Dubai-based designer Michael Cinco, who has created gowns for the likes of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Cannes Film Festival, continues to be a favourite among Bollywood stars.
This year, one of India’s most talented and provocative actors, Kangana Ranaut, chose Cinco’s elaborate strapless pastel-coloured gown for her turn on the red carpet at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival.
“Her gown is inspired from the Persian princess and it’s so exquisite that it took us 600 hours to finish,” said Cinco in an interview with Gulf News tabloid!.
Cinco, who isn’t too familiar with the Bollywood landscape and its stars, remembers being contacted by Ranaut’s style team.
“They specifically sent me a photo of this gown from my last collection. The pink gown is encrusted with pink opal crystals and is made of tulle. It’s fully-beaded and has intricate details,” said Cinco.
Ranaut has been mixing things up sartorially this year. She wore a bit of India on her sleeves a few days earlier as she stepped out in a golden silk sari — South Indian diva style — with a corset and berry gloves. She also turned heads when she chose a cat suit with a plunging neckline this year. Her choice to wear Cinco’s creations, which are a byword for elegance and ethereal, is her way of mixing her looks around.
The Filipino designer, who’s a favourite among UAE’s well-heeled set, attracted a lot of attention in India when former Miss World and A-lister Rai Bachchan chose to wear his purple-lavender butterfly-inspired gown with a long train at the Cannes Film Festival red carpet.
“I feel so honoured and humbled when Bollywood stars took notice of my brand... In fact, when Aishwarya Rai wore my gown in Cannes for two consecutive years, I got a lot of Indian clients after that,” said Cinco. Brides from wealthy Indian families are now contacting him for their trousseau.
In an interview last year, he told tabloid! that it took 6,000 man hours to create Rai Bachchan’s dramatic gown.
“Its colour [is] starkly evocative in all shades of violet, red and blue threadworks... [and the dress is] fully embellished in Swarovski crystals and French pailettes [glittering material] … So the butterfly emerges from its chrysalis and metamorphoses into this cape made in the lightest of fine mesh,” said Cinco in a message to Gulf News tabloid! right after their red-carpet outing where they attended the Girls of the Sun movie screening together.
Cinco’s brush with Bollywood isn’t over.
The designer also revealed to tabloid! that there’s a good chance that he would be dressing up Salman Khan soon, although details are yet to emerge.
It isn’t the first time that Cinco creations have been worn by A-listers. Hollywood stars such as Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Britney Spears and Dita Von Teese have patronised Cinco in the past.
Actress Mila Kunis also wore his creation in sci-fi blockbuster Jupiter Ascending.
Cinco, who has his own eponymous label in the city, has dreamed of dressing up celebrities since his childhood. He moved to Dubai in 1997 and embarked on his journey to be a favourite among royalty and actors.
