Shilpi Agarwal believes she is going through the best phase of her career now. The costume designer and stylist, who started her career as an assistant designer with ‘Rock On!!’ (2008), had a dream run last year, While she garnered acclaim for her work in the Voot original series ‘Candy’, the audience reacted positively to the intricate costumes she designed for the critically acclaimed Marathi feature film ‘Picasso’ that is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
In this interview, she talks about her recent successful projects, what it takes to design for films and shows, the importance of formal training for a designer, upcoming projects and more.
You have seen a lot of appreciation coming your way post the release of the web show ‘Candy’ which you designed the costumes for. A lot of people believe that a costume designer gets to showcase their talent when they get to design for a film/show which is high on glamour. What was the process of designing costumes for this show which was essentially a dark thriller?
The biggest challenge of costume design is to get the character come alive as per the vision of the creators. Also, the audience should be able to relate to the look of the character. I have never been concerned about my clothes looking glamorous. It is all about what the character needs. I love to create unique yet familiar characters through costumes and this is what I strive to achieve in all my projects.
For ‘Candy’, we had to take into consideration the extreme climate as we were shooting in Nainital during the peak of the winter season. While the costumes should reflect the mood and theme of the show, the actors had to be extremely comfortable wearing the clothes as well.
The first step towards design is to read the script and understand the overall mood, emotions, graph and personalities of the characters. As a costume designer, I let the script guide me. Accordingly, a designer needs to do the referencing and work around the unique elements and details for each character. At the same time, one needs to work on the colour palettes with the entire team. While working on the colour palette for ‘Candy’, we made an important decision. Though it was a dark thriller, we didn’t want the palette to look morose. So, we used deeper hues and pop of colours here and there and layered up with the neutral greys and blues to balance the mystic mood of the show.
The most interesting part of the show was to create the ‘monster’. We went back and forth and experimented with a lot of different materials, textures, layers and prosthetics. After going through multiple trials, the team finally agreed on the form, shape and look of it. I feel this was the most challenging part of the show. I had a great team working with me and that’s the reason we managed to pull it off despite budgetary, time and resource based constraints.
‘Picasso’ was a completely different project. How was the process of working on it?
‘Picasso’ was a great experience because it involved studying the intricacies of craft and culture. India has such a rich treasure of varied art and craft. I love learning about them wherever and whenever I can. ‘Picasso’ involved the performing folklore dance form of Maharashtra called ‘Dashavtar’. I attended various performances and spoke to the artists and learned about the costumes and the stories behind them. Each costume has a back story based on the character they play on stage while performing. My challenge was to keep the authenticity intact yet make it look aesthetically pleasing on screen. I worked around the concepts of the characters, fine-tuned the embroideries and set up a palette to make it look lavish, bright, in sync and at the same time resonate with the characters they play on stage while performing. Apart from the on-stage grandeur, we also had to show the daily life struggles of the artists off stage where we went completely muted with raw textures. And this is how we created two worlds of the same character, both of which are drastically different from the each other.
From being a designer with Pantaloons back in the day to designing for films, how do you look back at your journey?
It really feels great when I look back at my journey. It took me almost a decade to figure out my true calling. I have explored various avenues right from working in retail industry to export houses to even launching my own label. I guess everything happens for a reason and I am grateful to have been able to work in different industries. It has really helped me towards becoming technically strong. I am happy and content with where I am today. I hope and aim to keep growing and doing good work.
How did your journey in films begin? Was ‘Rock On!!’ the first film you worked on?
Yes! Back in 2007, I was working as a designer with Pantaloons and one of my roommates was from the entertainment industry. Being a curious person and someone who was always fascinated with films, I would ask her about things like what goes behind the scenes and how are the costumes taken care of. I was really keen on exploring different opportunities to figure out what I really wanted to pursue. One day, when I learnt that there was an opening for a costume assistant for a film, I jumped onto that opportunity without knowing anything about what I was getting into. The crazy working hours, hectic schedules and the high pressure drama was unlike my very comfortable 9-5 design job. But at the end of the day, it gave me a sense of fulfilment and by the end of the shoot, I knew this was my path and happy place. ‘Rock On!!’ is and will always be special because it was my first step into this industry. I assisted Niharika Bhasin Khan on the film and I will always be grateful to her for giving me that opportunity.
Many top designers working in the film industry have been the ones who have had no formal training as such. You studied fashion at the prestigious National Institute of Fashion Technology. Do you think formal training is important?
Well, I do think studying fashion and design at NIFT worked as an advantage for me. Doing a formal course in an institute helps in enhancing your skill sets and gives you the required exposure. Also, the technical knowledge always comes in handy and helps you while working around fabrics, textures and properties, pattern making and several other elements. I feel you can visualize things with more clarity when you know the process behind them. Every individual, of course, has their own design process. Education works as a tool to enhance the whole process. I firmly believe that you learn and evolve as a person and a designer every day and with each project you work on. Interestingly, during the shoot of ‘Candy’, the phrase ‘Learning Everyday’ was like our costume team’s takia kalam (catchphrase). We faced a lot of last-minute challenges on the set but somehow, we managed to find a way out of them every single time.
What is the biggest challenge involved in designing for films or shows?
As I mentioned earlier, the costumes should not distract or become an eyesore. They should blend in seamlessly into the world that is being created on screen. To work in sync with all the departments and get this right, maintaining the balance between being simple and having a cinematic appeal is the most challenging part.
Which has been your most fulfilling project as a designer so far?
For me, the term ‘fulfilling’ means two things. I feel happy when a project offers me creative satisfaction and my work reaches out to a wide audience. ‘Candy’ was the first mainstream web series I worked and it earned me a lot of acclaim. So, it will always be very special to me. The series had a stellar cast and catered to a wide audience. It was quite a challenge to get the flavour right. Another project which I loved working on was a docu-series for Netflix that is slated to release later this year. Being a docu-series, we faced certain challenges while bridging the gap between authenticity and the cinematic appeal that the narrative needed. I am keenly looking forward to see how my work on this project is received by the audience.
Another project that was satisfying and challenging in equal measures was the Hindi feature film ‘Bhagwan Bharose’(currently in post-production). The film was set in a small village in Jharkhand and the time period I had to work in for the costumes was India in the early ‘90s. I had the best time exploring rural India, sourcing from local markets and borrowing clothes from the local residents in order to give the film a raw and real look. These extra steps helped in bringing out the authentic textures of the setting. We didn’t use ready-made costumes. Instead, we got most of the shirts stitched as during that era, people in villages used to get the yardage and get their shirts stitched. The concept of having ready-to-wear clothes didn’t exist even then in most villages.
Do you have any favourite designers or somebody whom you looked up to when you decided to become one yourself?
Honestly, I did not have any favourite designers when I decided to become one. That’s because I had no idea about costume design in films. Back then, it was only the period drama or the high fashion films where costumes were focused on or talked about. Once I got hands-on experience on the design process, I started observing and appreciating the work of costume designers on all the films. Talking about my current favourites, I would say I have always been in awe of Arjun Bhasin’s work on all the films he has worked on. I think he creates magic with his costumes on-screen.
What is that one quality, you think, sets you apart from other designers? Do you have a signature style?
I am a team player and a good listener. I am always up for any challenge that is thrown at me. I love playing around with colours and textures to enhance the cinematic appeal and that, I think, is my forte. I have also been associated with producing films so I understand the value of time, money and sweat that goes into it. I cannot comment on my signature style because every project involves a unique creative process and that’s the beauty of working in the film industry.
Which are the projects you are working on at the moment?
I am currently on some exciting and diverse projects like a sci-fi series for a major platform, a Hindi drama feature and a fiction short film. I am looking forward to experimenting as much as I can with the varied genres of projects I am working this year.