Label war at Oscars

In John Galliano

Unlike a whimsical veteran designer from the Capital, who went to town about how Rahman was going to wear his sherwani for the Academy Awards, Sabyasachi modestly admitted that he was never meant to design for the music maestro. "I was approached by Rahman's stylist, Vijayeta, to create an outfit for Rahman's wife, Sairaa." That's when Sabyasachi suggested that Rahman wear a traditional sherwani while performing to Jai Ho, to focus spotlight on Indian textiles. "But with an event like the Academy Awards, there's pressure to wear a tuxedo, and Lanvin was zeroed in for Rahman's red carpet appearance," the designer explained.

The composer couldn't resist the allure of the traditional, and as destiny would have it, like Slumdog so positively portrayed, when he wore the sherwani at rehearsal, the cast and and crew including Danny Boyle, asked him to stick with it. "Since Rahman had very little time to change between the red carpet appearance (where he wore a Lanvin tuxedo), and main show, he ended up teaming the sherwani with Lanvin trousers," laughed Sabyasachi.

With no time to change, Rahman slipped on a sabyasachi Mukherjee sherwani over trousers by french label lanvin

In Sabyasachi Mukherjee

AR Rahman holds the Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song Jai Ho for Slumdog Millionaire at the 81st Academy Awards held on February 22 in Los Angeles. PIC/AP

At the 81st Academy Awards held on February 22 in Los Angeles, actress Freida Pinto wore a blue couture gown in tulle, embellished with crystals, by designer John Galliano.

Sabyasachi Mukherjee
Freida is a lovely girl, blessed with tremendous opportunity. Not many get to give away an Academy Award, like she did. I'd have liked to see her wear an Indian outfit like a woven saree, perhaps, that reflects our culture. You can't outdo money with more money, and that's what red carpet dressing has turned into. Our biggest weapon is our centuries-old culture and heritage, and when you attend an event in America, a saree creates a formidable image of India. There's no garment as powerful as the saree. There are a 100
different ways to drape it, so that it looks sexier than any gown.

Narendra Kumar
She should've picked something younger
Even though it's a beautiful Galliano gown, Freida should have picked something younger, maybe a tube dress, to suit her age. I wish she'd worn an outfit by an Indian designer since it was a "night of India". Even though the saree is timeless and elegant, we don't have to show the world we live in the past. The electric blue is a bright idea, and I like her nice-and-easy clean make-up.

Until this point, Freida Pinto had been killing it one red carpet appearance after another, so we had some pretty high expectations for the Slumdog beauty at the Oscars. And everyone knows what happens when you build something up too much you get blue lace with (shudder) '80s flair.
Better luck next year, Freida!
Fashion Police, E-Online

Tarun Tahiliani
Shame, she didn't consider Indian design
I haven't seen what Freida wore, so, I can't comment on the dress. But it's a shame she didn't consider an Indian designer. I am not interested in who wears what, since red carpet dressing has become stylist-driven drama. Yes, you see lots of beautiful clothes, but it's a machinery for labels and branding.

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