courstey  MIRROR JULY 17

Unsocial cause
MASABA Gupta is an icon for many reasons other than being a fashion designer. She burst onto the scene with a delightful collection of vivid prints, but it was her fulsome frame and electric-curled hair that garnered all the attention. The daughter of actor Neena Gupta, who raised her in India as a single mother, and West Indian cricketer Vivian Richards, Masaba struggled to come to terms with her social self. But a young audience embraced her, and turned Masaba into an icon of sorts: she has spoken on racism, sexism, fashion’s obsession with thinness, and she married a successful Bollywood producer. In short, she is a bona fide social media star, but one who seems to have tired of it. The designer has given up on social media for the past few days and says she is no mood to return. The idea is to focus on her creativity instead of what to post next. So what do we do for our daily dose of cool? We’ll just be phoning her more often.