Delhi-based designer Nida Mahmood has claimed that designer Babita Malkani from Mumbai copied her sari-worn-over-jeans style at the recently concluded Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai.
“The concept of sari worn over jeans is completely mine; I’m doing it since 2006. Right from my idea to the technique of draping, Babita has blatantly copied my style. In her collection, Babita has also used metal embellishments like nuts, bolts and screws, which were part of my Wills India Fashion Week autumn winter collection 10-11 — my collection Sadak Chhap, inspired by scrap, had the exact same elements,” says Mahmood. “It is shocking and upsetting,” she adds.
The president of the Fashion Design Council of India, Sunil Sethi, also supports her. “No doubt it was Nida who contemporarised Indian saris by draping them over jeans. The concept is hers. I’m disappointed that someone copied her style without giving her credit. But till the time there’s no such thing as a ‘patent rule’ in the industry, it’s a matter best resolved between the two,” says Sethi.
Malkani, however, denies the claims: “I don’t know who this designer is and what she’s talking about. A lot of designers do it … saris over jeans, jeggings, churidaars.”
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