Indian cinema big on high-end fashion: Falguni and Shane Peacock (Interview)

Big-budget Indian movies are setting trends in high-end fashion and costume designing, say Falguni and Shane Peacock, who have designed for the likes of Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Jennifer Lopez as well as Priyanka Chopra and Bipasha Basu back home.

"Indian cinema and fashion have always gone hand in hand. In each time period, a fashion trend has evolved due to Indian cinema. So, for instance, the 1970s saw the hippie trend and flower power in Indian cinema. The current Indian cinema is very big on high-end fashion," Falguni told IANS.

Added Shane: "We have big budget movies such as 'Cocktail', 'Student of The Year' and 'Race 2', which spent a lot of money on designer wear and designer bags or shoes. Every era has created a different fashion statement. India as a country is very big on Bollywood so everything seen on our actors and actresses is aped by generations."

The Mumbai-based husband-and-wife introduced their label in August 2002. Their inspiration is all about a fusion of western cuts and Indian embellishments for a global appeal.

They created ripples in the international market by showcasing at the London Fashion Week four years ago and participating at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Berlin for the second time last year. The show was attended by American singer Ashanti and actress Michelle Williams, both of whom wore their outfits.

Recently, singer-actress Demi Lovato chose a bold trendy outfit made by them. The two also styled the entire look of the back-dancers in Madonna's Super Bowl performance.

Now they are in the news again for designing an underwater themed wedding gown for tattoo artist Kat Von D, who got engaged to electronic music artist Joel Zimmerman, a.k.a. Deadmau5, in December last year.

"The details of her weddings gown are yet to be finalised. Kat's design sensibility is very unique. She will never dress like the typical bride. Her wedding theme is underwater so even the outfit will be inspired from the theme in terms of colours, cuts," said Falguni, whose dream is to design for Kristen Stewart, Keira Knighley and Gwyneth Paltrow.

How do they see the Indian fashion industry evolving?

"We see that people in the Indian fashion industry are becoming more aware of international brands and international designers. Everyone seems to know the latest fashion trends. Our celebrities are constantly spotted in the latest collection of these high-end brands and designer wear. There is an influx of luxury brands, which was a rare commodity 10 years back," said Shane.

They also feel that there is a lot of talent in the Indian fashion industry.

"There are a lot of designers who are extremely creative. The younger lot has a fresh perspective but it's not like the newbies are more evolved in terms of creativity. All designers -- be it new, young or old -- are constantly evolving in terms of creativity. The day a designers creative thoughts become stagnant, his work will stop being sought after," said Falguni.

So what next?

"We are in process of opening a store in NYC. We hope we find a great location soon," she told IANS.