Style.com
The 20 looks he showed did their dance between hard and soft, fantasy and reality, with only a few missed steps. Both beautiful and wearable was a
coat in the exotic fabric of peacock feather-loomed wool.
WWW Fashion
In a collection of 20 looks, wholesaling from $280 to $9,000 for a mink coat, Mohapatra includes a smattering of separates along with coats, dresses
and gowns, which, while cerebral in concept, have a romantic flair.
Fashion Week Daily
"Bibhu leaves J.Mendel with great respect for the team he built and for the unwavering support of Mr. Mendel," said a spokesman. "This was a very
difficult decision but necessary if he is to focus on his next move. He feels the time is right for a fresh luxury brand that will bridge the East and the
West." Mohapatra plans to eventually have boutiques in New York, Mumbai, Dubai, Beijing, London, Paris, and Moscow. More..
Verve Online
"We can take the most expensive material and cut it apart," explains Mohapatra, who spent months with his team in his New York studio, sketching,
editing, sampling and fitting the garment, before deciding to lop off most of its lower half just two nights before the show. In the workroom, he says,
anything goes – as long as the result is ‘like a little jewel’. More...
The New York Observer
When Gilles Mendel, president of the fur-specialty fashion house J Mendel, a family business for five generations, was seeking to repackage it into a
more youthful brand—also one that could be worn in warmer climes—he went looking for fresh talent to help him realize his vision. He found an
F.I.T.-trained designer, originally from Orissa, India, named Bibhu Mohapatra. Mr. Mohapatra joined the company at the end of 1998 as assistant
designer and was appointed design director in 2004. This past fashion season, editors raved over the fall collection, which Mr. Mohapatra oversaw.
J Mendel was awarded the Glamour Award, capping a year in which the label rose to become a first choice for that most coveted of customer: the
red-carpet-walker. More...
St. Petersburg Times
Finding a date to the ball becomes a fairy tale
The party was picture perfect, and the wedding gown was a showstopper. Family friend Bibhu Mohapatra, director of design for French fashion
house J. Mendel, spent a year creating the breathtaking candlelight satin strapless fitted dress with beaded lace mermaid hem and train. A cathedral
veil shimmered with tiny crystals. "It was unreal, " Beard said, demurring at revealing the cost. "Thank goodness for Bibhu's couture family
discount." More...
Equestrian Magazine
Designer Bibhu Mohapatra Designs a Spectacular Wedding Dress for Equestrian Champion
Visualize this wedding dress being designed and made by Bibhu Mohapatra for equestrian champion, Allison Beard: 20 yards of hand loomed
Japanese silk in powdered ivory, 100 yards of hand dyed silk tulle sprinkled with thousands of hand embroidered silk poppy flowers for the royal
veil. The under layers of the gown trimmed with encrusted caviar beading of smoked quartz and semi precious stones in an ancient Indian Zardosi
technique, peaking through the arched hemline of the dress which rests on a structured underskirt made with hand pleated silk tulle and tea stained
silk mousseline. All done by artisans of three different beading salons in India and Lasage of Paris. The final creation put together in New York.
DNA India
In town on a work-cum-pleasure trip, Bibhu says he is extremely excited about the Indian market, and in fact, plans to launch in India with his fall
2010 collection. “It will be inspired by my good friend Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi’s incredible book — The Last Song of Dusk. I am extremely
excited about weaving a creative story with sophisticated and sumptuous clothes that reflects the spirit of the book,” he reveals.
for someone whose USP is high-end luxury clothing, Bibhu says his mission is to make exclusive, yet accessible collections. “My designs are for
the modern, multi-tasking women, who aren’t trying to be fashion icons. So yes, while I will be doing lots of couture, evening wear and cocktail
dresses, I will also launch lines that any regular, working woman could easily buy,” he says. More...
Nirali Magazine
Mohapatra ultimately returns to himself when defining his style. “To me, style is very personal. Everybody has it in them. It’s all about nurturing it and
incorporating it. Find out what you like and what works for you. Couture and money do not necessarily mean style. It’s all about recognizing your
natural self.” More...
Business Today
For the last two seasons, western fashion has been flirting with Indian inspirations. However, this summer, at a time when India is being touted as
the next big economic powerhouse, it has emerged the single largest influence in western fashion trends. On the east side of Bergdorf Goodman is
a J Mendel collection, including one by its design chief, Bibhu Mohapatra, a grey broad-tailed coat with antique silver zardosi work running along the
length of the shoulders and priced at a whopping $50,000 (Rs 22,00,000). More...
Desi Talk
Diverse culture of India has huge influence on current international fashion
As the only Indian with the fashion label and the one who enjoys an influential position within it next only to its head Gilles Mendel, Mohapatra says,
“The silhouettes are slim and sexy like the 1970’s.” In his official capacity he covers the entire range of the collection, from concept and design to
final selection of each item for the fashion show. More...
India Today
Pretty Picture: In cinema and on canvas, India's soft power is earning hard currency.
When Harvard professor Joseph Nye talked of soft power, he didn't realise that India would acquire such expertise in the art of show and sell. There
is just no escaping the Indian metaphor these days. It could be Mira Nair reworking diasporic fiction to create an international film with an Indian
heart. It could be Bibhu Mohapatra bringing the drape of sari to a red carpet show-stopper. Or it could be Indian authors, writing on Mumbai or
mathematics, making bestsellerdom a habit. From East End curry houses to Birmingham's bhangra ghettos, from freelance filmmakers with laptops
to fashion designers with multiculturalism on their minds, the Indian invasion is upon the world. More...
