Bibhu Mohapatra: Heritage is Foundation of Creativity

Bibhu Mohapatra, who was born in Rourkela, Odisha, is a very demanding fashion designer in New York City. He has dressed some of the great and prominent individuals in his amazing designing career. From Michelle Obama, the first lady, to Jennifar Lepage, all dressed by Bibhu Mohapatra’s brilliant skills. As a child, he learned from his mother how to stitch, according to an old tradition. Since then, he has learned how to be attached to our roots and to surprise the world with his creativity. His work is opulent and ultra−elegant, and his brilliant designer ornaments are well−known worldwide.

Biography & Career

Bibhu Mohapatra was born on June 7, 1922, in India. His education was completed at Utah University in the US. He was married in 2014 to Robert Ronae Beard. Bibhu Mohapatra started his career as a fashion designer at J. Mendal and left to find his own way of starting a new foundation, which is his Purple Label. Since 2008, he has been giving more stylish clothes, fine costumes, and accessories. His first collections were launched at New York Fashion Week in 2009, and they Were marvelous. Bibhu Mohapatra’s luxury women’s ready−to−wears are demanding attention under his umbrella in New York, Houston, Palm Beach, Tampa, Houston, Mumbai, New Delhi, Frankfurt, Beijing, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Bibhu Mohapatra’s has many boutiques around the world to sell his collections.

Puma’s creative director, who was dressed in a June Ambrose in a white silk faille gown, which was a handmade creation of Indian style embroidery and brilliantly designed by Bibhu Mohapatra. In 2021, for the Met Gala, Mohapatra’s Spring 2021 collection was Amrita Sher−Gil’s inspiration.

Bibhu Mohapatra has been associated with Forever Mark since 2016. It is a Forever Mark, which is a division of DeBeers. Bibhu Mohapatra launched a collection of amazing diamond jewellery in 2016. Forever Mark provided an assortment of diamond jewelry, which complimented his Fall−Winter 2019 collection during New York Fashion Week. The first exclusive collection by Bibhu Mohapatra was called “Artemis by Bibhu Mohapatra. In 2019, Bibhu Mohapatra’s second DeBeers collection was launched. He passed the 10−year mark with his 2019 fall collection.

Bibhu Mohapatra’s Inspiration

As Bibhu Mohapatra told Elle India, he gives all the credit to his mother. “For me, my first language or sensibility of colors and patterns came from my mother, Sashi.” He is also working on his mother’s inspirations. His mother supported him to learn to become a fashion designer, and she is the inspiration behind all his work at every stage of his career. To honour her, Bibhu Mohapatra started a new exclusive line to show respect towards her and named it Sashi by Bibhu. The collection first came out in the winter 2018/2019 season at New York Fashion Week. According to him, this will be a permanent characteristic of his brand. He launched a capsule collection, a permanent capsule collection, named Sashi by Bibhu, named after his mother, Shashikala Mohapatra, which was inspired by his mother. The new line will be run alongside his luxury lines and clothing designs. This new collection of clothing shows his mother’s legacy towards clothing, and it is an affordable price for everyone who wants to have some designer clothing in their wardrobe and look stylish. The collection is very much in line with our day−to−day needs, with clothing like fluted skirts, silk blouses, cocktail dresses, and trousers. When Bibhu Mohapatra was talking about his design of new designer clothing, he said, “For me, the message is recognition of the power of women and what the women in my life gave me while shaping me. I want to channel this through Sashi, not just populate the world with more clothes. It has a mission; it needs to fit in with people’s needs.“

Bibhu Mohapatra’s Charitable Works

In India, in his own state of Odisha, Bibhu Mohapatra helped by designing many collections of hand−woven silk saris for the traditional hand weavers.

The India Society is a New York institution that was founded to assist students of fashion and fine art and provide internships and tutoring in universities across the US. Bibhu Mohapatra is the co−founder of this India Society.

Bibhu Mohapatra’s Honourers and Awards

The Washington National Opera at Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC, called Bibhu Mohapatra in 2021 to design costumes for the post−COVID reopening in the honour of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Bibhu Mohapatra was the primary costume designer for the Verdi opera Aida, which started in New York during the 2012 summer season at the Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown.

Bibhu Mohapatra received the “Young Innovator Award” from the National Arts Club in 2010. He was elected a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. In June 2010, SCAD Atlanta presented the exhibition “Surface” by Bibhu Mohapatra, an exhibition encompassing work from many seasons In 2013, Mohapatra was a finalist for the 2014 International Woolmark Prize.

DNA, Journal, Marie Claire, and Gotham Vogue are among the fashion magazines that publish and approve works about the fashion industry and its contributions. In Touch Weekly, the New York Times, and Forbes.

Conclusion

Bibhu Mohapatra’s tagline is “creativity from the roots,” and he has made us proud as Indians with his genius work and contributions to the fashion world. He lives and works in New York City but always remembers his motherland and its tradition, which is the most remarkable characteristic of any successful creator in the fashion world and world−wide. Bibhu Mohapatra showed us how to be humble and kind with the justification of our work without leaving anyone’s signature style and ownership of our fields of creation or work.

Mukesh Kumar

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Updated on: 27-Oct-2022

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