Bobo Calcutta's bold creations blur the lines between art and fashion

"Liberation is one of the core ideas of my work. When somebody wears a Bobo Calcutta outfit, I want them to be able to explore themselves. They should be able to feel sexy and enjoy being stared at. When you wear something from my brand, everyone’s most definitely going to look at you. So, enjoy the gaze!"

This sentiment as good as sums up the ethos behind Bobo — the brand and the artist. Dynamic, vivid, unapologetic, and fierce is how he describes his designs, but he may as well have been talking about himself! Although his brand celebrates 10 years this year, Bobo was introduced to the world in 2018 as a Lakmé Fashion Week GenNext designer. Today, his work is distinctively his. It’s art meets fashion meets activism all on one canvas, in a chaos of colour and graphic surrealism. It’s psychedelic narratives often in gender-fluid silhouettes. It’s handcrafted detailing with a stark reflection of his emotions, along with an underlying celebration of his queer identity

“My art, my fashion are a showreel of my life. They are very personal, almost like a biography in the making,” he says. “If I tracked the past 10 years of Bobo Calcutta, I’d be tracking the past decade of my life. From the title of my collection to its description, you’ll know exactly where I was at that point in my life. In love, going through a heartbreak, on a holiday…”

THE PAIN BEHIND THE PAINTBRUSH

There’s an intrinsic sense of joy in Bobo’s pop-arty, striking collections. Unbeknownst to the world, however, much of what we see this year was born out of hardship. A recovering alcoholic, Bobo spent five weeks in rehab late last year after 10 days in hospital, admitted with alcoholic hepatitis. “The last six months were quite challenging but also my most productive phase in a decade,” he shares. “I was able to give so much time to my art because I was feeling so many things all at once.” And thus was born the Monochrome collection (“I made all those drawings from the hospital, where I had no paint, only markers and paper”) and the Fortress of Solitude line we see on actor Aashim Gulati in this shoot. After working on these designs in a state of catharsis in rehab, he spent a month in Coonoor with his aunt, the influence of the Nilgiris clear in his creations. “This collection is about reflection and looking back at my journey through relationships, through ups and downs, my career… It’s a metamorphosis because all of it came together. You will see these artworks clearly on the sherwani [Aashim is wearing]. There’s a lot of embroidery, threadwork, beads, and the trademark riot of colours that the brand stands for.”

WITH FLYING COLOURS

The said kaleidoscope of colours is its own character in every Bobo Calcutta design. And it’s all organic. No pre-decided palettes, no plans, nothing. “It depends on my mood,” he says, “how I’m feeling at that point of time, how my day was. Sometimes, it’s about the weather, or the song I was listening to. The colours add up naturally.” While yellow is predominant in his aesthetic, this collection has blues and teals aplenty. The kissing faces are a brand trademark, as are hybrid creatures with a touch of whimsy. “There’s this hybrid bird in this line that was inspired by a bird I saw in the Nilgiris… Of course, being queer myself, my body of work stands for the liberation of love and sexuality. There’s a celebration of drama, of the larger than life personality of an artist.”

AN EARLY ARTISTIC SWAY

And an artist he is. Although not formally trained, for Bobo, it’s always been art before fashion, canvas before fabric. “If Jamini Roy, Picasso, and Frida Kahlo had a threesome, I’d be the by-product! The large Indian eyes you see are very Jamini. The breaking of the face and form is all Picasso’s cubism. The whimsical hybrid creatures and flowers, the mood and tone are all Frida’s surrealist fantasy.” Growing up, Bobo honed his talent under the influence of his grandfather Gosto Kumar, a renowned painter and sculptor from Kolkata, having spent much time in his studio. Also distinctive in his work — and apparent in the brand moniker — is the impact of the rich culture of Kolkata. “When I started drawing in school, I was heavily into mythology. I have a strong connect with goddesses in any form. Maa Saraswati, Maa Durga, Maa Kali… I resonate with the typical Bangla thakurer chokhh (the wide, almondshaped eyes of a Bengali goddess), which is why you’ll see the eyes in a lot of my art.”

MEET THE MUSE

Our muse and maker go way back to boarding school. Ajmer’s Mayo College, 2004. They grew up together, having shared a dormitory, and were also in theatre. “I thought the best way to mark the brand’s 10-year milestone would be to have Aashim as my muse, to celebrate our bond as friends and also our love for the arts that started together at such a young age,” says Bobo. Aashim, on the other hand, felt “right at home” in his pal’s designs. “There’s so much beauty in the chaos of his work,” says the actor, known for his work on Murder Mubarak, Karn Sangini, Tum Bin 2, and Dil Sambhal Ja Zara. “I love the subtle vulnerability to his aesthetic, and the strength that comes through in his play of colours.” “The beauty of his clothes lies in the sense of freedom they convey to be whoever you want to be… And if I had to pick one favourite from this lot, it would be the pink crop jacket. Very Bobo meets Freddie Mercury!” And his thoughts on his old friend? “You can’t tame Bobo! And just like him, you can’t tame his creative energy!”

THE MAN BEHIND THE MASTERY

Why Bobo? The simple answer is that it’s his nickname. His daak naam, as Bengalis would say. But there’s more to the alias. Although born Ayushman Mitra, Bobo is the avatar that represents his true self. It’s the most authentic version of his persona, one he embraced when he came out at the age of 21, “exploring my sexuality and different worlds.” “I studied in Soho, which is such a hub of everything queer. The London subculture, the drag life, the gay parades, the concerts… All of that came together, and I could see my fine art transforming as I explored deeper aspects of my own self.” This was 10 years ago… “The first painting I ever made still hangs in my grandfather’s house in Kolkata. I had signed it ‘Bobo 1995.’ So, when I thought of launching the brand, that was the image in my head, and that’s what I named it. Also, of course, because of my love for Calcutta.”

WORK IN PROGRESS

A mass communication and videography student from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, Bobo had always been cinematically inclined. He’s starred in a couple of projects and feels the influence of mavericks like Satyajit Ray, Ritwick Ghatak, Aparna Sen and Rituparno Ghosh in his work — perhaps why it’s unsurprising that he’s been developing a script for a few years now. “The flair in my fashion and campaigns stems from this drama and the filmmaker in my head. In fact, when I start creating a collection, I often first think about how we’d shoot it…” he shares. A man of many talents, Bobo also designed his first wedding in Kolkata earlier this year (he transformed the bride’s home into a set depicting the descent of the Ganges using real flowers!), and plans to design many more, bitten by the wedding bug. Also on the anvil for the designer-artist is an art exhibition in Mumbai in OctoberNovember, besides interior projects, a line of rugs, and more collaborations (he has tied up with a jeweller, chocolatier, home décor brand and others in the past). “I’m also looking at taking the brand beyond Europe… So, there are multiple plans in place.”

Ayushman Mitra and Ashim Gulati photographed by Akula Madhu, Creative Direction by Avantikka Kilachand Raju, Styled by Anushree Sardesai