You can feel the joy and excitement in French designer Mossi Traoré’s voice when you hear him talk about India. Especially when it’s about Bollywood. The young dynamic designer celebrated India and its fabric – khadi, in a one-of-a-kind showcase at FDCI x Lakme Fashion Week 2022 on Thursday evening. Speaking to News18, Mossi got candid about his love for Bollywood, taking khadi to Paris and why India will always hold a special place in his heart.
For Mossi, India and its people have always given him a reason to smile and it’s the love and energy that makes him want to visit the country every year. “I think I am Indian at heart,” quips Mossi, adding, “Coming to India has always been an amazing experience. I did Lakme Fashion Week in 2014, with my old brand. I have made some great friends here. Every year I have to come back to India, it gives me energy, because of the love of Indian people. So, when I head back to Paris, I return as someone who is a real human because in India people teach me how to smile, how to express.”
India’s rich culture and traditions takes him back to his African roots, where his parents hail from. Mossi shares that the Indian values and traditions make him feel closer to his family. And one more thing that connects India and Africa is their love for actor Mithun Chakraborty. He says, “I was born in Paris, but my parents are from Africa. We are very close to Indian traditions. The first movie I watched as a kid was Disco Dancer. Everyone in Africa knows Mithun. I grew up watching Bollywood movies. I know more about Bollywood than French cinema or American cinema.”
Having dressed actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in an haute couture ensemble for L’Oréal Paris show at Paris Fashion Week in 2021, it’s always been Mossi’s dream to have a Bollywood star don his dress. He shares, “When I was a student, my dream was not to do a dress for Beyonce or Rihanna, my dream was to do a dress for Kajol, Aishwarya [Rai Bachchan], Preity [Zinta], Rani [ Mukherjee], Deepika [Padukone], Kalki [Koechlin], Madhuri [Dixit Nene] and many more Bollywood actreses,” adds Mossi.
Even though Mossi’s vision for khadi was translated into western silhouettes for the collection, he finds the Indian sari the most beautiful silhouette. Working with khadi for the very first time, he thanks Mr Suni Sethi for the opportunity and introducing him to the fabric. Mossi is also grateful to the FDCI & Lakme team for the hardwork they put into making his show a success. Speaking about his experience with khadi, Mossi says, “Working on a new fabric can be challenging for a designer. However, for me, it was the strong message behind khadi that gave me the motivation to create this collection. I was so happy to wear khadi and maybe someday I would like to create haute couture with khadi fabrics.”
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