‘Anuja’ actor Ananya Shanbhag wears designer Poornima Indrajith’s Kerala handloom to the Oscars

Ananya Shanbhag, Suchitra Mattai, Adam J. Graves and Sajda Pathan pose on the pink carpet through the Oscars arrivals on the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles
| Picture Credit score: Reuters

As actor Ananya Shanbhag shone on the 97th Oscars pink carpet in her ivory and gold corset and skirt ensemble, designer Poornima Indrajith couldn’t assist however smile. “She was so excited, she felt the costume turned out higher than she had imagined. She would name from the Oscars venue at 3am IST to share the eye the costume was drawing,” laughs Poornima. 

Ananya, a 21-year-old performing arts pupil, from Mumbai, performs Palak in Anuja, which was one of many nominees for the perfect dwell motion brief movie class on the Oscars.

“Whereas designing, I needed one thing that might resonate with what Ananya believed in. With Ananya being a skilled Bharatanatyam dancer, I needed the silhouette to replicate her love for dance,” says Poornima.

Ananya Shanbhag
| Picture Credit score:
Particular Association

When Ananya’s mom reached out to Poornima for the Oscar match, she began brainstorming with Ananya over video calls: “I needed to know what concepts Ananya had so as to have the ability to information her accordingly.” 

The ensemble that emerged after numerous forwards and backwards had a little bit of all the pieces — a way of motion, her youthfulness and it was an ode to her Indian roots as nicely. Completed in a hand-woven textile developed by Poornima for her label Pranaah, the hand-crafted garment was a love letter to Ananya’s artwork and persona. “I had been engaged on creating this material for my bridal line for over a yr. Whereas it’s made from 100 per cent woven yarn, it has the sheen of satin and doesn’t crumple simply,” says Poornima. 

She caught to a recent silhouette. “Pranaah as a model has through the years constructed its personal identification and whereas it’s rooted in our Kerala handloom custom, it’s also very up to date in therapy.” The corset due to this fact was adorned with intricate gold thread embroidery and the skirt had a practice for that “particular princessy” really feel. 

“Since Ananya was learning in Bengaluru, we needed to take measurements over video calls. And it actually felt like a leap of religion,” says Poornima. However when Ananya tried it out on the Pranaah retailer, it match completely. 

Ananya Shanbhag
| Picture Credit score:
Particular Association

The jewelry is an equally vital a part of the entire ensemble. Poornima collaborated with jewelry designer Kavya Potluri to create assertion items impressed by Bharatanatyam’s heritage. Even finger and nail equipment added to the impact. 

Poornima Indrajith with Ananya Shanbhag
| Picture Credit score:
Particular Association

Poornima will not be new to designing pink carpet appears to be like. She designed Divya Prabha’s search for the 2024 Cannes Movie Competition (All We Think about as Mild) and for the Locarno Worldwide Movie Competition (for Ariyippu); Nimisha Sajayan on the Venice Worldwide Movie Competition in 2019, Geethu Mohandas and Shanty Balachandran on the Toronto Worldwide Movie Competition in 2019. 

“As a designer, it’s at all times an excellent second for me to have the ability to showcase the Kerala handloom custom on a world platform. Additionally it is a second to rejoice Kerala’s artisans, their craftsmanship, sustainability and our heritage,” says Poornima.