New Pinch

Bollywood kids tend to follow their parents into tinsel town,fitting comfortably into their pre destined roles. This is probably why when Divyanka Bedi decided to launch a fashion label after graduating from the Raffles Design Institute in Mumbai,it took her father,veteran villain Ranjeet,completely by surprise. “I have never really wanted to act. I had been toying with fine arts for a while,but eventually decided on design. I guess it was somewhat surprising,but he didn’t seem to mind much. Now though,ever since I have begun working,he is confused by my bizarre timings. He keeps asking me why I need to start working at 5 am,” grins the 22-year-old,who is popular as Gigi among friends and family. “My parents loved the 1958 French film Gigi ,and decided to name me after it. Isn’t it a lovely name?” she laughs.

Bedi’s newly-launched label too is called GigiB,but surprisingly again,it dabbles in menswear. “There’s only so much you can do with sequins and diamantes in womenswear,but you have to be really good to make menswear tick. I find it challenging and it’s something I would really like to explore before I branch off in to womenswear,” she says,talking of the course she is planning to join in London to hone her skills further. Her designs though have already won her a couple of awards—she was a runner-up at the recently held Emerging Designer contest by the Fashion Design Council of India and Van Heusen at the India Men’s Week but clearly,there is still a long way to go. “I am not in a rush to retail. Right now,I am working on a made-to-order basis,watching as many fashion shows as I can,meeting up with international buyers to know what really sells,and I’m trying to get a grasp on how the industry works. But there’s something I am really,really looking forward —an internship with Manish Arora. Even though he does womens wear,I love his sensibility. There’s much to learn from the likes of Arora,” she gushes.

She has already designed for her dad,but doing costumes for films,is clearly not on her agenda. “When I told my dad about my decision (to be a designer),the only thing he told me was to strike out on my own,rather than take to Bollywood. As a costume designer,you have to work for a script and within a budget. I’d rather do my own thing for the time being,and if I make a success of it,then take it up in the future,” she says. Amen.