25-year-old Sarbajit Sarkar hails from a small village called Teliamura in India. But that didn’t stop him from becoming a designer and fashion influencer or as he likes to call himself – a ‘village fashion influencer’.
Sarbajit’s Instagram bio has the hashtag #VillageFashionInfluencer in it, this is one term that he identifies with. And now, most of the internet also knows him by it. His Instagram name is Neel Ranaut, inspired by his love and admiration for the color blue and Kangana Ranaut. And one thing about Sarbajit is, he makes super recreations of celebrity looks. In fact, his creativity even landed him an invitation to walk the ramp for Indian super famous fashion designer Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla!
Who did wear it better?
Ranaut has taken inspiration from every celebrity in the book–from Zendaya to Kangana Ranaut, there aren’t many actors who’ve been missed out on. He even posts BTS videos of himself assembling the pieces as well as sourcing them straight from the trees. It’s not a lot but it’s a hard honest day of work. You need to be truly passionate to be able to pull these comparisons off, that too with such little resources!
Additionally, the garments that he makes from natural elements are equally stunning. You need to have design understanding, knowledge of garment construction and a whole lot of guts to be able to pull this off!
I’ve never planned my future. But if you were to ask me where I find fashion to be the most exciting, I would say the Met Gala and the Cannes Film Festival. I think the world witnesses the most interesting fashion in these spaces. But, I love anything and everything to do with fashion. I would love to experience working in the fashion industry in more ways than one. Whether that is by modeling or designing.
– Sarbajit Sarkar–
His outfits are made out of items on which he doesn’t have to spend money. His ‘Who wore it better series on Instagram shows how he recreated iconic looks of famous personalities – Deepika Padukone and Kim Kardashian!
Have a look:
Why he deserves your attention
While other fashion influencers come from a lot more privilege and access, it takes a Neel Ranaut to actually finally understand it. Away from the clout of big brands, expensive cameras and vlogging equipment are this boy from Tripura who is doing it only because he loves fashion. With a 24.5k following on Instagram, I think the time has come that we really look at talent rather than the show-sha of shiny things.
Isn’t he incredible?