Sustainability costs money: Masaba Gupta

In a freewheeling tête-à-tête, designer Masaba Gupta talks about her remarkable print prowess, the future of fashion and her recent debut show on the OTT platform

“I think I have always seen the copy market as flattering,” says Masaba Gupta. It’s not the type of proclamation one expects from a designer, whose designs are extensively copied in the fashion business. But perhaps, Masaba thinks differently and believes that they help her determine trends. “We are a bit ahead of the copy market, as a brand we churn out new stuff very often. We are very aggressive with what’s happening in the market. And the imitation goods are a great sign of what really works. What is a bigger trend than a copy going viral? They are a great indicator of brand value and what we should be doing,” says Gupta with charming confidence.

Masaba’s distinctive interplay of digital prints dictates her garment’s form-flattering silhouettes. Her original and refreshing take on prints made her a sought-after name and served her well when it came to the art and craft of making quirky and fun ensembles. Her first fashion collection to the latest outing, Hot Mess, have all exuded an easy chic, wearable vibe.

However, this time, she picked an unconventional oeuvre, acting. A reality show that showcased herself and her mother, Neena Gupta playing themselves. The mother-daughter duo’s on-screen presence was compelling and robust. Gupta defied the stereotypical heroine and was the antithesis of a woman protagonist in a reality show - she was real, not fearing away from her flaws and displayed topics that are usually kept under the sheets. “I think it worked because it was very real with a little spice of life. We were raw and honest in our storytelling. We showed a vulnerable side of ourselves and people want to see that. It’s comforting to know that someone is as vulnerable as you are,” she says about the success of her show.

Ask her how real the story is and she promptly replies, a six on 10. Even though all the situations shown have deeper stories behind them which link to the designer, some are played out exactly how they had occurred.

Digital foray

Much before others jumped on to the digital bandwagon, the forward-thinking designer pioneered e-commerce as she successfully launched collections after collections on her social media platforms. And not surprisingly, she wants to keep it that way for some time. “For now, we are launching all our collections on Instagram. You have a much larger reach and cost is less and we have to honour that. Fashion shows are expensive so only when I have something interesting to say, I will,” adds Masaba. Would things change after the pandemic for her design house? She says, “I’m a big believer that things don’t change 100%, we always want a sense of similarity in what we see. A lot of brands who haven’t paid attention to the e-commerce space, will now start doing so and think from a consumer’s point of view. Consumers will question what they are buying and why they are buying? We have to now create clothing and products that are friendly to the e-commerce space.”

Is sustainability a gimmick?

Sustainable has been the buzzword after the Covid-19 outburst. Many designers are changing their design sensibility and going eco-friendly. Are eco-conscious offerings the next step for her label? “Truth of the matter is sustainability costs money, it’s easy for people to turn back and ask. But I’m doing whatever I can with the money I have. Sustainability is a loosely used word. Masks are causing pollution, but we can’t do without them. I will look into it once the storm is over. Right now, we are trying to survive in a respectable way. We are working from home and reducing the carbon footprint,” says Masaba, who is also fighting with the aftermath of the pandemic like all of us.