Padmavati is undoubtedly, this years most anticipated film and the look Deepika Padukone donned has created a huge buzz on and off the social media. Since the film is a surreal mix of fantasy and history, Harpreet and Rimple Narula gave everything it took, “For Deepika’s look we have made an exclusive costume that only a Rajput queen would wear. We have taken the motifs from the jharokhas and the various jalis prominent in the Rajasthani architecture. They were combined with a key of light motif — generic to both the cultures.”

Historically, Ratan Sen, the Rajput ruler of Chittor married Padmavati who was the princess of Singhal kingdom (Sri Lanka), after learning about her beauty from a talking parrot named Hiraman. Since she became the queen of Chitor, a lot of Rajputana elements have been used. Talking about the colour palette, Narula says, “We have used colours that were extensively used by the the Rajputs — burnt sienna and orange along with red. We have also added a little bit of purple and fuchsia. All June tones together that have been the essence of the culture.”

Sanjay Leela Bhansali was very precise about how he wanted Padmavati to look. “He wanted to have something really traditional without following any stereotype. So, the whole team came together and came up with the idea something historical that would help in taking the narrative forward, something worth anticipating for.”

But not just the palette, it is also the unibrow look of deepika which has been talked about. “It’s a 13th century film and the unibrow look is something very natural that will definitely uplift the whole vision of a funky girl who caries the persona of a princess,” shares the designer who has been fond of old textiles ever since he can remember.

“Rimple and I have been collecting them for quite some time now. We have travelled to various flea markets, museums and old textiles have been our theme from day one. Fifty per cent of it was done over the years because we do collections that deal with reviving old textiles from various periods around the world rather than being inspired.”

Despite their background, it involved a certain amount of research. “When we started working on the film, we were rushing to Jaipur museum and Calico museum in Ahmedabad, studying all the surviving textiles of that particular era before we came up with our first sample.”

However, the director had just one idea that he briefed the duo about. “Pure zone – something that will be timeless and classic, along with a sense of style, cause the film will be released on a particular date but we, as artists, will have to live with it for our entire life. This was something that was for the masses and not for the people in the fashion fraternity.”

Talking about the particular textiles that the duo used in making the elaborate dresses, Narula shares, “The main textile that the royalty wore was kota which is a muslin. So, we consciously wanted to use handloom fabrics as today’s mercerised fabrics can never fall in that way. It was followed by the embroidery which took a lot of time.” Fortunately, the duo came on board a year-and-a-half back, so they had enough time to work on the

project.

The initiation was a little overwhelming as they tried making samples on fabrics from the market which obviously didn’t work. So, all the fabrics had to be woven first. Also, the weavers and the artistsans were never able to meet the deadlines so they had to try and keep the flow of fabrics running somehow. “Later when the script came in, we zeroed in on 15-20 looks and then a whole process of to and fro from Delhi to Mumbai started — costume check and look test with the cosmetics and the jwellery, took over six months before we finally we shortlisted the few.”

For Narula the authenticity was quintessential which reflects in the embellishment. “For the Rajputs, we stuck to traditional gota patti, handcut sequins of metal along with dori and kasab kari, combined with silk embroidery,” he says.

There are mood looks also that are incorporated in the film, which the duo are not willing to reveal as of yet.