‘Been a pageant fan all my life; it was like a full-circle moment for me’: Saisha Shinde on creating Harnaaz Sandhu’s farewell gown

Just like her Miss Universe-winning gown, this dress, too, was designed by Saisha Shinde. Talking about the same, the designer told indianexpress.com, “It was my idea to have the portraits of Sushmita Sen and Lara Dutta on the gown because I have been a pageant fan forever. I still remember watching Miss Universe 1994 live when Sushmita won, Miss Universe 2000 when Lara won, and, of course, Miss Universe 2021 when Harnaaz one.”

“It’s not an easy pageant to win. Harnaaz was crowned in my gown in 2021. It was such an iconic and landmark moment of my life. I knew that day itself that I wanted to create her farewell gown, too. Eventually, I got a call from Harnaaz and her team asking if I can make her gown and I agreed immediately. That’s when I shared this idea with them,” Shinde added.

Talking about the silhouette and design, the fashion designer shared that she decided to let the focus be on the portraits, along with Harnaaz. “The idea was to have a very romantic 1950s sort of silhouette because we wanted the main focus to be on the prints of Lara and Sushmita. Hence, we didn’t do anything heavy-duty in terms of design and detail on the main gown that was hand-embroidered, top to bottom. It was jet black so that it doesn’t take the focus away. The gown needed to have that shine and shimmer but, at the same time, the focus was to be on the prints. I wanted to make the prints black and white because it is more impactful than colour. But eventually, the focus had to be on Harnaaz, she is the one who won the crown after 21 years,” Shinde elaborated.

For the designer, creating both the iconic gowns has been a “magical” experience, she admitted. “Although I have been a designer for the last 17 years, it’s only been two years as a transwoman. Within those two years, having such iconic moments in my life have it very special. As I mentioned, I have been a pageant fan all my life so it was like a full-circle moment for me. With Harnaaz, I share a special bond. She finds me lucky and I find her lucky.”

Shinde also opened up about the cyberbullying Harnaaz was subjected to, during her reign, due to her weight gain. “I understand where she is coming from because she had a tough year as a Miss Universe; she faced a heavy amount of cyberbullying. I have been there for her and have had those calls with her when she was not having the greatest of days. I felt so proud of her because, at the end of the day, she is just a 21-year-old girl who went on to achieve something so great and powerful at a young age despite such harsh bullying. It gave me more reasons to put in all I had in this gown,” she concluded.

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