“Fantasy has no gender,” declares Ghani, 28, between discussing how he tweaked the beloved cartoon character Mickey Mouse for his social-media series, Disney Travels in Fashion. The designer and digital artist’s work stands out from typical fashion campaigns because he uses real models and clothes but digitally swaps Mickey’s head onto their faces. There is hardly a plot in the short dystopian-like stories, which are as fleeting as half-recalled childhood memories: seesaws and toy trains; a break in space and time sees Mickey wielding blood bags and oxygen tanks; an alien ship shoots up in the cosmos.

Saim Ghani’s digitally tweaked Mickey models are dressed in the Almost Gods clothing label

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Making Mickey his protagonist is as much a commentary on the photo-filtered selfies of influencers as it is about the socially-shared chaos of celebrity and Bollywood culture that has fundamentally rendered fashion models faceless. “It would be amazing if influencers did not exist,” thinks Ghani. “I know of models who had a difficult time, financially, during the pandemic when work stopped. Now that the market has opened, most plump gigs have been bagged by influencers. The models have not got their due in India.” Bollywood stars are the other focal point, but rarely do they use their heft to highlight uncomfortable subjects of beauty and body image. “It’s all about looking pretty in bridal couture. What’s new?” Ghani is excited about his upcoming series which he has called Bridgerton-2 in India. Here, Mickey will step into the shoes of various characters from the Shonda Rhimes web series. “I see Mickey as genderless. We need more stories that follow the non-binary theme.”  

Kolkata-based Ghani, a Muslim, grew up in a Hindu neighbourhood, surrounded by spirited festivities during Durga puja. His Mickey model often adorns a bejewelled devta’s mukut, the big-button nose dressed in a nath bullack like that of Bharatnatyam dancers. “I’m fascinated by Hindu mythology, and I respect the sentiments attached to divinity,” Saim says, but if he were to take up a mythical theme, controversy wouldn’t be too far behind. Mickey, with the familiar round ears and a tail, is iconic but safe. “I am not a Disney fan. The goal here is to enchant viewers with one of the most relatable characters in pop culture, while mocking and subverting its fairy-tale premise.”

It takes laborious hours, sometimes days, for Ghani to get one look right by piecing together a thousand different elements. Why would he use his spare time from being a designer to put himself through the ringer? “During the lockdown, I used my time to polish my Photoshop skills and started creating animated characters. It was an escape for me, it made me happy.”

“When I was a kid, I hoped the alien who found my balloon was happy. I never grew up,” reads Paño’s concept note. Pic Courtesy/Ishant Raj kohli

Why do you hide behind the mask?”; “Why escape from reality?” are some of the comments found on Sharma’s official social account, Love From Pano. Delhi-based Sharma, 27, is a trained fashion designer, and it was while framing the brand identity for her clothing label that she stumbled on the idea of wearing an anime head sculpture. “I wanted my label to have a life of its own. So, I decided to not just create a character called Pano but also imagine her life story,” she tells this writer over the phone. Sharma’s fictitious character is half-Spanish and half-Indian and a daughter to puppeteer Raj and Spanish tourist named Evita. “It’s an ode to my childhood; I’m a fan of Disney films like Beauty and the Beast, and Brave.”

It was while creating the Pano parable for her online audience that Sharma did a photo-shoot wearing the bulbous Pano head over a dress she bought from the label, Jodi. At a time when fashion imagery seems trapped in the one-track pomp of styling tricks, this fantasy metaverse took on a different meaning. Last December, Pano was featured in the Fantasy issue of Harper’s Bazaar India, dressed in top brands like Péro, Kasha, Ekaco and Dhruv Kapoor. “I am not an influencer or a model, nor do I have aspirations to be one. I make that clear to the labels who approach me to model their clothes. Pano is not here to promote your label, but to give you a story.”

Sharma weighs 54 kgs; the Pano head sculpture another eight kgs. A mix of materials including stone powder and Chinese glass sit at the base, its top layer smoothened in a coat of plaster of Paris. “It’s exhausting to carry the mask on my head which is why I limit myself to two photo-shoots a day,” she says. The details on the head sculpture—a wide forehead, big curious eyes and a small mouth—is the result of a collaboration with a Madhubani artist from her hometown, Patna. The closest you come to likening Pano would be Wednesday Addams, albeit with a top bun and braids, that’s sometimes garlanded in marigold.

Saim Ghani and Sanskriti Sharma

But it’s also hard to overlook Pano’s resemblance to the Princess Pea character developed by an anonymous Delhi artist who first made an appearance at 2009’s India Art Fair edition. “I love the way she [Princess Pea] shines a light on different societal issues faced by women,” Sharma says, explaining how her character is different. “Pano is escapism for me. Some people read books, some go on vacations. I put on the Pano head. It teleports me to my own imaginary place where I create stories and bring them to reality. Sometimes, I even wear the head when I am alone at home,” she laughs.  

That her own face no longer matters is her idea of freedom. Sharma says she was bullied in school for her dark complexion. “It’s difficult to get over experiences from your childhood and not much has changed in terms of diversity of [skin] colour in fashion,” she adds. Camera shy, she gets to rid her inhibitions behind the head sculpture, Pano becoming her alter-ego allowing her to face some of her insecurities, and perhaps licence viewers to do the same.