Chennai-based designer Chaitanya Rao makes a splash by designing for the Miss India and Miss Diva winners

While the top two winners of VLCC Femina Miss India 2020 — Manasa Varanasi (VLCC Femina Miss India World 2020), Manika Sheokand (VLCC Femina Miss Grand India 2020), and LIVA Miss Diva Universe 2021 Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu — are gearing up for the upcoming international pageants, Chennai-based designer Chaitanya Rao is busy designing for these ladies. Being the only designer from the city to be designing for all the top three winners, Chaitanya is elated about the opportunity. “I had earlier styled for Parvathy Omanakuttan (Miss World 2008 1st Runner-up). And so, it always feels nice when Chennai is put on the national map. All the three girls are looking stunning and I am sure that at least one of them will bring home the crown,” says Chaitanya.

With each of them having their unique personalities, Chaitanya’s work process included designing for all the three girls differently. “It is true that they have individual personalities. So, I had to come up with varied styles that would work for them. For instance, for Manasa, I created a red silhouette dress. It is a long evening gown, which has lots of layers. And for Manika, we did a blazer dress. Stylist Bharath, who had seen the work I did for Aishwarya Rajesh for Chennai Times Most Desirable 2018, wanted me to come with blazer looks for Manika. Designing women’s blazer is a tricky thing, but Manika carried them off well. For Harnaaz, the look will be more flirty. Since I am more into slick western designs, we’ve gone with different looks for each of them,” says the designer.

So, where did he draw the inspiration from? He says, “Well, the women themselves! All of them have great poise, body, and personality. My clothes are meant for confident women of today and that is where my inspiration came from. Unlike earlier times, where pageant winners had to work their own way for events, things have changed. Today, it is all about bringing confidence to the table. Be it basic lunches or dinner, everything is more organised. Competition is fierce and one has to put the best foot forward. So, all those were taken note of when designing clothes for them.”

Chaitanya did a lot of rough drawings and set aside a solid time to work on this alongside his film commitments. “I did a total of six looks and have tried to work on new ideas that will set the tone for my spring-summer collection, too,” he signs off.