Wanna shop in Deepika’s wardrobe?

Could you shop till your bank account visibly drops and still be helping out a charitable cause? Thanks to Deepika Padukone and an online retail portal, you can now own a piece of the star’s wardrobe and help a future Olympian snag a gold medal for the country. Members-only shopping site FashionAndYou has partnered with Olympic Gold Quest, the brainchild of Geeth Sethi and Deepika’s father and badminton legend Prakash Padukone, which strives to fund promising athletes. “We’ve always been focused on finding opportunities to give back to society in a manner that’s linked to what we do on a daily basis, which is sell lifestyle and fashion products,” says Pearl Uppal, CEO of FashionAndYou. “This was a chance to pair with Padukone who is considered a style icon and also fund an important cause.”

Uppal insists that it wasn’t Padukone’s star status that attracted them to the cause. “This is something we chose to focus on because sports is becoming a viable career option for many. We have over seven lakh members on our site and this was a way to channel their energies towards a cause. Also, being a star’s garments, they have higher aspirational value,” explains Uppal.

Among the products on offer, which include dresses, gowns, a Louis Vuitton bag and a sari she wore on the TV show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa for an Om Shanti Om promotion, the bag and the sari are attracting maximum attention. “At the moment, the highest bid for the bag is Rs. 2 lakh, while the sari is attracting bids of Rs. 80,000,” reveals Uppal. The auction closes on December 17.

On her part, Padukone says, “Every ensemble and the handbag are prized possessions and I have very fond memories of them. I am certain that my fans would love to own them and help this noble cause, which is also very close to me.”