"Life of Pi" poster
‘Life of Pi’

Trust y’all are excited about Life of Pi. Did you know that the stylist extraordinaire Arjun Bhasin (of Dil Chahta Hai and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara fame) is in charge of the threads?! And, he roped in the always dapper design duo Shivan & Narresh to create some pieces!! Wanna know all the deets?!

Piscine Molitor
Piscine Molitor
Piscine Molitor
Piscine Molitor then…
Piscine Molitor
Piscine Molitor then…

They have been tasked to create vintage swimsuits for a sequence that recreates the famous Parisian ‘Piscine Molitor’ lifestyle from the 1950s. In case you didn’t know, Piscine Molitor is a swimming pool complex in Paris famed for its Art Deco design resembling an ocean liner – and Pi was named after it.

Piscine Molitor
Piscine Molitor now

The complex, now abandoned, played host to a fashion show where the first modern bikini, designed by Louis Réard, was unveiled in 1946.

The world's first bikini, designed by Louis Réard, modelled by Micheline Bernardini at Piscine Molitor, in 1946
Ta-da! The world’s first bikini, modelled by nude dancer Micheline Bernardini
Scenes from Piscine Molitor
Scenes from Piscine Molitor which Ang Lee tries to recreate in the film

The scene, shot at a set in Taiwan, features 81 Parisian men and women. After research and development for over two months, the swimsuits came to fruition, with all of the 81 pieces being manufactured in India!

Shivan & Narresh's sketches for vintage swimsuits for "Life of Pi" (Photo courtesy | Shivan & Narresh)
Shivan & Narresh’s sketches for ‘Life of Pi’ (Photo courtesy | Shivan & Narresh)

P.S. Life of Pi comes out on the 23rd November in India; meanwhile, check out the trailers here and here 🙂