The last few years have seen a fashion revolution of sorts in Bollywood. Stars are more conscious of what they wear, are style-aware and are finally inching towards being worthy of those “style icon” tags! And at the helm of this change (and thank God for it!) is an army of super stylists. So we bring you a round-up of the real style stars behind the stars!
1. Rhea Kapoor
Celebrity clients: Sonam Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor
It’s all in the family for Rhea Kapoor. Now we all know that Sonam Kapoor is Bollywood’s original fashionista, but her little sister Rhea has a lot to do with her perfect 10 looks. The younger Ms Kapoor makes sure that her big sister’s looks are always newsworthy. And that’s not simply because of her outfits’ faultless nature but also because of the designers she sports. Testimony to this is the fact that Sonam was wearing Masaba and Surendri long before everyone else jumped onto the bandwagon. And just when the rest of Bollywood started ODing on the likes on Prabal Gurung, Rhea quickly moved her on to fresher finds like Toni Maticevski and Ashi Studio. Certain aspects are a mainstay of Rhea’s styling though — namely Anamika Khanna couture, Shehlaa Khan ensembles, statement accessories, all things Elie Saab, a soft corner for Dolce & Gabbana and mom Sunita Kapoor’s jewellery. As for Arjun Kapoor, sister Rhea dresses him in well-cut blazers, natty suits and a whole lot of Burberry!
2. Anaita Shroff Adajania
Celebrity client: Deepika Padukone
Vogue’s Fashion Director has a penchant for turning girls-next-door into a high-octane glamazons. Case in point: Deepika Padukone, Bollywood’s reigning high priestess of fashion. No one can fault Padukone’s sartorial turn (for the better, of course) post Cocktail, as her super stylist has been churning out one winning look after another. From an unbelievably sexy black Prabal Gurung cutout gown to a demure Sabyasachi stunner with berry lips, seems like this dream team can do no wrong.
3. Tanya Ghavri
Celebrity clients: Kareena Kapoor, Frieda Pinto, Jacqueline Fernandez, Karisma Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt, Shraddha Kapoor
Tanya Ghavri’s client roster reads like the guest list of an A-list Bollywood party. Safe to say that she has dressed just about every big Bollywood star to reckon with at some point in her career, and that’s saying something! The thing that stands out in Ghavri’s styling is that she never puts her celebrity into anything that’s evidently out of their comfort zone or uncharacteristic of their style sensibility. But that’s not to say that she doesn’t keep things interesting. So while she’ll dress Katrina Kaif in her trusty sheath dresses, Ghavri will also mix it up with an asymmetrical Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna top and leather pants. And yes, she will style Karisma Kapoor in her signature jeans and top looks; but she will also break it with something punchy like a structured Ravage jacket from time to time. And therein lies Ghavri’s true merit.
4. Nitasha Gaurav
Celebrity clients: Ranveer Singh, Parineeti Chopra, Tabu, Arjun Kapoor, Siddharth Malhotra, Shahid Kapoor
Ex-Femina Fashion Editor and now freelance stylist, Nitasha Gauarv isn’t afraid to push the envelope with the stars she styles. Why do we say so? Well, Ranveer Singh! Who would have thought that one will ever get to see a Bollywood actor actually pull off a gold brocade blazer or draped pants with a printed shirt and kolhapuris with effortless nonchalance. And then there’s Parineeti Chopra. Chopra turned to this stylist du jour for her fashion metamorphosis. Her new look courtesy Gaurav — think Riddhi Mehra crop tops, Farah Sanjana midis and Rahul Mishra dresses — is already winning her rave reviews. Fearless, experimental and no-holds-barred, that’s Gaurav for you! (This fab stylist also gave us some brilliant tips and tricks.)
5. Nisha Kundnani
Celebrity clients: Shraddha Kapoor, Divya Khosla, Anushka Sharma
Nisha Kundnani’s own style is known to be pretty fuss-free and minimal. And her sensibilities are reflected in her work as well. She’s the lady who was responsible for Shraddha Kapoor’s latest media blitzkrieg during her recent movie promotions. Easy chic, like we said. Ditto for Anushka Sharma. Kundnani proves that in a sea of celebrities trying very hard to stand out, there is still ample virtue in simplicity.
6. Ami Patel
Celebrity clients: Priyanka Chopra, Ileana D’Cruz, Tamannah, Lara Datta, Madhuri Dixit
Ami Patel has seen actress-cum-popstar Priyanka Chopra transition from all things bodycon to more fashion-friendly, experimental silhouettes. And we quite love the hit-maker’s new-found avatar. Patel strikes an interesting balance between trendy elements and classic touches with her styling. She is particularly partial towards homegrown designers (think Pankaj & Nidhi, Atsu, Gauri & Nainika, Farah Sanjana, Debashri Samanta), high-street labels (Zara, ASOS and Koovs to name a few) and unconventional international labels like Prabal Gurung, Peter Pilotto, Monique Lhuillier and Yigal Azrouël among others.
7. Aastha Sharma and Mohit Rai
Celebrity clients: Esha Gupta, Vaani Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Chitrangada Singh, Genelia D’Souza
Together known as the Wardrobist, this duo wins brownie points for favouring Indian designers quite heavily. And considering they are both former Harper’s Bazaar stylists (Rai now doubles as Fashion Editor at Harper’s Bazaar Bride India), it is no surprise that they are well-versed with what’s hot on the Indian runways. Take Esha Gupta’s recent appearances for instance — we spotted a whole lot of Pankaj & Nidhi, Hemant & Nandita, Pernia Qureshi, Nishka Lulla, Nikhil Thampi, Quirkbox and the works. Kudos to that indeed!
8. Sanjana Batra
Celebrity clients: Yami Gautam, Alia Bhatt, Huma Qureshi, Kiara Advani, Esha Gupta
Considering she’s stylist to a host of young stars, Sanjana Batra’s styling is fresh, spruced with of-the-moment trends and fads. Her sensibility can be summed up as easygoing, classic and safe but by no means boring. Batra seems to have an affinity for well-fitted midi cuts and solid colours.
9. Archana Walwalkar
Celebrity clients: Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan
Co-founder of styling portal Style Cracker and ex-Vogue stylist, Archana Walwalkar is a purveyor of all things trendy, with a generous helping of unrehearsed sexy. Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt’s supremely cool looks during their recent movie promotions are testimony to her styling chops.
10. Allia Al Rufai
Celebrity clients: Nargis Fakhri, Kangana Ranaut, Anushka Sharma
If you follow this Ex-Harper’s Bazaar stylist on Instagram (and if you don’t, do so now!), you’re probably already aware that Allia Al Rufai is something of a stylista herself—you know, the kind who looks like she just stepped out of a magazine editorial. Every day. It’s no wonder then that being a stylist du jour comes pretty naturally to this sophisticated and incredibly chic fashion girl. She’s the brain behind Nargis Fakhri’s oh-so-hot looks!
Celebrity image courtesy: Viral Bhayani
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