Ali Sethi wore a white angrakha to Coachella 2023 during the second weekend of his performance.
By Daphne ClarancePakistani singer Ali Sethi enthused the crowds at Coachella, one of the world’s biggest music festivals, for the second weekend. While his performance lit up the event on April 23, it was his much-talked-about outfit that stole the show.
The Pasoori hitmaker shared an Instagram post on Tuesday (April 26) with pictures from the performance during the weekend and offered glimpses of his traditional-esque attire.
He thanked Raja Fahad Hussayn, who created the custom look for him, singers Raja Kumari and Leo Kalyan for performing with him onstage and Coachella for “the cute pics.”
“COACHELLVA BALAMVA. thank you Raja Fahad Hussayn for sending this mughal angarkha in the mail, thank u Raja Kumari and Leo Kalyan for singing with me onstage, and thank you Coachella for the cute pics. There is no representation without inclusion, and I was so thrilled to see our manifold, many-splendored family light up the gobi tent. Also thanking Pooja in the last slide, twaada jazba bemisaal ay,” the 38-year-old singer wrote.
Detailing Ali Sethi’s outfit, designer Raja Fahad Hussayn explained the inspiration behind the singer’s look.
“The inspiration for the look is Ali himself,” Fahad Hussayn wrote on Instagram, adding, “He is representing so many of us to the world.”
Further, he described how Ali wore a white angrakha, which had 80 kalis (pleats) and was made of 100 yards of pure raw untreated cotton woven exclusively for the singer.
Angrakha is a traditional outer robe with long sleeves, which was worn by men in South Asia.
“I made him a traditional angrakha with 80 kalis and I had the fabric woven for the garment, a pure raw untreated cotton delicately woven exclusively and consumed around a 100 yards including the layers,” the designer wrote.
He added that the design was inspired by Coachella’s desert textures and therefore, he added a layer to the look by throwing in a traditional jama, which is a coat worn by courtesans.
“I was super excited for Ali’s landmark performance , I imagined the dessert textures at coachella and I just felt like I wanted to add a layer to it so I made a traditional jama in the same fabric to layer it,” he wrote.
Ali paired the white ensemble with quirky boots and some pearls. “Mughal Casanova,” that’s what Fahad Hussayn called Ali’s look.
“Ali and I discussed and imagined him right out of a miniature but a complete rebel of a character like a Mughal Casanova. We shopped over WhatsApp for the boots discussed the layers and his excitement and the fact I could contribute to it a everything our friendship stands for,” Fahad Hussayn added.
He ended his note by saying how he is Ali’s first fan and is proud of him. “I met him the first time and I saw the sparkle in him. I was his first fan and still am . So this look perhaps is all of that combined. So proud of him,” Fahad Hussayn wrote.
Leo Dibbert
Kole Prosacco