Made In Heaven 2 was quite a success, and a proof of it was visible through its celebration of cultures, stories and Indian couture. Designed by costume designer/ stylist–Bhawna Sharma, the second season of this popular Prime Video show described fashion in its most authentic form, made couture relatable and had us feeling a million emotions through colours and cuts. Headlining the wardrobes of the cast and bridal entries, costume designer Bhawna Sharma brought Indian homegrown brands under the spotlight, and minted designs that exuded power and glam. In an exclusive conversation with me, Bhawna Sharma takes us through her journey of designing for the show, bringing Sabyasachi to the screen and a lot more.
Q: Take us through the mood board of revenge dressing for Tara Khanna in season 2.
Bhawna Sharma: Everyone’s kind of given it a title, but I never even thought it was a revenge dress. I just thought it through the lens of where Tara stands this season. This season, she comes back stronger. She had a failed marriage, and a business that collapsed. So, that’s a personal turmoil she went through, but because she’s groomed herself and she’s come on her own. She’s a girl who belongs to a middle-class family, and her mother kind of invested in her to be a certain type. Then she gets married to wealth and it was more than revenge. It was owning that position that she was in. Whether it’s self-grooming, whether it’s working in that big multinational, where she ends up marrying the owner– Adil, her lover and husband. For me, I never looked at it as revenge. I think it was more like, “Here I am. I am who I am. And this is how I do it.” My approach to dressing her in those cinch-waist dresses was a way to blend the idea of power dressing. Tara uses her sartorial choices as her shield, her armour to go out there and make a statement. It says all about her personality, her aura, what the choices she’s made without saying much. She’s just there. So I don’t think it was more about revenge.
Q: How did you pick that Sabyasachi archival piece for her?
Bhawna Sharma: That archival piece by Sabyasachi, which was pretty much inspired by Frida Kahlo was a piece I had seen over many many years. But when I was actually designing Tara’s look for that scene, the dress’ cinched waistline was what made me pick it. Even in the scene where she wins the case and she gets the house, she signs the papers and tells Bindu off and walks out in that blue dress. Basically, it was the first dress that I sourced. So, it was always about the silhouette, the colour for me, that exuded power. And that Sabyasachi dress worked flawlessly because she had lost everything. She’s borrowing clothes to keep up with her Tara-ness and her position in society.
Q: What was the brief given to you for the costumes of the cast? How did you manage to reflect every character’s emotional state and evolution from Season 1 in their costumes?
Bhawna Sharma: You have to keep the script as the centre of everything, while you’re designing costumes and that’s what I did. And of course, taking back from where Tara was in season one and where Tara is in season two, there were a lot of mood boards. There were a lot of meetings with each director, Zoya, Nitya, and even the production designer. So it was a lot of referencing, swatching, silhouettes, and fabrics. The brief was very clear that I had to kind of stay true to the script and follow each character’s graph, which was very important because it can look unreal and we’re not following fashion trends. These are about real people, uh, going through real emotions, human emotions. A lot of creative meetings with even production designer–Sally White, who played a pivotal role in the design. So it’s been a collective effort. So, that was really the prep.
Q: Apart from Tara, which character out of the cast was the most tricky and still most interesting to style?
Bhawna Sharma: I think the challenge starts from the show itself. When I read the script, I told Zoya–”You know what, this is where I belong. This is our society. I’ve grown up here.” So for me, each character had a very deep kind of connection. And other than Tara, I’d say Meher was this girl who just transitioned. She was interesting to style and I played with a lot of silhouettes. If you see from episodes one to seven, ten weddings, all the prep days, and date nights, she’s trying to be feminine. She’s trying different silhouettes throughout the whole time.
And I really admire Trinetra who herself is a transition woman in real life and played the role. It was great working with her. Also, I loved dressing Bulbul because I just love her character graph. I love who she is. I love what she’s been through and she’s so strong and powerful. She carries this fake Chanel bag and has these oversized sunglasses, but she’s very rooted to her background. So she walks out of the home. She wears these fitted Patiala salwars. It was fun.
Q: How important was it to give the costumes of Made In Heaven, a big designer boost?
Bhawna Sharma: You know when Zoya asked me to do the project, the conversation I took back to her was that I wanted to celebrate Indian couture and homegrown brands on the show. All designers and brands have been super supportive and gone out of their way to work on the project. I thought they would be really great representatives of these characters. Even with Tara, you never see her wearing fashion, and neither is fashion wearing Tara. It had to be relatable. So, I thought this was a great platform to kind of celebrate homegrown brands and couture brands on Made in Heaven 2.
Q: What was the idea behind bringing the Sabyasachi aesthetic to the limelight? Was it easy to convince him for an OTT debut?
Bhawna Sharma: It was not even planned. This just happened last minute. He ended up being there and playing the part. So, it just was very sweet and wonderful. Zoya kind of convinced him and that’s how it happened. He was obviously very shy!
Also Read: Made In Heaven 2’s Trinetra Haldar Opens Up About Effeminate Side As A Boy, Says Madhuri Dixit ‘Mesmerised’ Her
Q: How was it dressing each bride and curating a unique aesthetic for the same?
Bhawna Sharma: The script was essential. Everyone’s cultural background, their traditional background was important. And if you see in season two, it’s very specific like it’s very rooted to the tradition. So, if you look at the Buddhist Dalit wedding to a South Indian wedding I worked closely with jewellers. I worked with couture houses. We worked on colour palettes, each bride was curated. If you look at the Christian wedding featuring Sarah Jane who is wearing this beautiful wedding gown by Gauri Nainika. I also worked with the Natural Diamond Council. We got a list of designers, jewellery brands, and natural diamond brands.
Q: Accessories played an integral aspect this season, what were the key jewellery trends that you wished to curate this season?
Bhawna Sharma: It was not about trends at all, but I believe that jewellery and accessories not only bring life to your outfit, but if the right jewellery is worn with the apparel or your choice of wardrobe, then it really brings life to your look. You can see Christian Louboutin and if you see jewellery on the brides, you will find Khanna Jewellers and Anmol Jewellers.
Q: What was the one thing that Zoya Akhtar explicitly told you to not do in terms of costumes?
Bhawna Sharma: No, Zoya never said anything. She was so wonderful, and she’s a powerhouse. There was no such brief but whenever I presented her ideas, and if things did not work out, we had a discussion and then we reworked it. But of course, she believed in me and then she kind of saw me through it. And that’s why I look up to her. And, she’s been the most wonderful person to work with. She’s fantastic and I love her.
Q: How long did it take to finalise the costume aesthetic of every character?
Bhawna Sharma: From the time I read the script in February 2020, we started work immediately. Then it went on till March and of course, then COVID happened. We kind of had to stop. Then we started with the soft prep, and it took us three months. For every episode, we had five-hour meetings with the production designer, and each director, Then we had, on-ground work when we started. We had fittings with all the actors over hours and days. And then we started shooting. For such a massive show, you’re constantly prepping while also shooting. But you pretty much get things locked right before the shoot, and it goes as per schedule.
Q: What has been your absolute favourite show (Indian and International) when it comes to styling that elevates the storytelling?
Bhawna Sharma: I haven’t looked at this particular project with that brief. But personally and visually, I’ve appreciated–Sex And The City, Emily in Paris, and even Game of Thrones, which is completely different, is a period drama. There was not one show that inspired me, but yes to recap and to revisit I did watch season one and I think Namrata had done a great job on it. So I kind of had to follow it through and bring newness to it. My biggest learning was working with the production designer and I think it’s just been wonderful working with Sally White.
Q: Was there a favourite look from the show?
Bhawna Sharma: There are many. It’s really hard, it’s my baby. So many things that Arjun wore like the very beautiful bandhgala by Raghuvendra Rathore. Then I Tara in that beautiful black drape dress with a cape in that lesbian wedding by Tarun Tahiliani. And even that Torani saree she wore at the champagne brunch. And my brides, I mean, I’m all gaga over the brides. I loved the Buddhist bride by Gaurang Shah and even the Sarah Jane look. I loved the diamonds on her. I loved the gown, which was kind of inspired by November Rain and designed by Gauri and Nainika. It will be very hard for me to say one.