Who’s the transgender designer to Bollywood’s Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor? Saisha Shinde recently came out on Instagram – 5 things to know about India’s trailblazing LGBT fashion icon
Indian fashion designer Saisha Shinde recently took to Instagram to come out as a trans woman, through her official account @officialswapnilshinde. Shinde, 39, penned a heartfelt post detailing her confusion about and then acceptance of her gender.
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Shinde said it took several years for her to accept her true identity, but “deep down I always knew who I was and that’s why it became easier.”
Here are the five things to know about the trailblazing designer.
She is a Bollywood darling
She designed all of Priyanka Chopra’s outfits in a film
Shinde was responsible for designing Priyanka Chopra’s avant garde costumes for Madhur Bhandarkar’s acclaimed film Fashion (2008).
“The film clicked; so did her clothes. Later I designed her dresses for the Sunsilk ad and for her events,” she told The New Indian Express.
Shinde described her eponymous brand as “a balance between ‘sexy’ without being cheap or crude, and ‘elegant’ without being boring or matronly”. Shinde has also designed gorgeous pageant dresses for Miss World and Miss Universe contestants in the past.
She was in Project Runway
Shinde surprised the world when she took part in the 14th season of Project Runway. In an interview with The Economic Times, the designer said that it took her 10 years to fulfil her dream of being on the show, surviving until the tenth episode and beating 16 other designers.
“The one tip I’d give young executives is to never give up, no matter how long it takes,” Shinde said.
She has supportive friends
She wants to be a role model
In her Instagram post, Shinde shared her troubles and worries growing up. “I felt suffocated living a reality that I knew wasn’t mine, yet one that I had to stage every day because of societal expectations and norms,” she wrote. After years of believing she was gay, she finally accepted herself, saying, “I’m not a gay man. I am a Transwoman.”
She also wants to become a role model to the younger generation. “There are hardly any role models who are openly transgender. The ones who are there are either vilified or objectified. I want to prove that someone as successful as me could also be a transgender person,” she added.
She ended her post by explaining her new name: “Saisha means a meaningful life and I plan to make mine an exceptionally meaningful one.”
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She competed on Project Runway and won a Versace internship after appearing on reality show Lakme Fashion House – now Bollywood A-listers including Priyanka Chopra, Madhuri Dixit, Kareena Kapoor and Sunny Leone rank among Saisha Shinde’s fans