Masaba Gupta’s flight to Hyderabad was late. And rush hour traffic in Jubilee Hills was building. So when the designer finally pulls up at her new flagship store, her biggest one yet — she smooths out her clothes, straightens up, and plunges into the waiting crowd.
Born to West Indian cricketer Sir Vivian Richards and actress Neena Gupta, 29-year-old Masaba stands out despite her petite stance. “My cultural identity is obviously a huge part of my design aesthetic. These clothes can be worn anywhere in the world and don’t need to be restricted to any specific corner,” she explains.
It’s been 10 years since the designer stepped into the limelight with House of Masaba , and, looking back, she confesses she didn’t have a specific vision or strategy when she started out. “I was 19! I didn’t even have an office, let alone a strategy. I literally didn’t have a business plan until last year,” she laughs, adding, “I just knew that there was a gap in the market for easy, comfortable garments that are neither luxury nor pret, but somewhere in between.”
Girl, interrupting
Masaba realised this during her time as a student at Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women’s University in Mumbai, where she frequented shows and observed a saturation of festive and embroidered clothing. She decided to bring in the quirky, unconventional styles that she liked instead.
Her latest collection includes armhole saris, giving a twist to the inherently traditional garment.
“I can’t wear a sari to save my life. So when I’m designing them, I know what I want: it definitely has to be lightweight and have pockets — girls have a lot to carry around, let’s face it. Both the armhole and the corset saris are super fun and easy to keep on. I want to make it younger and sexier. I want my waist to show in a sari.”
Her perseverance in reshaping the way we wear conventional clothes has also culminated in numerous collaborations with the likes of Titan, Oppo and Himalayan, creating watches, phone cases and capsule collections.
House of Masaba, her eponymous label, is evocative of her life-long love affair with prints and dyes, often favouring flora and fauna. Her recent collection features jewel hues and mural prints in georgette and crepe in fuss-free silhouettes.
“My design IQ has become far more data-driven,” Masaba says, nodding towards the bright garments draped on the racks.
“When I started out, I was more focussed on being creative and wanting to do certain things I hadn’t done before. That’s great if you’re doing fashion as a hobby. But when you want to sell out stores, you need to be very sure of the balance between commerce and art. That’s the only way retail prospers.”
In the city of pearls
Her Hyderabad flagship store is a direct reflection of her Indo-Caribbean background: the off-white walls and black-and-gold detailing collaboratively amplify the vibrancy of her clothing.
A caricature of Masaba adorns one wall, as though she’s always there, overseeing her store. Below, models float about, the bright and lightweight textiles of the garments flowing effortlessly behind them.
“We don’t get large spaces like this in Mumbai!” she exclaims, looking around the 4,000 square-foot store. She and her team have taken full advantage of this, adding the Good Cow Café to the property.
“We wanted to immerse ourselves in the booming café culture here,” she explains, cheekily adding that there’s nothing like a kick-back space for the guys while the girls satiate their retail indulgences.
Queen of clapbacks
With over 4,91,000 followers on Instagram and 1.3 million on Twitter , Masaba often stands up for minorities and women on social media. Last October, the design icon put trolls in their place for calling her “illegitimate” and it only took one succinct tweet, which reads in part, “...I’m the illegitimate product of two of the most legitimate personalities you’ll find and I’ve made the best life, both personally and professionally.”
More recently, she called out designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee for his statement about women who do not know how to tie a sari and Goa’s chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who was concerned that even “girls drink beer” and the hubbub around Renuka Chowdhury’s laugh in Parliament.
She sub-tweeted, in a way that would make Rihanna proud, “Can someone talk about how women should just wear, do, eat, drink what they like instead of constantly putting strange badges on them basis what they can’t do. Please leave us alone, in our torn jeans, chugging beer, cackling away... or not! (sic)”
Lightning Round
Dream getaway? Mykonos, Greece!
One thing you resisted splurging on? A fanny pack from YSL. I can’t bear the Gucci ones, everyone’s wearing them
Your fashion pet peeve? Underwear that’s not the same colour as your clothing. I don’t know why people wear a yellow bra with a white T-shirt. It’s not Kuch Kuch Hota Hai , let’s move past that era.
Your go-to song?Lemon by Rihanna. That’s my ‘I need to get down to business’ track.
Your make-up essential? NARS lipsticks for their creamy luxe finish, but I have like 100 lipsticks: 30 nudes, 30 reds, 50 oranges, I’m obsessed.
House of Masaba is open at Road No. 10, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad For more details, call 09949666267
