What fun it is to hear Bibhu Mohapatra s inspirations each season. They re never generic. After the designer watched colorblind artist Neil Harbisson s TED talk on how a device attached to his head lets him "hear" color, Mohapatra was inspired to work in gray scale.
He wasn t too strict about it. "Color brings optimism," said Mohapatra, explaining all the blues—cobalt, periwinkle, slate—that kept popping up. But the designer seemed to thrive within the slight limitations he d created for himself.
An appealing vine silhouette was either printed or embroidered on a number of pieces: stamped in white and silver on a periwinkle blouse; all white on a long black gown; done in navy and black on a crepe T-shirt and pencil skirt combo. "I wanted to develop a print from some element in nature," Mohapatra said of the design. An unlined jacquard coat served as an elegant topper over separates, as well as his best-selling shifts. But the standout was a periwinkle dress with a floating halter neckline and double-star pleating on the skirt. (Mohapatra s master pleater pulled the stunning pattern from the archives.) While the majority of the range consisted of wardrobe workhorses—albeit special ones—that piece brought something magical to it all.
