Every season, Bibhu Mohapatra channels a specific muse for his collection, from Georgia O’Keefe to Françoise Hardy. For spring 2025, the designer set his sights on the writer, singer, and artist Patti Smith. But don’t expect an offering filled with Smith’s trademark style—there were no Breton shirts or field jackets here. Instead, Mohapatra’s collection incorporated colorful striped jacquards and beaded tulles, mini shift dresses and organza gowns—perhaps even the antithesis of what one would conjure when thinking of Patti Smith’s largely androgynous wardrobe. But Mohapatra never intended to reproduce the artist’s clothes in his offering. Instead, uses his muses as a lens to inform his approach rather than direct inspiration. “I didn’t want to do her style and her choices in clothing,” he said.
During the early stages of moodboarding, Mohapatra returned to his native India with his parents’ and brother’s ashes to perform their final rites. “I went on a very spiritual pilgrimage,” he said. “That changed something in my head, as I’m sitting there in the middle of this conference of the universe.” When he returned, he became transfixed by Smith’s writing. “It really takes me to places where I can be—because I’m processing a lot of grief and a lot of so her poetry is also super heavy,” he said. “But you can also find optimism there.”
That optimism shone through in Mohapatra’s ethereal bent, like the layered lattice point d’esprit dresses, flowing chiffon gown, and embroidered organza and tulle pieces. Going forward, he would benefit from leaning into that organic, bohemian sensibility, whereas some of the more structural pieces—particularly those rendered in faille—felt outdated.
This season, Mohapatra is launching denim—a byproduct of opening a brick and mortar store post-lockdown. By connecting with his community in a physical space, he was able to field his customer’s needs. He also hopes it will be an opportunity to introduce younger clients to the brand. “Maybe her mother is our client for the dresses, and it allows her to enter into a more approachable price point,” he said. Perhaps, he postured, she’s a Patti Smith fan, too. “She’s youthful,” he said of his denim buyer. “She discovered Patti, and then she’s manifesting Patti.” But whether this will help expand the label to a younger clientele will reveal itself in due time. Smith said it best: “Who can know the heart of youth but youth itself?” She was talking about business acumen here, right?
