Stylist Nabila (C) and Tabesh Khoja prepare models at a fashion week | N-Pro
Celebrities live a life where they are constantly under a microscope: any fashion faux pas or the tiniest blunder will be highlighted on TV, lead to ink on thousands of pages and produce terabytes of social media.
To venture out freely on personal errands, they hide behind dark shades and tinted cars to avoid being harassed for selfies. Then there are commitments such as promotions, inaugurations and red carpet events, guest appearances on TV, drama serials and films for which celebrities give the responsibility of their looks to fashion stylists.
Not everyone is Blake Lively, who claims to make all of her own clothing choices and doesn’t need stylists to fix her look. With their taste and knack for innovation, stylists adjust clothing and accessories to people’s profiles and lifestyles and ultimately bring the runway down to real life people.
Stylists mastermind iconic moments that can make or break careers of showbiz personalities
If it wasn’t for Manish Malhotra styling Karisma Kapoor to perfection for her role as Nisha in Dil To Pagal Hai, she might still have had those bushy eyebrows, ’80s perm, ruffles and leg-of-mutton sleeves. But instead she stunned us all and won the Best Supporting Actor award for her Dil le gayi le gayi performance in the film. Rhea Kapoor styled Fawad Khan in slick blazers and shirt-vest combos for Khubsoorat promotions. Ania Fawad transformed Sana Javed’s desi girl-next-door look into that of a dazzling diva for the Mehrunisa V Lub U promotions. Ayeza Khan’s stylist Anila Murtaza is responsible for her gorgeous looks, including the totally new western look for drama serial Tau Dil Ka Kya Hua. Celebrated in their own right today, stylists create red carpet history for celebrities and mastermind iconic moments that make or break their showbiz careers.
“When designers come up with statements like ‘ethnic-chic’, ‘classic-chic’ or ‘technic romantic’ or ‘very Marilyn Monroe’, what the hell does it mean? That is where the stylist comes in and makes that statement practical,” says Tabesh Khoja, who works as an image consultant at Nabila’s. “It’s about matching the right person with the right brand. We help people in more ways than just fixing their looks. We help them in defining their personality for their projects and also create a special dressing style for them around their likes and dislikes, what they can carry and what suits them. We are not just wardrobe coordinators. We mix and match from several fashion collections and lines and customise the outfit, hair, make-up and accessories for a real person. For instance, depending on who I am styling, I would pick something that I like from Ali Xeeshan’s collection and pair it up with Sana Safinaz for that matter or one or two pieces from Elan or maybe just a necklace to go with the look. ”
Known for his gutsy approach to fashion perhaps bordering on a touch of eccentric, Tabesh always wanted to become a fashion designer, wore kilts at university, and Vogue used to be his bible. “The stylist’s eye is a gift, its natural, you can’t train someone to develop it,” he says.
San Francisco-based Ania Fawad says, “You must be creative, patient, hard working and able to work well under pressure. The creative part is the best because you pitch your ideas to your client.” A few years ago when Ania started her style blog, she enjoyed it so much that she decided to make a career out of it. Besides being a celebrity stylist, she also works as a specialist for Marc Jacobs.
Samiya Ansari, a Karachi-based celebrity stylist who has studied filmmaking and journalism in London couldn’t agree more. “You need an eye for good pieces that would work together. Current trends are always a major thing and you can follow them, but every stylist has a personal taste and vibe so they can work out a style considering what body type can handle what type of attire and what outfits can make or break a look.”