Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla wore elephant masks at the Animal Ball 2023 on Thursday, which were designed by the Indian designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee.
Taking to Instagram, Sabyasachi shared a picture with King Charles and Queen Camilla and wrote, “Their Majesties King Charles III & Queen Camilla. With Ruth Ganesh from Elephant Family and Sabyasachi at The Animal Ball 2023. “The Elephant Family and I are committed to similar but different missions. While I aim to preserve endangered heritage crafts, they conserve endangered animals and habitats. It’s my privilege and honour to be a part of their cause.”
Popular Indian designers like Sabyasachi, Manish Malhotra, and Anita Dongre represented the country by creating masks for the guests at the Animal Ball 2023.
In an Instagram post, the designer said that the Royal couple wore Shola masks that paid homage to Bengal’s heritage and culture.
He wrote, “Their Majesties King Charles III & Queen Camilla in The Shola Mask from Sabyasachi. For The Animal Ball 2023. Presented by Elephant Family “I like to tell hyper-local stories to the world in an attempt to create economic sustainability for heritage crafts and craftspeople.” The Shola masks have been made by hand using age-old artisanal techniques and materials, as a collaboration between the artists from the Sabyasachi Art Foundation and the master craftspeople of Bengal. The masks celebrate the continuity of one of Bengal’s most treasured heritage crafts that is practised by about 5,000 artisans. Shola is the craft of carving sholapith, the spongey cork from the aquatic plant that grows in the marshlands of Bengal. Every year the craftspeople make decorations for the deities and entire structures during the Durga Puja celebrations–that is a part of UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Shola Masks are made in homage to Bengal’s living heritage and culture.”
Anita created the “Panchhi Mask” for the ball, which represented the birds that best represent tropical countries. Malhotra made the fictitious “Maharaja Mask” that symbolised the lion, which Janhvi Kapoor aced with grace.
