Bangalore boy behind Brandi’s Oscar dress!

Bangalore boy and now an LA-based designer Ankur Chakraborty is not the least bit upset that Brandi Glanville of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ fame, who wore his creation to the Oscars, was talked about for all the wrong reasons.
The mermaid gown that literally laid bare her twin assets and exposed her leg had many tongues clucking in disapproval and fetched the supermodel and television star much vitriol and flak.
“As the creative director of her fashion house Brand B, our one-point strategy was to give her a dress that would establish her as the head turner, and get people talking about her. You just have to read about the frenzy her dress created to know how splendidly our strategy worked,” says the 34-year-old Ankur, who’s done his schooling and fashion designing course from Bangalore.
Considering that even Brandi’s father feared that her boobs could fall out anytime in that dress, does he wish, in hindsight, he were just a little conservative? Shoots Ankur, “I certainly did not want to design a couture dress for her. People might have liked that and complimented her, but the story would have ended right there. We had to pitch Brandi as a brand, and we needed something sensational and outrageous. Also, let’s not forget Brandi has a rocking, gorgeous body, and her legs, they are something else. So, even if her dress offended people, look at the mileage it got her. I had shown Brandi about 20 sketches before we firmed up on the one she wore to the red carpet event, and had the dress ready in a week’s time.”
Asked if Indian designers in the USA have it tough a la Anand Jon, and Ankur, who’s been in LA for the past eight years, prefers to play it safe. “Cut-throat competition is in the nature of the beast. And whether it is here or in India, you have to work hard to stand out. Where I am concerned, I only concentrate on styles and silhouettes and making sure every execution is perfect. I also collaborate with my clients in a happy state of mind, and LA gives me enough creative freedom and space to be my best,” says Ankur, who’s also designed for celebs like Nicole Winnaman and Merle Ginsberg.
Any celebrity he’s dying to dress up? “I will do anything and give up anything for a chance to dress up Tilda Swinton. She’s so androgynous, and such a beautiful person, and also a challenge when it comes to designing clothes for her.”