Prateik Babbar upcycles late mom Smita Patil's Kanjeevaram sarees
Actor Prateik Babbar, who made a style statement when he attended the Mumbai screening of his late mother Smita Patil's film 'Manthan', wore a suit-pant made from her Kanjeevaram sarees.
Designer Rahul Vijay, who designed the outfit, recently took to his Instagram to share details about it. Rahul also thanked Prateik for giving him the chance to create the masterpiece.
Discussing the creation process of the outfit, he wrote, "Thank you @_prat for letting me dig into the archives of your late mother, and the very iconic Smita Patil."
"When Prateik called me up asking me to dress him up for the Indian premiere of 'Manthan', Smita Patil's first movie that was shown at the recent Cannes Film Festival, I knew I had to bring in elements of Smita Patil's style into his look".
"Now this was challenging because we were getting womenswear pieces and moreover we didn't know what we would end up finding from Smita Patil's wardrobe that would match Prateik's style," he added.
Rahul shared that Prateik's aunt helped them choose two silk Kanjeevaram sarees that had been preserved over the years. His idea was to merge Indian textiles with modern silhouettes, and he designed the outfit in consultation with Monica Shah of Jade by MK.
They created a cropped double-breasted tuxedo in plain black silk, with the pinstripe pattern from one saree turned into wide-legged pants. The red border of the second saree was used for the sleeves, adding a touch of elegance to the ensemble.
Rahul wrote, "We wanted to keep the silhouette very very modern considering we were recycling Indian sarees. I always like the juxtaposition of Indian textiles with modern silhouettes."
"And finally, we decided on a cropped double-breasted tuxedo in plain black silk and we recycled the second pinstriped saree into wide-legged pants and used the red border of the saree as trims on the sleeves (the design was lifted from a recent look that the brand did for their couture collection)".
At the screening, Prateik was joined by his girlfriend, actor Priya Banerjee, who added a personal touch by wearing Smita's saree and her jewelry.
Apart from Prateik, attendees included Naseeruddin Shah with his wife Ratna Pathak Shah, Dr Kurien's daughter Nirmala Kurien, and Amul MD Jayen Mehta. Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, the founder of the Film Heritage Foundation, the non-profit organisation responsible for the restored print, was also present.