Making a statement

BENGALURU: Saving  the Indian tricolour high and with pride, Adline Castelino, the third runner-up at the 69th edition of the Miss Universe pageant, returned to India on May 19, wearing a stunning outfit designed right here in Bengaluru.

Even if the crown was not to be - it went to Miss Mexico - Castelino came very close to it, winning the title Miss Diva Universe at the pageant in Florida, the United States, on Sunday. For the homecoming, which was low-key due to the Covid situation in India, the 22-year-old model donned a shimmery jacquard pantsuit designed by city-based label House of Three.

The double-breasted blazer has a purple silk lapel with intricate embroidery on it. City-based designer Sounak Sen Barat, the man behind the outfit, says he could not have been prouder of the way it looked on her. He says the eggplant silk lapel has been embroidered with Kashmiri ektaar threadwork and beads, aptly representing the Indian soul with a global appeal, which Castelino accurately brought to the international stage. “Zohraa (the name of the suit), is part of our Kalgi collection, which is an amalgamation of stitch work from Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh.

The brocade work you see is made of actual silver zari which was oxidised to get the colour of gold,” explains Barat. Barat says that the rigorous training that Castelino went through, and the pantsuit created magic on the day she returned home.

Fashion stylist and consultant Bharat Gupta, who picked the outfit, says it was a proud moment for them to have a Miss India getting a top-five placement at the Miss Universe pageant after 20 years, and what better way to bring her back home in a power suit. “As she was coming back to India, we wanted to celebrate her innate Indianness, so we chose a pantsuit but in a brocade fabric, as it suits her really well.

Even at the pageant, most of the outfits we had chosen for her had Indian fabric on western styled clothes, to show her global appeal yet her culturally rooted self. When she came back, this seemed like the perfect look for her,” says the Mumbai-based stylist. He is all praise for the Bengaluru- based couture label. “House of Three has many beautiful outfits and their contribution to Adline’s wardrobe has been great and this turned out to be one of our favourite outfits.”

WHO IS ADLINE?

• Born in Kuwait, into a Catholic family whose roots are in Udupi
• Returned to India, at the age of 15 for higher studies
• Holds a degree in Business Administration
• Appeared in music videos Mere Dil Vich by Arjun Kanungo, Tere Bina with Shreyas Dharmadhikari