( TIME.com ) -- Just before heading to bed one night in August , I got a text message from Bibhu Mohapatra . It contained a photo of First Lady Michelle Obama in a citrus-print sleeveless sheer yoke cocktail dress . Above it , a message : `` Just found out , Michelle is wearing the yellow dress . '' Mohapatra has dressed Kristen Wiig , Hilary Swank and Glenn Close , but this was different . There she was , America 's fashion icon on The Tonight Show , validating Mohapatra 's work before a national audience . It is Mohapatra 's moment , but it 's a story that almost was n't . He had never been on a plane before 1995 , when he left his native Orissa , India , at age 23 with a one-way ticket to Logan , Utah , to pursue a master 's degree in economics on an academic scholarship to Utah State University . Between homework assignments , he 'd sketch . And sketch . Until , by chance , a professor saw his sketchbook of dresses , jackets and coats and said , `` You 're in the wrong business . '' So Mohapatra called his dad , who told him , `` Close your eyes and picture yourself 10 years from now , having the most fun , being the most happy -- that 's your answer . '' Mohapatra packed his bags , moved to New York City and landed a spot at the Fashion Institute of Technology , where he could finally pursue his lifelong passion . Time.com : Fashion 's Sister Act : A Conversation with Rodarte 's Kate and Laura Mulleavy . Now 40 and a newly minted member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America ( CFDA ) , Mohapatra launched his namesake label in 2009 after nine years at J. Mendel , where he worked his way up from assistant to design director . `` As a creative person , you want to start with a blank canvas , '' he says . `` This is like having the biggest canvas on which to paint . '' His clothes do have a painterly quality : rich color , prints and patterns on structured silhouettes . Modern yet supremely feminine . There are shades of India , too , in the embroidery and beading -- traditional dressmaking techniques that Mohapatra likes to call `` Old World bones . '' I recently paid him a visit at his cavernous , 5,000-sq.-ft. studio in the heart of Manhattan 's garment district -- a big upgrade from the cramped 600-sq.-ft. space a block away where he used to work . His new spot is a sea of white walls and columns punctuated by splashes of color : a sage gown with beads and feathers from his 2013 resort collection and a chaise longue he found on the street and re-covered in lapis-print fabric of his own design . He greets me at the door with his signature boyish grin and a hug . `` He has the biggest smile in fashion and lacks any of the attitude that sometimes comes with a young designer 's success , '' says Steven Kolb , the CFDA 's CEO . `` Bibhu is a gracious and tasteful gentleman , '' says Linda Fargo , senior vice president of Bergdorf Goodman , Mohapatra 's biggest account . `` His mÃ©tier is elegance . '' As Mohapatra describes them , his designs are a study in opposites . `` Masculine and feminine , graphic and organic , but always staying true to the core of making beautiful clothes , '' he says . He has a hat trick of debuts coming up : in September , he 'll show his first collection with handbags ; in January , his first pre-fall collection ; in February , a complete line of handbags . `` A lot of exciting things are happening , '' he says . `` I hope to grow another head and two more hands , '' he adds with a laugh , `` like an Indian goddess . '' To see CNN national correspondent Alina Cho 's interview with Bibhu Mohapatra and for more coverage of New York Fashion Week , tune in to Fashion : Backstage Pass , airing on CNN on Saturday , Sept. 15 , at 2:30 p.m. Time.com : Shades of Autumn .
Mohapatra has has dressed actresses and the First Lady . Mohapatra is a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America . The fashion industry in India was once dominated by men, but now women are becoming more prominent as designers.