Bibhu Mohapatra
Bibhu Mohapatra (born 7 June 1972 in Rourkela, Odisha, India) is an Indian-American fashion designer and costume designer. Mohapatra earned a Masters in economics from the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University in 1996, then moved to New York City to enroll in the Fashion Institute of Technology. In 1997, while still at F.I.T., he was awarded Fashion Institute of Technology's Critics' Award for Best Evening Wear Designer of the Year. After F.I.T., Halston hired Mohapatra as an assistant designer. Then in 1999 he was named Design Director of the French furrier, J. Mendel. Over the next ten years, Mohapatra shifted the emphasis of J. Mendel to a more youthful look, at the same time expanding its ready-to-wear collections. His creations have been featured in fashion magazines Style.com, DNA], New York Magazine, Time, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Gotham Magazine, Vogue, and Vogue Russia. A review of the 2015 resort collection By Lauren Sherman on Style.com, Following J. Mendel's Spring 2008 collection, Mohapatra resigned in order to establish his own label: Bibhu Mohapatra. Since then, he has presented many collections of luxury women's ready to wear, couture and fur, under his name in New York during Mercedes Benz Fashion Week and in Mumbai during Lakme Fashion Week. His collections are sold by Bergdorf Goodman in New York, Neiman Marcus around the United States, and Lane Crawford in China and other boutiques around the world. Mohapatra's costume designs for the Verdi opera Aida debuted during the 2012 Summer season at the Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, NY. First Lady Michelle Obama wears Bibhu Mohapatra Mohapatra has designed a collection of hand woven silks to help the traditional weavers in his home state of Orissa, in India. Mohapatra lives and works in New York City.