06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
The Indian connection to Brad Pitt's ‘F1: The Movie' that everyone's talking about
In his latest film, F1: The Movie, Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt introduced car racing at the highest level to a wider audience, and something else equally distinct. A style of Indian weaving that's now grabbing more attention: the Tangaliya.
At a behind-the-scenes shoot , Pitt sported an indigo-coloured Tangaliya shirt, by the fashion label 11.11/
The organic cotton shirt was chosen by the costume designer Julian Day to lend authenticity to Pitt's character of Sonny Hayes, an F1 racer past his prime who leads a struggling team back to the podium.
The Fight Club actor paired the shirt with denims and the look is absolutely droolworthy. Frankly, we can't have enough of it, either!
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Julian Day, in an interview to the Indian media outlet News18, explained that the selection of the 11.11/eleven eleven piece was deliberate and driven by the narrative of the film.
'Its soft indigo tones helped create the right palette for him," Day was quoted as saying by News18. 'Indian brands are so hot at the moment. Their use of natural fabrics and dyes and how they are handcrafted play so well in this current environment."
That cool quotient, however, comes with a lot of effort.
The Tangaliya weave, native to Surendranagar, in the Saurashtra region of the west Indian state of Gujarat, is labour-intensive and is at least seven centuries old. It involves twisting threads of contrasting hues around the fabric's yarn that gives it a distinct look of raised dots. Garments made with it, including shirts, shawls and skirts, are sturdy and are traditionally used to depict a variety of motifs.
The Indian government has granted the weave a geographical indicator, or GI tag, implying that products from originating from a particular region possess a superior quality.
11.11/eleven eleven piece is founded by Mia Morikawa, a graphic design graduate from Central Saint Martin's University of the Arts, London, and Shani Himanshu, Master's in Fashion Design from Domus Academy, Milan.
F1: The Movie, led by a stellar cast comprising Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon and Damson Idris, roared to the top of the global box office over its release weekend, minting around $150 million (Dh550.9 million).
