Art of Costume

For the second edition of Vanity Van, Cosmopolitan India is in conversation with three of the country's leading costume designers whose work has redefined on-screen style.

- By Anwesh Banerjee

Clothes make the characters, and cinema is nothing without the costumes that wear our screens. Think Bollywood's love affair with chiffon saris and their sexy avatars, to Shah Rukh Khan-approved leather jackets, the opulent worlds of epic dramas—a la Sanjay Leela Bhansali—the anarkalis, embroidered details, and jewellery that complete that universe.

For the second edition of Vanity Van, Cosmopolitan India is in conversation with three of the country's leading costume designers whose work has redefined onscreen style.

Sheetal Iqbal Sharma

“There was a phase where Hindi films became too Westernised― everyone in Gucci skirts and Louboutins. I fight to keep the Indian-ness alive."

Sheetal Iqbal Sharma is riding an all-time high. At the time of our chat, the Mumbai-based costume designer is still reeling from the joyous reception that his latest project, Mohit Suri's Saiyaara (2025), has been met with.

Sharma didn't exactly grow up dreaming of draping stars. In fact, his early years were spent dabbling in hotel management before drifting towards fashion. "Costume design wasn't a childhood plan," he admits. But cinema had always been in the air, thanks to a home filled with old films and conversations about storytelling. Slowly, his fascination with how clothes could carry a narrative weight pulled him into the world of films.