The Grand Costumes by Milena Canonero!

It is that time of the year when the red carpet is rolled out for the most anticipated event. Well, you guessed it right, Mr. Oscar is here! The 87^th Academy Awards was held on 22^nd February, 2015 to celebrate cinema. Some names that took the Oscar home with them were Alejandro González Iñárrit, who was awarded the Best Picture for the ‘Bridman’. Eddie Redmayne bagged the award for the ‘Theory of Everything’ in the category of the Best Actor, whereas Julianne Moore walked away with the title of the Best Actress for her film ‘Still Alice’. But the category that we are going to be talking about is the Best Costume, of course.

Oscar for The Best Costume was whisked away by Milena Canonero for ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’. The Italian costume designer is very acquainted with the Oscars. She was nominated in the category nine times out of which this is her fourth win. Known for her work, Canonero has definitely created a new beach mark in the genre of costume designing with her work in‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The talented designer was born in the year 1946 in Turin, Italy. Her educational career consisted of studying art, design history and costume design in Genoa. She later moved to England, here Canonero started working in a small theatre and film productions. 

Her initial work in commercials helped her with networking as she met many film directors. Canonero’s breakthrough as a costume designer occurred with Stanley Kubrick’s, A Clockwork Orange (1917). After that, there was no looking back for Milena Canonero.

Barry Lyndon

Canonero first won an Oscar for her excellent work in Barry Lyndon, another movie by Stanley Kubrick. She scored the other two statuettes for the film Chariots of Fire (1981) and Marie Antoinette (2006). 

Marie Antoinette

The work of the Italian designer bypasses the conventions bring something innovative in the world of fashion. This quality has earned her various Academy Awards. She not only captured the essences of the 1930s aptly in The Grand Budapest Hotel, she was brought in her innovations. The typical drab color of the hotel staff was transformed into lively purple and mauve. For the costume of Tilda Swinton’s Madame D, Canonero drew inspiration from a symbolist painter Gustav Klimt. Costumes created by Canonero for each character added personality to the characters making them real for the audience.

Known for her aesthetic sense and an eye for detail, has given Canonero a stature of one of the best designers, a title she has lived up to. She has come a long way in her career and by the looks of it, there is no slowing down for Canonero!

Changing Face of Fashion Business: Future of Fashion Forum

The Future of Fashion Forum that took place on 24^th January, 2015, an initiation by Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion in which the very best of the fashion industry was present. The main focus of the event was to share the knowledge and insights with the aspirants along with giving an opportunity to the fashion fanatics to interact with the very best from the fashion world.

The day kicked off with an interesting session on Developing the Fashion Ecosystem which was followed by an equally interesting session on the Changing Face of Fashion Business. India is entering a new phase in the fashion business where e-commerce is taking root and the fashion world has become more competitive. To deal with these and more topics renowned Fashion Designer Gaviin Migule, the Managing Partner of Exclusively.in Mohini Boparai, and the Fashion Director of Verve Magazine Nisha Jhangiani were present.

All the panel members stressed, on the importance of ‘building your brand, identify your audience and then dig in deep down, research to understand your audience.’ To this Mohini Boparai, added, “Know your target audience, and talk to them in a language that appeals to them.”

In the recent years, there are more fashion outlets coming up online than one cares to count. Moreover, fashion is subjected to change, trends are broken and created every day and in this ever changing market you need to get your brand across. In this matter, Mohini Boparai commented that, “A fashion e-commerce site has to keep catering newness to its clientele with new collection and products.” In order to be in the e-commerce platform “balancing the power of digital and print is vital to reach the audience” Nisha Jhangiani added.

Gaviin Migule shared his views on the current fashion scenario, but it was his insightful advice to the aspiring designer saying that, “Be true to yourself and be passionate about what you create” that made a lasting impact giving a beautiful conclusion.