As told to Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 16, 2019)
I was styling Angira Dhar who had featured opposite Vicky Kaushal in the 2018 romcom Love Per Square Foot and had met him a few times. Since he was looking for a new stylist and I was keen on increasing my clientele, I dressed him for the film’s premiere, giving him an ikat jacket in earthy tones because he always came across as down-to-earth and real. He liked the look and I jumped on board.
I like to play it elegant while still making a statement. For Vicky, too, fashion is more an extension of his personality. Since, he likes it subtle, I don’t go overboard on colours and overwhelm him. Instead I play with earthy tones like browns and yellows which resonate with his personality and add a personal touch with a little quirk. Like for Neha Dhupia’s chat show with Taapsee Pannu, I gave him a floral tee with a sporty jacket. The overall effect was playful.
Whenever I enter the menswear section, Vicky is on my mind because given his tall, toned frame, he can do justice to most clothes. It’s an altogether different issue that I have to sell them to him. Like recently I picked up these bracelets with chain detailing from an artisan bazaar and used them for a photoshoot. Since it was a more casual look, he didn’t mind and I notched up a small victory.
Vicky doesn’t like playing with colours. For an award ceremony, he’ll want a ‘nice black suit’ though I’ve already given him over 10. At the most, I’m allowed blue. Once I insisted on an all-green suit and he kept asking me if he was looking like a ‘pista’. When I give him yellow, he whines that he’s looking like a ‘Mango Duet’ and I have to constantly reassure him that he’s still Vicky. I’ve got him to wear a layer of pink and slept really well when he gave the nod to neon.
Our trial sessions are like battles. For every “no” I remind him that have a reputation to maintain. He’ll eventually growl, “Arre chal, give me a hoodie or something.” Aarrgghhh! But now we’ve reached a compromise. If I’m playing with colours, the silhouette will be classy and vice versa.
For Raazi, he wanted a little Indian, so I picked up some kurtas with draping that broke gender-specific silhouettes with asymmetrical cuts. He couldn’t stop laughing when he wore them. He is a manly man that way. We then went with a very basic shirt and trouser look, but we weren’t crazy about it. Finally, we chose some unconventional kurtas which weren’t wildly out of Vicky’s comfort zone.
For Manmarziyaan, he was more open, and we used a lot of hip-hop elements, long, over-sized tees, drop-crotch pants, hoodies and jackets with patchwork detailing. We also went with bold colours like red and green for the promotions.
The promotions of Uri: The Surgical Strike were a big win and right up Vicky’s alley. I used so much camouflage, I couldn’t stand the sight of it anymore, but he was completely at home.
I insisted on an all-green suit & Vicky Kaushal kept asking me if he was looking like a ‘pista’-Amandeep Kaur
