As she grew up in the late ’80s, Masaba Gupta often watched her mother, TV actor Neena Gupta, drape Satya Paul saris while going out. Fluid fabrics and bright colours were the brand’s signature and it was this that, in a way, influenced her creativity. Today, the 24-year-old fashion designer has been appointed the fashion director of Satya Paul, with a two-year contract. “When I was approached by Genesis Colors a month ago, I was ecstatic and shocked. In our industry, another designer has never been asked to head a different label,” says Masaba, over the phone from Mumbai.

However, the designer will continue to work for her own brand, Masaba, which she set up in 2009. “I will not be handling the business angle; my job is to give Satya Paul a more contemporary look. I do not intend to tamper with the brand’s USP,” she says. Though she refuses to divulge more details about the first Satya Paul collection that she will design, she does mention that “it will not bear the same motifs as Masaba since Satya Paul is a more sophisticated brand and such drastic changes may not be accepted”.

Sanjay Kapoor, MD of Genesis Colors, says, “Masaba embodies the perfect Satya Paul woman — young, smart, confident and stylish. Among the designers we were in talks with, Masaba’s creative energy was closest to the Satya Paul brand.” Interestingly, the new Satya Paul collection and the next Masaba range will be out around the same time — in March-April 2013.