VOGUE PARTNERSHIPSUPRIYA LELE
Raised in the West Midlands, Supriya
Lele’s take on her Indian heritage is
refracted through the lens of ’90s
Britain: traditional drapery rendered
in transparent mesh, storied prints
blown up into abstraction – or, here,
the cut of a sari blouse transformed
into a luminous satin dress. “I try
to explore the tension between my
two cultures,” she says. “I was
never someone who dressed up in
traditional clothing – so what I like
to do is take elements of that and
approach it from my own, minimal
perspective.” Growing up besotted
by Barbie (“I was an only child, so I
had about 40”), Lele’s first venture
into design was creating custom
wardrobes for her – now things have
come full circle, as she precisely
scaled the measurements of one of
her autumn/winter 2019 looks to
suit Barbie’s size. In fact, so perfectly
is her neon outfit reconfigured
that even the pockets are fully
operational. “I felt like a child
again,” she grins. “But now I have an
incredible pattern-cutter to help.”
OLIVIA SINGERHAIR: YUMI NAKADA-DINGLE. MAKE-UP: THOMASIN WAITE. NAILS: LAUREN MICHELLE PIRES. SET DESIGN: ANDREW CLARKSON09-19Barbie.indd 213 04/07/19 2:07 PM