Fashion designer Gipsita Nayak finds design inspirations in MF Husain’s paintings and being an adept organiser has spiralled to prominence in the New York fashion circuit, writes Shabiha Nur Khatoon…
It’s impossible to imagine fashion without design and the dazzling apparel on a celebrity is the centrepiece of attraction. As the fashion industry is growing rapidly, the demand for designers has increased. If you have a good eye for colour, style, intricate artwork and a strong aesthetic sense, you can fit into the fashion industry. Meet Gipsita Nayak, a young fashioner designer, who talks to Orissa POST on her journey in the fashion world so far.
For Gipsita the passion for fashion designing started when she was in school. She had great interest in designing and art and did a lot of hard work to convince her parents. In those days fashion designing wasn’t common but the good thing was her mother always believed in her and it was great encouragement for her.
Gipsita was a student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Talcher and took up fashion designing early. She completed her diploma course in Fashion Designing from IIFT, Bhubaneswar and subsequently started her business as a first generation entrepreneur. Initially, it was very difficult for her to make people understand the concept and she had to work hard. After a few years of struggle people finally recognised her work and accepted her as a designer.
“I came to the US after marriage and here I had to start all over again. As the fashion industry here is very different I worked with many organisations voluntarily to gain requisite knowhow. I have enrolled myself at Fashion Institute of Technology for designing-related courses and got into internships; people slowly started appreciating my work. Now I am working for a fashion marketing firm in New York where I started as an intern. For me every day is a learning experience so there is nothing like one click which is a turning point,” Gipsita added.
Gipsita is inspired by Ritu Beri, Wendell Rodricks and Donna Karan. It is not just fashion designers who inspire her but also the paintings of MF Husain gave her a lot of inspiration. She has designed a collection based on his paintings.
Apart from producing fashion shows she is also working as a stylist these days. She has met many internationally famous designers. In the initial years in the US she participated in projects that came her way from different cities but somehow managed to stick to New York.
In 2004 Gipsita along with her six friends organised a fashion show called Design Splash based on the concept of India Fashion Week and was a new thing in Orissa. The slow was widely appreciated and the hard work she had put behind it showed in the overall flawless execution.
“In 2005 when I started my business in Bhubaneswar Gipsitaz Fashion Re-defined I had a production workshop and interestingly which my father is taking care of now after I shifted to the States,” said the designer.
Recently, Gipsita has started designing custom-made wedding veils and the best part is they are loved by clients in New York. She is planning to make it big via veils by putting in a lot of effort.
- Gipsita was appreciated for her highly creative, professional management and human-relation skills in producing fashion events at the New York Fashion Week
- She was the stylist in the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, New York City
- She designed the convocation jacket for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the National Science Congress in January 2013 held at KIIT University, Bhubaneswar
- Gipsita is also an art lover and has a passion for photography. Her photos have been selected for display at galleries in Columbia and Ohio
- She is loved by the live audience whether in India or US. She has many events as an MC from Orissa at international festivals
- She was appreciated for her work in the Schools of Fashion Technology and Film and Media Sciences, KIIT University as programme manager
- Gipsita has also donned the actor’s hat – was in the lead female role opposite Siddhant Mohapatra in the award-winning Oriya film Ekaa Ekaa by Subas Das
