Tarun Tahiliani calls out ‘Made In Heaven 2’ for ‘shocking breach of faith’

Made In Heaven season 2 features clothes designed by Tarun Tahiliani (Image credit: @zoieakhtar/Instagram)

Celebrity fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani has called out the creators of Made In Heaven season 2, Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, for false representation of his designs in the second episode of the Amazon Prime series.

The episode features the fictional character of Akshay Jaiswal (portrayed by actor Kashyap Baldev Shangari), a designer who is tasked with dressing a supermodel and her fiancé for their wedding. Outfits made by Tarun Tahiliani were attributed to the character and label of Akshay Jaiswal on the show, which Tahiliani slammed as a “shocking breach of faith.”

In a series of three Instagram Stories shared yesterday, Tarun Tahiliani called out Made In Heaven 2 for misrepresentation of facts. He said that outfits lent graciously by his label to the production were attributed to a fictitious designer.

“It is most unfortunate when a popular OTT series violates the understanding behind the provision of clothing in the first place! Case in point: Significant portions of the second episode of ‘Made in Heaven,’ were styled using clothes provided by the Tarun Tahiliani studio in good faith to the stylist,” the renowned fashion designer wrote.

Tarun Tahiliani calls out 'Made In Heaven' (Images posted on Instagram Stories by @taruntahiliani)

Tahiliani, best known for his exquisite bridalwear, said that showrunners should have engaged a costume designer if they wanted to represent a fictitious label in Made In Heaven.

“Unfortunately, a fictitious designer (actor) representing a fictitious label presented our garments! This is a shocking breach of faith. If this is what the production house intended, they should have engaged a costume designer, had costumes designed, and proceeded as they saw fit.

“Let’s hope that this scenario does not repeat itself with other designers who have graciously lent their work for OTT productions. Furthermore, it is our hope that such actions will never be considered acceptable in the future,” Tahiliani concluded.

Comments on social media were largely in Tahiliani’s favour, with many saying they were shocked to learn that the decision to have his clothes presented by a fictional character was not communicated to Tahiliani beforehand.

Made In Heaven season 2, like its predecessor, revolves around two wedding planners as they navigate the upper echelons of Delhi society. Outfits for all the weddings represented on the show were lent by leading designers – including Sabyasachi - who received an extended feature in the first episode – Manish Malhotra, Rimple and Harpreet Narula, Gaurav Gupta and Raw Mango.

Zoya Akhtar had thanked all the designers, including Tahiliani, in an Instagram post after the second season released on Amazon Prime Video. “This show would not be the same without the help from our magnificent design friends,” she wrote.