Picture Audrey Hepburn’s Eliza Dolittle at Ascot in her white lace gown, dramatically trimmed with ruffles and ribbons. Or Vivien Leigh’s Scarlett O Hara in her famous green barbeque party dress. Or even Cinderella in flounces of sumptuous silk at Prince Charming’s ball. Now imagine these gorgeous ladies reborn in modern day India, their love for form-flattering couture intact. A chic soirée in Mumbai or Delhi would probably see them turning heads in Gauri and Nainika ensembles. Much like their real-life counterparts who are eagerly reaching for the irresistibly feminine dresses designed to rake in the compliments.

The NIFT graduates who launched their label, Magnetic Rag, in 2002, started out with a bold premise. At a time when most designers were focussing on clothes with an Indo-western feel and everything was embroidered, the Karan sisters set out to make purely western clothes—glamorous and feminine, yet clean and understated. They’ve stuck to that philosophy. Till date they don’t work with embellishments or embroideries. “There’s nothing Indian about our clothes. It’s a very international looking brand. We’ve been inspired by old-world Hollywood. As little girls, we’d watch My Fair Lady everyday. Actresses of yore, from Audrey Hepburn to Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor, had an amazing aura of high glamour that’s missing today. Gauri and I are constantly trying to revive that look,” says Nainika.

Christian Dior’s über glam New Look of the late 1940s, with its strapless boned tops and full skirts has been their biggest influence. “The New Look was the return of femininity when Dior went all out and literally dressed women like dolls. Contemporary designers like Oscar de la Renta, whom we admire, are also inspired by this moment in fashion history. We also like Balanciaga and Galliano,” Gauri says. Closer home, their mother Pratibha Karan’s strikingly elegant style has been an unceasing source of inspiration. “Despite having three kids, mom had the most amazing figure. She was slender-shouldered, delicate and wore full-on red lipstick. To us, she was the most beautiful woman in the world,” gushes Nainika.

The designers feel their single biggest achievement has been to bring about a change in the attitude of the wearer. “It takes courage to make something people don’t wear and make them realise that they can wear it. That’s when you’re truly doing something different. People in India like to dress when they go out. It was just a question of opening their minds to wearing a long dress. Indian women are not shy of bling. A gown will only look sober in comparison to all those big diamonds,” quips Nainika. The sisters wear the kind of clothes they design. “When people see them on us, they realize they don’t need to dress up in crazy amounts of diamonds or embroidery to stand out. Our clothes bring out the lady in anyone. Girls just love that!”

Ahead of their time, the designers intuitively sensed a need for western formal wear and high-end semi-couture in the Indian market. Chic soirées, sangeets, weddings, dinners, special dates, even proms—contemporary India doesn’t lack in occasions that call for dressy clothes. “Today every girl who’s getting married has a party for youngsters, where she wants to stand out and look like a princess. Even the bride’s best friend wants to wear something longer because it looks more dramatic. It needn’t be a full-length dress; it could just be a lot of volume or a great colour. Brands like Mango and Zara are available today, but they are more casual, more high-street. Their clothes are not exclusive or formal enough. Our clothes are very dressy.” Sensible pricing, timeless, non-trendy styles that won't go out of fashion and an uncompromising eye for quality have all contributed to the label’s success.

Timeless glamour runs like a leitmotif through all their creations. But the versatile duo has innovated with every collection since their debut at India Fashion Week in 2004. The red-carpet look was inspired by a strong accent on volume, texture and deep colours. The resort collection with its beautiful polka-dotted dresses, scarves and sunglasses recreated a St. Tropez freshness. Quilted silk gowns in rich hues with a hint of lace were equally memorable. Their Spring/Summer 2007 collection in blush pink, canary yellow and white was inspired by the Cubist movement. It stood out with its boldly innovative prints inspired by Wassily Kandinsky. The look was contemporary modern, but the silhouettes were glamorous, including empire-cut dresses, pencil dresses, hound-tooth wrap dresses and trapeze dresses. The use of white base with blocks of yellow, cobalt blue and black recalled the artist Piet Mondrian.