Bollywood stars glam up animal prints

While leopards, zebras and tigers have been on the prowl in the fashion realm for long, we now have some cutting-edge business going on in the prints department, and Bollywood beauties are to blame.

While leopards, zebras and tigers have been on the prowl in the fashion realm for long, we now have some cutting-edge business going on in the prints department, and Bollywood beauties are to blame. From Anushka Sharma’s fish motif, to Gul Panag’s camel dress and Ayesha Takia’s bird print, film stars are fanning a novel animal motif trend.

It was actor Shilpa Shetty who kick-started this craze with her cow motif dress last year. Designer Masaba Gupta, who created Shilpa’s drape, says, “The print was inspired by the Nandi bull, something I picked up from a vintage farm painting. While actor Tisca Chopra picked the print straight from my prêt collection, Shilpa customised it by adding a gold border.”

Anita Dongre, of Global Desi (the label behind Gul’s camel dress), says, “The camel and bird motifs are inspired by a folklore.” Wondering how to work up this look? Kiran Jaisinghania of designer duo Myoho has a piece of advice. “The motifs add quirk, so you don’t need to clutter with too many elements. Go for subtle woven animal motifs.”