If you’re impressed with Priyanka Chopra’s impeccable style sense or Deepika Padukone’s personal wardrobe or love the way Kangna Ranaut carries off those quirky outfits or gasped with envy at Sonam’s designer wardrobe, you need to give the credit to their stylists. These are the backroom ladies and men who source the best of clothes and accessories for their star clients and use their creative energies to create the right look — one that gives the star a distinct identity and makes them glamorous icons, who are emulated by youngsters in India and abroad. Here’s a checklist of India’s top stylists.
She made fashionistas turn heads when she styled Sonam Kapoor’s sleek couture look in Aisha. Pernia Qureshi, who has styled for many stars and is making a Bollywood debut soon with Muzaffar Ali’s Raqs, shares, “As a stylist, my task is to put a star in the limelight. Putting together a complete look isn’t an easy job. We do a complete background research, including sourcing, trials and also their look for their appearances for movie promos. Dealing with star tantrums is sometimes a challenge, but one learns to deal with it. Although, thankfully Sonam was very cooperative, there were times when we did disagree about a few things, but I knew what I wanted with the final look and she was in sync with my ideas.”
Talking about her most rewarding moment, she says, “Most of the stars I have styled like Jacqueline Fernandes, Asin and Sonakshi Sinha have appreciated my work. Neha Dhupia told me that I have an amazing style of my own.” No wonder then that most stars are willing to be styled for Pernia’s pop-up shop, the most recent being Diana Penty.
Nisha Kundnani
Fashion stylist Nisha Kundnani is credited with styling Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Nandita Das, Kiran Rao, Vishwanathan Anand and Rahul Dravid, besides styling several popular ad campaigns. Talking about the role stylists play in building the image of stars, Nisha states, “Stars have a larger than life persona on screen, but at home or in the vanity van, they are as human as any of us.
The difference is that when you become a personal stylist to a celebrity, you become close to the person they are in real life and not to the star. My first celebrity client was Aamir Khan and the first day I went to his house, I was thinking, ‘Gosh, I’m going to be styling such a big star.’ But he turned out to be chilled out. For him it was just another day at work — business as usual.
And even though he was very professional, what I learnt was that stars are quite grounded. When we work with them, we enter a very personal space. My first experience at the Khan household was his daughter Ira telling me, ‘I will help you discard all of daddy’s old shoes.’
That instantly broke the ice and what put me at ease was the fact that Aamir is like any other father. To be able to advise someone on what, or what not, to wear one needs to first build trust. They trust you to make them look good and that is the foundation of a working relationship.”
About star tantrums, she explains, “Most actors are chilled out and don’t trouble anyone. They are very aware that this is their job, their daily bread and butter. They are humble, hard-working professionals and are struggling just like any other person and one must be sensitive towards that.
Waiting for long hours happens a lot in our profession, but it has nothing to do with reasons like the star is lazy or is sleeping till late hours.” Recalling an incident, she says, “When Aamir was shooting for Talaash, he would shoot all through the night and then get into a grueling fitness training session for Dhoom 3. It’s alright to adjust according to their schedules. When I styled Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao for Berlin International Film Festival and Nandita Das for the Cannes Film Festival, I knew that these were not the regular fashionistas and would show a sense of restrain in their clothing which is also my personal sensibility. Even though not much gets written about what they wear, what they do wear is respected. The recognition and respect that comes with styling actors of their pedigree means a lot. With younger actors like Anushka Sharma and Shraddha Kapoor, it is a professional friendship, a bond that develops and one always cherishes friendships above everything else.”
Rick Roy
He makes the stars shine brighter. Bollywood designer and fashion stylist Rick Roy rubs shoulders with the likes of Akshay Kumar, Emraan Hashmi, Malaika Arora Khan, Chitrangada Singh and many more. While most stylists assemble a look, Rick creates it from scratch.
“I don’t believe in picking things from other labels and putting it together. Designing is my job,” he says. “People I work with have immense faith in me. I do not believe in dressing an actor in a trendy silhouette only because it’s hot off the runway. I’d rather have them wear things that suit their body type, persona, skin tone. Just because crop tops are in doesn’t mean I will get Vidya or Chitrangada to wear it, even if it doesn’t suit them,” he asserts.
Pleasing Malaika isn’t easy, admits Roy. “She is someone who swears by exclusivity and is always pushing me to do better,” says Rick. adding that working with Akshay is as easy as it gets because of his self-confidence. So what happens when an actor’s look is written off? “It can be very embarrassing. A single negative comment can be very detrimental to the actor and her stylist,” he states.
Tanya Gharvi
It isn’t just love that transformed Kareena Kapoor Khan’s look and turned her into a style diva. Fashion stylist Tanya had a big hand to play in revamping Kareena’s look.
This graduate from Parsons Paris began her styling career with the Sonam-starrer Aisha. Post that she was exclusively styling Sonam before adding more names to her client list. Her clientele today includes Shraddha Kapoor, Alia Bhat, Malaika, Katrina Kaif, Ileana D’Cruz, Jacqueline Fernandez.
The 27-year-old reveals that the first thing she did with Kareena was to declutter her face. “She is someone who looks gorgeous with minimal add-ons. I got rid of the heavy eye make-up and frilly clothes,” she reveals.
Tanya loves loves the way Kangna and Karisma carry themselves. “Kangna has picked up the nuances of fashion over the course of time, while Lolo has always been stylish. She has the most gorgeous collection of Chanel bags,” she informs. Her most rewarding moments were rave reviews for Sonam in her D&G tuxedo with coral lips and Kareena in a Tom Ford black dress during her book launch.
Tanya explains the hard work that goes into creating a look for the those few hours of public appearance. “A red carpet event can take upto a week or more. For days we pour over designer lookbooks and deconstruct and reconstruct the whole look including makeup,” says the stylist whose personal style is a combination of casual chic and androgenous.
Shalini Mehta
For the past eight years, she has worked with the biggest stars while collaborating with leading stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania. From movies to photoshoots to advertisements and even awards, Shalini thrives on making celebs look good.
Deepika Padukone, Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Bipasha have paid heed to her fashion advice.
While her personal style is a confluence of classic and streetwear, when it comes to stars she dabbles in all sorts of looks. “SRK was one of the easiest to work with and also the most challenging. The reason it was so hard was because he is just so easygoing and laid-back that you are compelled to give it more than your best,” she states.
The job has it’s tough sides too. “I have had to deal with celebs rejecting clothes at the last minute, despite approving it earlier. This job can get very demanding physically because there is no set time and emotionally when you have to deal with drama. But what makes it all worth it is the shopping you get to do and the sense of pride at having worked with the biggest names in the industry,” she reveals.
