Nancy Tyagi’s Journey – From Small Town Dream To Walking At Cannes

“Mera dream bhi nahi tha itna bada”, said Nancy Tyagi dressed in the self-stitched outfit on the red carpet of the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Her words were honest, genuine and heartfelt. As soon as the pictures and video snippets of her red carpet debut were out. Furthermore, everyone on the internet applauded her and rightly so. She absolutely nailed it. 

Nancy Tyagi spoke confidently, giving details of how she designed and stitched her voluminous pink ruffled gown. It took over 1000 meters of fabric, 30 days and weighed around 20 kg. (for the record, sometimes we have celebrities who don’t even recollect the designer of the outfit they are wearing)!

It was her day, Nancy Tyagi completely owned the red carpet, no matter who walked before, after or beside her, she shined bright like a diamond. (Ohh, it does have a sort of influence of Rihanna’s Giambattista Valli gown at the Grammy, but we like Nancy’s version way better, inspired or not inspired) As they as, Nancy’s look is for the books and fashion books at that.

Look 1

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nancy Tyagi (@nancytyagi___)

As she dropped a video about her second look, all jaws collectively were on the floor. It is everything. It’s giving glamour and how. She (like always) self-stitched this sort of backless hooded sari-gown. The video shows her sourcing the fabric from a local shop and then turning it into this showstopper piece. It is an absolute serve. 

Look 2

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nancy Tyagi (@nancytyagi___)

Looking at her pictures and her story, reminded me of someone else. Someone absolutely phenomenal, who represented India on a global platform. Besides, made us all proud & continues to be a role model for millions.

When Sushmita Sen participated in Miss India back in 1994, competing with Aishwarya Rai was not the only apprehension. She knew being a middle-class girl she couldn’t afford designer gowns. With the support and belief of her mother, Sushmita too sourced fabric from a local market (Delhi) handed it over to a tailor and instructed them, “Dekho bhaiya, TV pe aane wala hai, accha banana.” Her mother made flowers from leftover fabric that adorned her gown and cut socks to make them gloves. It was her winning outfit that night.

Nancy Tyagi’s journey from outfits from scratch and content creation to Cannes is sewed similarly or rather it is much more challenging. Born in Baranwa, UP and now based in Delhi, Nancy has to rely on talent. Moreover, her belief and her will to make her mother proud. We are sure the pressure of being at Cannes, walking alongside famous creators must have been daunting. But she just like Sushmita, conquered and made a remarkable debut. (Cannes is synonymous for us Indians as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s red-carpet appearances. Furthermore, no matter how many celebrities have walked the carpet before or after her. Nancy with her appearance left everyone talking positively, and applauding her and which is a big feat to achieve).

Earlier this year, in my Women’s Day story, I covered Nancy Tyagi and wrote, ‘Her Videos are a guidebook for all the young girls & boys to watch & learn if you are consistent and disciplined, you will get there sooner or later. One can see the transition in her confidence through the content & can be sure of all the greater things she will accomplish in future.” 

Now seeing her at Cannes, like many on the internet, I too feel like a personal win.

It was no longer about the outfit or the styling or the makeup. It was about a young girl who began the journey of content creation to support her mother. However, now stood dazzling on one of the biggest red carpets globally.