Agnimitra Paul roped in for styling dress of Goddess Durga

A mega Durga Puja organiser in Kolkata has roped in a celebrated fashion designer this year for styling the dresses of the idols of Goddess Durga and her progeny with Goddess Durga's saree, to be made entirely of gold.
The costumes of the idols at Santosh Mitra Square in central Kolkata, to be designed by fashion designer Agnimitra Paul, will be steeped in tradition.
Paul told PTI, "the saree of Goddess Durga will be made entirely of gold with 'zari' work embossed in between. After I sketch the entire design, it will given shape by a reputed jewellery brand."
"The dresses of the other idols and 'Mahisasura' will be fabric-based and I wish to make it lively, not dull but at the same time, traditional," she said.

"Infact we will not break from tradition, but make the dresses more appealing, sartorially more elegant in an understated manner. Each one's dress will be different from the other in terms of colour but I will heavily draw from the 'sabeki' (traditional) concept."
"The attire, in which the idols are draped, needs to be noticed and appreciated aesthetically but at the same time it should not stand out from others. Instead it should merge to enhance the divine appeal," she explained.

The idols will be made by clay modeller Mintu Pal.
"Once he begins work, I will be given the measurements of Goddess Durga and the other idols. I shall then start work on the costumes at my workshop," she said.

"Being an ardent devotee of Maa Durga, I felt that Goddess has herself given me the responsibility to deck her up. No other fashion designer had in the past got such a divine opportunity", she said.
On behaf of the puja organisers, Sajal Ghosh said, "We had approached Agnimitra Paul and we are happy with her suggestions.