Whether he’s dressing Mindy Kaling or her sartorially savvy on-screen character, Mindy Lahiri of The Mindy Project, costume designer Salvador Perez never shies away from making a fashion statement. But in the three years that they’ve worked together, Perez and Kaling have “never explored her Indian roots,” he says. Until Tuesday night, that is, when presenter Kaling made a show-stopping entrance at the 17th annual Costume Designers Guild Awards in a gorgeous bright green and gold embroidered strapless sheath, fashioned from traditional sari fabric. On a mission to find the perfect fabric, Perez headed to Artesia outside Los Angeles, which boasts a strong Indian community, where he sourced several sari materials, and accompanying traditional Indian jewelry from Highglow Jewelers to match.
