Divita Rai’s National Costume for Miss Universe takes a cue from ‘ethereal portrayal of India as the golden bird’

Calling it “a true representation of our country”, Sharma told indianexpress.com, “Our country is so diverse in terms of culture, traditions and ethics. Thus, it was very important to combine all of these together in a cohesive way. This time, we went ahead with the idea of India being known as ‘Sone ki Chidiya’ or the ‘Golden Bird‘. It is, in a sense, representative of the serenity, purity, and spiritual angle of our country in a modern light.”

He revealed that when he started conceptualising the outfit, he had a few key points in mind. “Few of them included purity, serenity, and something that represented us as a whole and not any particular clan or community,” he said.

The stunning outfit features intense gold metallic hand embellishments which, the designer says, are “a true example of the finest craftsmanship of our artisans”. He added, “The golden colour of the costume not only represents gold as an element but also the inherent value of gold – purity. There’s an intense work of pearl embroidery on her costume which represents the delicacy and feminity of the whole idea. Just like gold, in its purest form, is very soft and easy to mould, our country, despite its rich diversity, is moulded into one.”

Representing India’s rich diversity of flora and fauna, the ensemble also features daisy flowers, different kinds of leaves, and also very distinctive geometric divisions between the parts.

Coming to the various elements, the ensemble features a blouse, a lehenga, a dupatta and structured wings. “The whole blouse and the waist of the skirt are embellished with gold metallic leaf embroidery along with fine pearl detailing. The skirt is made using handwoven tissue Chanderi, which is sourced from the Chanderi district of Madhya Pradesh,” Sharma said.

He added that he picked the combination of golden and ivory as they mean purity and serenity. “We also have geometric lines on the ensemble to bring out the edginess and the modern aspect of us. Alongside, there’s intense applique embroidery of gold flowers. Then, there’s a draped net dupatta with zari embroidery along with fine pearl detailing. Finally, there are structured wings strapped onto her back,” the designer explained.

The wings, according to him, represent the power of nourishment and care that India has shown in the difficult times towards the citizens of the world and took care and stood as a support with the notion of ‘One World One Family’.

He added that the National Costume “in its true sense is the essence of modern India and its approach to progressive thinking.”

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