-life scale.

Out of all the different celebrities you’ve designed, who do you like best?

Harpreet: both Deepika Padukone When Aditi Rao Hydari It was a real pleasure working with Padmaavat. They are consummate experts and methodologists. They brought our costumes to life by getting a feel for each of her two different Queen roles, and sometimes on set it was hard to tell the difference between an actor and a character. And it was truly magical because we felt like we were watching history unfold before our eyes.

How important do you think it is for a designer to align the director’s vision with his own?

Wrinkles: Coming into pre-production for a project like Padmavat, director Mr. Bhansari is a renowned master of his craft who looks to every aspect of his films and there are bound to be many iterations of the same look. increase. A lot of research and improvisation is part of the whole process and equally rich and intensive for us as designers.Bhansari is a true writer, visionary and extraordinary. He has a deep knowledge of not only movies but also period costumes, and every day we worked with him was a time of learning for us. Costumes can speak more than a conversation, and getting it right is the most difficult aspect. And that’s exactly what we strive for with each look we create.

After working on horror and period dramas, what genre of film would you like to challenge next?

Harpreet: Under the guidance of Mr. Bansari, he ventured into Bollywood costume design. He probably saw and chose us based on our intrinsic love for vintage and royal outfits in our couture collection.His next two projects, Housefull 4 and Boule Briar 2, is in a more comedy-centric zone. While working on Housefull 4, I asked Sajid Khan to guide me through the costume requirements, which were divided into historical and contemporary zones. Sajid is a true cinephile and provided many references for us to work with. That helped create some very individual looks for the six main characters. Working on an era-centered project like this is always satisfying, but also intensive, so I’m looking forward to seeing more lighthearted projects such as rom-com movies tackle it soon.