CHENNAI: Harnaaz Sandhu on Monday edged out Nadia Ferreira of Paraguay and Lalela Mswane of South Africa to be crowned Miss Universe 2021. The sleeveless gown the Miss Universe wore was designed by India's first transwoman celebrity fashion designer Saisha Shinde.
It was in January this year that Swapnil Shinde came out as a transwoman and introduced herself as Saisha Shinde.
The designer, according to Pinkvilla, took to Instagram, to share the process of crafting up the beautiful gown from sketching, draping to creating the final wonder. Saisha Shinde has reportedly dressed the likes of Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sunny Leone, and Shraddha Kapoor.
Saisha, the designer label, reportedly made a debut at Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) as part of the Gen Next class of 2006. Since then, her label has been known for red-carpet gowns, cocktail dresses with nipped waists and hemlines ending a little shy of knees.
In an interview given to an English language daily in June this year, Saisha Shinde had said, “It is time brands and designers realised that there is a market that consists of people like us as well, who have resources to buy what they are selling. However, this is only going to happen when more people from the mainstream media, entertainment, healthcare, sports, music, fashion, etc start to come out openly and embrace their true identities. The more there are people coming out from each aspect of society, who are thriving in their respective fields, the more will be the representation.”
"My legacy is to change every mindset only and only by LOVE," she notes in an Instagram post.