The Satya Paul x Aditi Rao Hydari capsule collection, which launched at Lakme Fashion Week, partnered with FDCI, in Mumbai, last month, was marked by drama, a burst of colour, and a painterly feel. There were, of course, saris, along with easy separates. The casual chicness was the predominant mood. t2 chatted with Satya Paul’s co-creative director, actress Aditi Rao Hydari, about her latest assignment, the sari and more.

What was your initial reaction when you were roped in as the co-creative director of Satya Paul?

When this offer came to me, I was obviously thrilled, but I was also surprised. I wasn’t scared. Maybe I should have been, but I wasn’t. I was more excited, and I immediately got down to work, creating a mood board and basically throwing up ideas to the team. And that’s how it all started. So it was all pretty much a whirlwind because it happened very fast. But I met the entire team, and it was really lovely. And I think that gave me a lot of confidence because they were also loving and open to all of the ideas that I had, and very excited about them. So yeah, it was a lot of fun actually doing this. I don’t claim to know it professionally, but I had a good team, and I enjoyed coming up with ideas.

How would you describe the experience gained in the last few months working with David Abraham and Rakesh Thakore (former creative directors of Satya Paul)?

Working with and I would say being sort of guided by David and Rakesh was special. I’ve always admired them. I’ve admired their aesthetic, their vision. And they have this world that they have created over the years and been so true to it. So it’s very inspiring to have worked with them. And also because of the people that they are. They’re kind. There’s no reason for them to listen to me. I know nothing about design. I haven’t studied it. Yes, I might have some inherent sense of aesthetics and style, but that does not mean I’m a designer. So for them to actually hear me out and help me streamline my thoughts and ideas was special. And I really am so grateful to them. I felt special around them whenever I met them.

What were your inputs like for this collection?

I think my inputs were more of where I wanted the design language to go. So Satya Paul is known for its prints; there is a legacy, there is a Satya Paul woman, so it comes with all of that. There’s also a complete team in place and execution that has been happening for years. So the design language is something that I created a mood board for and I just wanted to keep it a little more dreamy, youthful, something that you can mix and match, something that you can wear on your travels, lighter stuff that is easier to wear, also vibrant in the colour choices and pastels along with brighter, hotter colours or cooler colours.

I also wanted to use fantastical elements coming together like tigers and flowers and the sun and the moon and things that maybe are important to me. I love tradition, I love being rooted in tradition, but I also like the expansiveness of travelling the world and being a child of many, many cultures. So I think instinctively I wanted that to reflect in what we were doing.

We’ve done a small bit of it because obviously that takes time, and that will take a lot of execution and a lot more detailing to come up with the whole world that I’m trying to create, that I have in my head. But this is a start, and it’s a baby step, and I had the best people helping me. But I will say this, that I only gave the ideas and the sort of vibe of the design. Like, I wanted saris with trench coats, bombers, the kinds of colours, the kinds of motifs, but the execution and then putting together the collection, I had no hand in that because I don’t know how to do that.

Were you emotional when you saw the first piece that you provided input for?

Yes, in fact, I was shooting the show that’s just been announced, Welcome to Khoya Mahal. We were shooting long hours for two months. In the middle of that, I made a trip to Delhi, and I was with the team. We’d already done various design meetings, but that was the first day that I saw some of the pieces and some of the pieces are exactly how I imagined them. I was so excited. Like, there’s a pastel pink sari, which has these flowers, and there’s a tiger peeping out of the flowers. And that’s one of my favourite pieces. And that’s one of the first pieces that I had thought of. I wanted a tiger playfully smelling flowers on the pallu of the sari. And I wanted the combination of the pastel with the slightly hotter colours. Like the tiger is yellow on a pastel pink sari. I wanted that kind of playfulness.

Tell us your favourite bit about the outfit you wore…

I was actually very sick. I had a fever, a cough, and a cold, and I don’t know if I managed to do my best because I was on a lot of antibiotics. But I enjoyed the outfit. One, it was very light. Two, it was playful. Three, I loved that I wanted to do a skirt with a trench and a blouse. I want to be able to wear something like that, even like a Sangeet or to a function. I always wanted to create it. And we did.

In fact, I first wanted to wear that pastel pink sari because I was like, this is my favourite, and it’s come out exactly the way that I wanted. Rakesh and David, in fact, veered me away from that and said, no, something slightly deeper and darker at the end of a show will, you know, make more sense. And so then I said, ‘Can we do an organza skirt with a trench?’ And they said, absolutely. Then we discussed that we would do it in the cloud pattern. I would love to do a photoshoot in New York, running down the street in an outfit like that, with the bindi and just wild open hair.

What is distinctive about Satya Paul as a brand?

I think Satya Paul is an incredible brand. It’s a legacy brand. Also, because of what it did to the sari and how the sari has evolved along with this brand and how the brand has been at the forefront of living and evolving with the sari for all of us. I think that’s cool because of the time when it started, the brand and what they were trying to do with it at that point in time.

I also find that the brand is true to its own story of authenticity, individuality and the strength of a woman, but at the same time, the playfulness and the quality and the owning of the moment that every woman must do and every woman must be proud to do.

A Satya Paul woman is all about being feminine and being fierce.

Do you have a favourite Satya Paul sari?

I love soft printed saris, and Satya Paul is known for its prints, and I love those. I love colour, I love the prints, I love the colour gradations, I love those chiffons, the soft silks, the drapey silks that they use. There are some with an almost Japanese aesthetic. I love those too.

How do you view the sari now?

I think having grown up in a South Indian home, where the sari was very important, I took the sari pretty much for granted, obviously, because I saw it all around me. And I’ve also grown up in a family that’s pushed the handloom narrative and worn a lot of handloom and bought from weavers, craftsmen, etc. So my view of the sari, though handloom, is very important in my world even now, but I see a sari in different ways.

I see all the drapes. That was one of the reasons I took up this challenge. I’m going somewhere, and I want to wear a sari, but I can’t find a sari that is maybe chill enough or playful enough or a sari that I can wear on the street with a trench. I know I can do that with a handloom too, but sometimes you just want something that’s a little more playful or has a narrative or a story or something.

And I think for me that view has changed, and I view the sari very differently today. I also wear them more often, which I never did earlier. I wore saris mostly when I went to my dance class. We wore the half sari, or when I had a dance, when I went for a dance concert or if there was a wedding in the family or for a special occasion. But now I want to make a sari more a part of my being and my everyday life. If that transition happens, then I’ll be happy.

What are your summer favourites?

I think my summer favourites are anything in muslin. So whether it’s a muslin coat set or a muslin shirt with jeans or shorts. Anything that’s breathable and soft. And I like that feeling in the summer. I like my hair up in a topknot. Yeah, just a clean aesthetic, a minimal girlie aesthetic and good skin.