‘Queen of Prints’--Masaba Gupta
Masaba Gupta, an Indo-Caribbean fashion designer started her eponymous label, House of Masaba in 2009 after graduating from SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai.
An icon for fashion aspirants of this generation, the 31-year-old designer is credited with transforming the face of the fashion industry ever since her promising debut at the Lakme Fashion Week at the young age of 19. With decade-long experience, Gupta is revered globally as the ‘Queen of Prints’.
Manifesting her vivid cultural identity inherited from mother Neena Gupta, an award winning actress, and her father, Sir Viv Richards, a West Indies cricketing legend, Gupta is distinguished for mastering the fusion trend. Notably, House of Masaba, her homegrown, India proud label with a Caribbean heart blends two varied cultures and thoughts to transform everyday mundane items into unconventional motifs and prints.
Breaking stereotypes
The signature Masaba Gupta designs channel her quirky and experimental style sensibilities breaking stereotypes with unique and fuss-free silhouettes for modern Indian women. With the anytime, anywhere ensembles, House of Masaba is bridging the gap between haute and pret couture.
The label has made a broad portfolio with destination wedding collections, festive wear, party collections and resort wear, all rendered in the brand’s signature colours, motifs and aesthetics. These elements have found their way into collaborations across many more product categories.
Masaba achieved quick success in the world of fashion and has often been in the spotlight on the most-coveted power lists like Vogue Women of the Year and Femina’s Fabulous 40. With A-list celebrities dressing themselves up in Masaba’s designs, she has become the go-to designer who is always on Bollywood’s radar.
Successful entrepreneur
Over the years, the brand has forayed into beauty, fashion jewellery, accessories, menswear, swimwear, and many more segments. She has introduced a line of exclusive Masaba beauty products featuring the brand’s signature bold prints in a popular collaboration with multi-brand beauty platform Nykaa with the Masaba by Nykaa limited edition series. The Masaba by Nykaa Kit includes a range of nail paints, fragrances, lipsticks and other makeup essentials.
Adding to her globally trendsetting repertoire, she collaborated with an original HBO series launching the Masaba X GOT capsule collection. The Game of Thrones Masaba collection presented womenswear, menswear, jewellery in designs inspired by its theme and characters.
The House of Masaba brand has built a significant presence in both, online and offline retail space catering to women with experimental style sense as well as firm cultural roots. The diffusion label stocks at luxury international shopping destinations like Essence in Jumeirah; Taj Exotica in Maldives; Vesimi in Dubai; reaching out to the elite clientele in the United Kingdom with Este Couture and Pernia’s Pop-Up Studio, taking over the US with Anokhi Ada in Georgia, Desi Couture in Houston, and Adaa in Bangkok -- with the global presence of the brand, Gupta has proved her mettle as a successful entrepreneur.
Multifaceted talent
In 2020, she launched a collection as part of the United Nations Environment Programme’s campaign, ‘I Will Wear Out Plastic’. This year, she went global with the high-fashion brand Louis Vuitton’s campaign for its cult-favourite Coussin bag.
She is the first and only Indian designer to have a series made on her life. The Masaba Masaba Netflix series is inspired by her own personal life and fashion journey that also celebrates her unique and special bond with her mother. The mother and daughter duo won critics acclaim for pleasantly refreshing scenes. Stepping into this new venture, designer Gupta has expanded her horizons raising the bar with her multifaceted creativity and talent.
