Michael Cinco: Would love to dress up Alia Bhatt
, known for his opulent, red-carpet-worthy creations, finds endless inspiration in travel, culture, and craftsmanship. He was in India recently to showcase his opulent, Renaissance-inspired designs at
in Gurgaon.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
Talking about his inspiration, Michael Cinco said, 'I travel a lot, and I am always inspired by my travels. I discover different cultures, arts, architecture, and most importantly, people - they all inspire me. India's skilled craftsmanship and artistry inspire me a lot, and I have used the heritage craft of zardozi and brocade in some of my designs. Some of the robes were inspired by the Middle East.'
The designer, whose outfits have been worn by several global stars, counts
as one of his favourites. 'Aishwarya Rai is one of my favourites. She wore two of my outfits at the Cannes Film Festival. They have been my favourite works in my career. I appreciate
a lot and I love her.
I would love to dress her sometime.'
His advice for young designers in India? 'It is important to know that fashion is not just about glamour. It takes a lot of hard work and patience. One needs to be proud of their heritage and show it to the world. To stand out, embracing heritage is key. My Filipino roots influence my designs and how I approach work, as we are very resilient people. After being in
for 27 years, I am also inspired by their beautiful culture and infuse the opulence in my work immensely.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
8 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Woman's touching gesture in live wedding painting leaves groom and millions in tears. Watch
A live wedding painter's sweet gesture for a groom at his wedding moved him to tears and melted millions of hearts online. Dianna, a Canada-based artist who helps newlyweds turn their love into an "artwork of a lifetime," shared the video on Instagram, capturing the reaction of a groom as she revealed to him the painting she did of him and his wife walking down the aisle as a married couple. The bride wanted to pay special tribute to two important people in the groom's life through the painting.(Instagram/paintedbydianna) However, on the bride's instruction, Dianna added a little something special to the painting just for the groom. In the clip, the artist can be seen moving aside to reveal her creation to the newlyweds as the groom carefully examines every detail. But soon, the smile on his face disappears and turns into confusion as he moves closer to see the background of the painting. "We surprised the groom with two very special people in the painting," she said. As the groom notices, his eyes well up with tears, and he holds his bride, thanking her for the addition. "Shelby had wanted to surprise Ryan by adding his grandfather and best friend to their wedding painting. Knowing they could only be there in spirit, it was their way of having them there on their special day," the artist explained in the caption of the video, revealing two men standing in the background of the painting, smiling at the newlyweds. "If there's one thing I will for sure do, it's cry as soon as someone else does. Days like these remind me how important art is and why I do what I do. I'm very thankful to be a part of it," she added. The video received a whopping 17.2 million views and nearly two million likes on Instagram. The bride and groom also dropped a comment calling the painting the "highlight of their wedding" and adding that they would cherish the art forever. Many in the comments claimed that they were moved to tears by the artist's work and praised her ability to make the couple's big day even more special.
Indian Express
8 hours ago
- Indian Express
Up, close, personal: The life & times of Aditya Prakash
'Aditya Prakash, A Presentation in Free Verse' is an exhibition that showcases, besides his architecture, the artist, writer, academic and architect's foray into art, literature and theatre. Aditya Prakash (1924-2008) belonged to the first generation of Indian modernists who sought to describe the entire cosmos of modern India, including art, architecture, design, planning and theatre. Prakash joined the Chandigarh Capital Project Team in 1952. This city, which he helped birth, was his lifelong love, where he lived and died. Painting was a perpetual practice for Prakash; he spent two to three hours every morning in his atelier, meditating on the expressions of a modern life not just for India, but more spiritually and sensually for the world. Bringing together a selection of Prakash's works in dialogue with his furniture, photography, sculpture and urban plans, this exhibit, in free verse, explores the mechanics by which forms, ideas and ethics of 'Chandigarh Modernism' were exchanged, critiqued and transformed by one of its most devoted exponents. The event commemorates the death anniversary (August 12) of Prakash, who was a Renaissance man in the true sense. The curators, Eashan Chaufla and Deepika Gandhi, both had their leaning towards the works of Prakash, which ultimately led to this event about his life and oeuvre and the exhibition based on them. Eashan is, in a sense, living with the legacy of Prakash every day, having set up his studio in the very house which Prakash designed for himself and where he produced most of his work. He worked closely on the book, 'One Continuous Line' by Vikramaditya Prakash, discovering more about the multifaceted creative personality of Aditya Prakash. Deepika Gandhi, being an alumnus and then a faculty member of Chandigarh College of Architecture, has spent close to 30 years in a building designed by Prakash. She was drawn more to the artwork of Prakash, which she felt was never given due credit, and the fact that he was most prolific post-retirement. Chief Architect Sumit Kaur says that Prakash had an immense impact on her education as a student and later as an architect. She maintains that he was a mentor to hundreds of students, inspiring them with examples to go deeper into research and development of all the creative faculties of the students. Architect Kapil Setia, reflecting on this showcase, talks about the impact that the frame control devised by Prakash has had on the orderly development of the city. He also emphasises the need to preserve the iconic buildings that defined the Chandigarh style through creative adaptive reuse. Highlighting the theatrical ventures of Prakash which were taken up in his late 70s and into his 80s till the time he died, Harleen Kohli recalls that Prakash became a part of the workshops of Gurcharan Channi that ultimately lead to the famous play, 'Zindagi retire nahi hoti', and the humility and child-like abandon with which Prakash immersed himself in the workshop and also contributed his lines to the play. 'He passed away while travelling with the theatre group in a train at Ratlam at the age of 84,' says Kohli. The exhibition and presentation give the viewers a new insight into the work of Prakash and display is a fine mix of carefully curated and painfully collected original paintings, drawings and photographs of his work, furniture and his books and his iron sculptures. The exhibition is on view till August 23 at Punjab Kala Bhawan, Sector 16, Chandigarh.
Hindustan Times
10 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Reddy and setting Indian motor racing on the speedway
What's the most attention-grabber way to introduce Akhilesh Reddy? Call him India's Bernie? Reddy laughs at the suggestion and says, 'yes, you can say that'. (Think circuits, lanes and pits and you'll work out which Bernie). How about his own definition of what he's been up to for the past three years – 'more of a madness' – heading into its fourth edition this week? Let's put a price on the madness – a spend of about €50-60 million (approx. ₹50-60 crore) over three years. The Indian Racing League (IRL), the world's first city-centric, gender-neutral motor-racing franchise competition is the flagship event, one of the festival's three categories of races. (HT) Questions ranging from 'what', 'whatever for' and 'why on earth' come rushing. But Hyderabad-based Reddy is linked to creating, he says, ecosystems, pathways, and with it, an awareness of Indian motorsports at a time he believes is just right for his investment in finance, energy and emotion into his thought-through madness. This weekend marked the start of the Indian Racing Festival, a season of five racing weekends, owned and promoted by Reddy's Racing Promotions Private Limited (RPPL). The Indian Racing League (IRL), the world's first city-centric, gender-neutral motor-racing franchise competition is the flagship event, one of the festival's three categories of races. The IRL has six teams, with combination of superstar/businessmen owners – the Goa Aces (John Abraham), Kolkata Royal Tigers (Sourav Ganguly), Kichas Kings Bengaluru (Bengaluru-based movie star Kichcha Sudeep), Speed Demons Delhi (Arjun Kapoor), Hyderabad Blackbirds (Telugu film star Naga Chaithanya), and the Chennai Turbo Riders who are owned by Dr. Swetha Sundeep Anand of the Accord Group of Hotels, headed by its director Ranjith Amizdhan. Each team fields four drivers, two per car, including one woman. The first three races will take place on Coimbatore's Kari Motor Speedway (Aug 15-17 and Oct 3-5) and the Madras International Circuit (Aug 22-24). The venues for the last two weeks are not yet announced but they could feature that rare sighting: an Indian street race, like the one held in Chennai in last year's IRL. Besides Indian drivers, this year's IRL features 2016 Le Mans winner Neel Jani, who test drove for Sauber F1, and GP2 winner John Lancaster. The women drivers include Alexandra Herve, who finished third in the 2023 Formula Renault Cup championship, Laura Campos Torras, a product of the Ferrari Driver Academy. Reddy says, 'Motor racing is gender neutral and I wanted to push boundaries, putting men and women in the same category, and have them compete on the same platform. I want Indian girls to get into motor sport and want to participate.' As a teenager, Reddy, 39, had to be a part of the sport, 'but it was really unreachable… We didn't have opportunities, nothing was available, nobody had really pushed towards the sport.' He says Kari was the only proper race track then with at the most three-four karting tracks in the country. The IRL was devised to create an extra layer of public knowledge and familiarise people with the sport. Running alongside IRL is the pathway that Reddy believes will crystallise as the decade rolls over. RPPL has the FIA licence via the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) to run Formula 3 and Formula 4 in India. These are the first steps aspiring drivers must aim for after karting to make careers in international single-seaters. In 2023, as part of the Festival, RPPL held India's first F4 races alongside IRL. The Formula LGB Series (F4) of the JK Tyres National Racing Championship – an entry-level single racing platform – is also part of it. F3 will come into the programme only after FIA releases its latest Generation-2 F3 car. Reddy obtained licences for these two categories because, 'after karting, we don't have a ladder for our youngsters to get into motor sport…' Before 2023, Indian drivers needed to travel to Europe or the Middle East to race, spending between 150,000-180,000 Euros ( ₹1.5-1.8 crore) a seat. The Indian F4 seat costs only ₹50-70 lakh, he says. Reddy believes his timing to dive into creating motor racing opportunities in India is right as 'there are 3-4 karting tracks in every city'– three in Chennai, five-six in Hyderabad and 3-4 in Bangalore. The younger generation is also drawn to motor sport first lured by F1. By the time they enter working/earning adulthood, Reddy believes he will be at the stage 'where the whole league would be established'. More race weekends, 'year-round championships with 12 weekends, pre-monsoon and post monsoon.' He anticipates that IRL Season Four could come close to marking the turnaround. 'When I got into this, I had made up my mind that this league will take at least five-six years to stabilise – in its running costs.' He hopes the league becomes 'self-sustainable probably by next summer, next year'. His dream is 'by 2033 or 2034, we see at least one kid who has driven in RPPL… at least one female Indian driver in Formula 2 grid by 2032 or 2023.' And the Indian Bernie (Ecclestone) parallel? Many may dispute but Reddy is the man on the start-finish line owning and flagging off the races.
