1) WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO MAKE A CAREER IN FASHION AS A CELEBRITY STYLIST?
“‘Honestly, I’ve always loved clothes, loved fashion but I didn’t know that a career as a celebrity stylist existed. A couple of years ago when it started picking up, I wanted to try my hand at it. That’s how I got into it.”
2) WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BREAK THROUGH AS A CELEBRITY STYLIST AND HOW DIFFICULT WAS IT IN THE BEGINNING?
“I think now it would be a lot more difficult because there are a lot more players in the field. In the earlier times there were quite a few key celebrity stylist who did everyday looks, promotional looks that I ended up doing. I think getting experience under s leading stylist is always a good idea. I think that’s the only real way to get into it, by experiencing under someone whose work you admire. ”
3) WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO EMERGING STYLISTS TRYING TO MAKE IT IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY?
“I think, like I said before, work experience is extremely important. What you learn on a job is something you don’t learn in a book or in a classroom. Getting experience, assist on as many shoots and events, editorials, advertisements or whatever genre of styling you’re interested in – get experience in it.”
4) WHAT IS THE ONE STYLING TRICK/HACK YOU LEARNT AFTER WORKING IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY?
“I mean, it’s not a hack but good fit trumps everything. You can have a really beautiful garment and if it doesn’t correctly fit the person you’re styling, it won’t ever translate as a good look. So a good fit is not something I would like to compromise on.”
5) WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU HAD TO UNLEARN IN FASHION AFTER WORKING AS A CELEBRITY STYLIST?
“I think, in terms of unlearning, you need to take them with a stride. When things are last minute, when things are unplanned, when there’s a curveball thrown at you, you need to learn how to figure it out and be someone who works well in a crisis situation. I feel a lot of times we like to work with a plan and when it doesn’t go our way we panic. So I think in celebrity styling I had to unlearn the idea of everything going according to the plan because there are a lot of to-dos’s and timelines which are last minute.”
6) WHAT IS THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT YOUR JOB?
“The common misconception has to be that it looks so glamorous and that we have access to these beautiful clothes and amazing people. In reality, it’s a very hard, physically and mentally strenuous job. It’s a lot of hard work, lots of coordination and logistics. It’s not just about your creativity. You might have an idea in your head which you believe translates but there’s so much more that goes into it. ”
7) ARE THE LOOKS YOU STYLE INSPIRED BY YOUR PERSONAL STYLE?
“I think subconsciously they might be because that tends to happen. Having said that, since I work with actors, you need to keep their personality in mind so in that case my personal style doesn’t play a factor. Of course my aesthetic will determine the kind of looks I put together for them. ”
8) ARE STYLISTS THE NEW TRENDSETTERS AS THEY PUT TOGETHER LOOKS FOR SOME OF THE MOST PHOTOGRAPHED CELEBRITIES?
“Yes, potentially they could be. I won’t say trendsetters but we are style influencers because we work with people whose choices are determined by us. I don’t know if we are trendsetters but influencers, yes. ”
9) HOW MUCH HAS CELEBRITY STYLING CHANGED FROM THE TIME YOU STARTED YOUR CAREER?
“A lot! In terms of just the volume of work, a lot has changed. When I started working independently about 5 years back, there were only a handful of occasions you styled your client for. Now, literally every second day there’s something happening and the paparazzi is always there so everything is kind of being documented by social media. So it’s a lot more fast paced now and there’s a lot more to do. ”
10) A TREND YOU’RE LOVING AND A TREND YOU’RE HATING RIGHT NOW?
“Well, I’m loving power shoulders. I’ve always loved power shoulders, bold and bright neon colours. These are things I love and I don’t think I hate any particular trend. ”
11) WHILE CURATING A RED CARPET LOOK WITH A DESIGNER FOR A CELEBRITY, HOW MUCH OF IT IS THE STYLIST’S INPUT?
“When you get into customizing any look, red carpet or otherwise, you tend to go with some kind of concept or maybe a colour palette or a silhouette that you have in mind. Then of course you work hand-in-hand with the designer to bring something beautiful to life because the designer has vision you’re probably not able to execute. It’s literally a very collaborative process so I really can’t state how involved or not involved a stylist is in it.”
Credits-
Photography by- Kailash Deepak
Make up – Snigdha
Hair – shalini sharma
Stylist – Priyansha Singh Bhagoria
Clothing – Falguni Shane Peacock
