Exclusive: Stylist Amandeep Kaur On Styling Vicky Kaushal, Why Celebs Should Stop Aping The West, Diet Sabya And More
On trends, trolls and more!
In the past few years, we’ve seen celebrities presenting their sartorial sensibilities in the most unique ways. Closer to home, Bollywood too is a hub of both fashion and films, enjoying an obsessive fanbase. And being one, it remains a happy abode for fashion enthusiasts who hope to build a career as a stylist. And while we drool over every look that is served to us on a hot platter by our favourite stars, the real hero behind most of them is a celebrity stylist, who is running from brand to brand, curating an outfit, and sometimes convincing the star to take that plunge with the risqué cut. Helping stars to dress for both red carpets and their own weddings, a stylist is at all times playing the role of GPS in an actor’s life, showing them a way to a spectacular look.
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And welcoming us into the lives of a celebrity stylist is Amandeep Kaur, who is best known for dressing stars like–Vicky Kaushal, Radhika Madan, Yami Gautam, Taapsee Pannu and more. Discussing the realities and myths attached to the profession, Amandeep unpacks the story behind Vicky Kaushal’s wedding looks, the biggest trends of 2023 and more.
Q: You’ve been styling actor Vicky Kaushal for years. Tell us how did you meet him and what clicked between the two that helped this collaboration last for years?
Amandeep Kaur: I met Vicky during the promotions of Love Per Square Foot, where I was styling the actress opposite him–Angira Dhar. He liked my style sensibility on her, and I was looking to expand my clientele during that time. So, he asked if I could style him for the screening of the same film, and there-on started our work relationship.
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After that one look, I have been styling him for the past 5 years now. Honestly, it was the comfort of sharing thoughts and ideas, without any filters, and the fact that we were both from a Punjabi background that just made our worlds meet better. We have similar family values and often end up dancing to Punjabi music together (laughs). It’s one of the purest and most beautiful work relationships/friendships I have shared in the last few years with him, that makes me feel at home while I am working with him.
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Q: You also curated his entire wedding wardrobe. Can you take us through the entire style mood that Vicky wanted for his wedding day, the rest of the functions and how you helped him achieve it?
Amandeep Kaur: Vicky’s wedding was a beautiful extension of our work relationship and of course, I had to style him for the most special events of his life. The whole idea was to make him feel at ease, and bring out the colours and silhouettes according to his cultural background that would let him feel in touch with his traditions, yet comfortable enough to dance the day out.
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There was a colour board that was decided for everything–be it décor, guests dressing, or bride and groom dressing. For example, mehendi had colours like greens, mustard and dusty rose pinks, while haldi was white and gold, and of course Sabyasachi being the mastermind behind most of the outfits, it was much easier for me to collaborate and create the perfect wedding ensemble for Vicky. His enthusiasm and pure joy really helped make the whole process a pretty easy and blissful one.
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Q: Promotion looks have become a crucial aspect for an actor while marketing a film. Are there special instructions from an actor’s end, as they dress up for promotions?
Amandeep Kaur: For every film, Vicky and I brainstorm together and come up with a visual language we want to adapt for each film promotion. I believe each film’s promotion outfits must have hints of the character that can be adapted to Vicky’s own style personality.
For example, URI’s promotional outfits had a lot of khakees, greens, browns etc, in rugged masculine silhouettes, while during Sardar Udham’s promotions, we wanted to marry the Indian element in modern urban silhouettes. During the promotional events for Govinda Naam Mera, we played around with a lot of colour and prints while keeping it a bit subtle to match Vicky’s real-life personality.
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Q: In terms of experimenting, is Vicky fussy about a style or fabric or even trying out a colour?
Amandeep Kaur: Well, I won’t say fussy but he is very clear on what he likes and doesn’t like. He might not get a lot of fashion terminology right, but he can sense a good fabric from a bad one and is very particular about how a fabric feels on his body. The same goes for colour, there is a specific colour scheme that works for his personality, and it takes a LOT of convincing for him to go for a different colour route.
For example, the purple monotone suit by Falguni Shane Peacock, that I made him wear for Govinda Naam Mera promotions, he was not too keen on the colour, but ultimately gave in and everybody seemed to love it, once he wore it. The statement colour suit worked well in sync with the character he was playing in GNM.
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Q: You also styled Radhika Madan at the TIFF 2022, and her pantsuit look soon became viral. Tell us the story behind that entire look.
Amandeep Kaur: Radhika Madan is quite a soul sister, she is badass and also loves androgynous styles like me. She wanted to wear a suit/tux which was unique and edgy, and hence she thought of me to style her. I thought of creating a silhouette that would compliment her body type, which is petite, a tux that does not overpower her, but makes her empowered, and adds the right kind of appeal along with a unique voice.
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So, I thought of doing a pin-striped cropped tux and collaborated with the iconic Neeta Lulla. She gave me a dream tux for Radhika that made all the difference. I wanted her to wear it without a shirt, and Radhika wanted to wear a body chain inside, so we found the perfect fit and with all 3 women coming together, the look turned out quite stunning on her. I just added the final touch of a beautiful statement Misho gold choker and gold Louboutin stilettos to complement. It’s honestly one of my favourite women’s wear looks that I have styled to date.
Q: A celebrity you think has an amazing sense of personal style?
Amandeep Kaur: I think Shobhita Dhulipala and Vijay Varma have a great sense of personal style, and they carry varied fashion looks with so much ease.
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Q: A celebrity you haven’t styled yet and would love to?
Amandeep Kaur: Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ananya Panday are young celebs and I would love to contribute to their style game and create a unique fashion language for them.
Q: In terms of your observation of Bollywood fashion, what are the style resolutions you think celebrities should take this year? Maybe a style they should try or something you think they should absolutely retire?
Amandeep Kaur: India as a country is so rich in fabrics and surface treatments, and has a unique pool of talented designers, who have their own voice. But somehow I see most young Bollywood blood preferring to follow whatever is worn by their western peers. I feel celebrities must imitate style from the west a bit lesser, and create more of their own personal style
I would like them to try styles created by our local designers using sustainable fabrics and ways of creating them. If the Bollywood industry wouldn’t support and endorse our home-grown brands, who will?
Also Read: Vicky Kaushal’s Disco Moves In A Mauve Suit Are Totally Bijli
Q: What are the various trends that you think will headline 2023?
Amandeep Kaur: Some of the top 2023 trends I feel are–relaxed tailoring, retro reign continues–80’s & 90’s inspired silhouette, bigger the better in pants for men, floral prints, soft feminine details like sheer, crop tops, lace, and bold pop colours.
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Also Read: Exclusive: Costume Designer Veera Kapur On Dressing Triptii Dimri, Babil Khan, And Building The World Of ‘Qala’
Q: Besides styling Vicky, some of your best projects also include styling Yami Gautam for Netflix’s Ginny Weds Sunny and even styling Taapsee Pannu for various shoots. How involved are celebrities while curating a look? And what are some of the things that you keep in mind while styling a celeb for a film project?
Amandeep Kaur: Each actor has their own way of getting involved. Most actors like Vicky, Yami and Taapsee, like to contribute their opinion only at the fittings level. Before trials, they completely trust my process and allow me a free hand to bring in whatever I think is the best. But it also depends on what I am styling them for. If it’s a personal event, then the involvement is the most, if it’s a red carpet, it’s a little lesser, and if it’s an ad/commercial shoot, then they completely let it be on me and the brand we are dealing with. However, I believe that the final call in whatever they wear has to be theirs at the end of the day. You can only recommend them, but if they don’t resonate with a style, they will not end up wearing them.
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Q: Tell us one celebrity look that you found extremely challenging and why?
Amandeep Kaur: Every look brings along its own challenges, small or big, but one of the most challenging shoots for me has been when I was styling Priyanka Chopra for a magazine cover. It was one of the most horrid monsoon days in Mumbai, and the city was almost drowning, as per the source. Somehow we pulled it together since Priyanka was in town only for a couple of days and her schedule was jam-packed. She gave us 3 hours, and I had to make sure it was one of the most memorable shoots with her, which I think I managed to do (smiles).
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While the props got stuck in the rain, we immediately created a set-up using tube lights and plastic. This was nearly 6 years back, and yet remains one of the most challenging shoots of my life. I am truly blessed to have sailed through it.
Q: Take us through your styling journey and share a message for people aspiring to build a career in this field.
Amandeep Kaur: My styling journey has been a long and blessed one. I began my journey at NIFT, where I realised that styling was my true calling. While in college I interned and worked with various media houses, publications, marketing firms and even fashion designers and brands to get as much experience as possible.I even worked as a contributing editor for a coffee table book on Indian Fashion. Then I joined Marie Claire magazine as an Asst Fashion Editor, and the Cosmopolitan magazine as a Fashion Director. Which was the last stop before I realised I wanted to venture out on my own as an independent celebrity stylist.
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One big piece of advice to aspiring fashion stylists is that first focus on the education part, and get yourself into a decent fashion college, where you might not exactly learn about styling but if you are surrounded by fashion and creativity, it will build a strong foundation for your career ahead. Take up as many internships and projects as you can. Try various kinds of styling before you make up your mind about a particular category. And last is that always have the hunger to learn more. Styling is an ever-evolving profession and you need to be a constant student to keep learning and experimenting.
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Q: What are the myths attached to the lives of celebrity stylists?
Amandeep Kaur: A big myth is that it’s all glamour, parties and red-carpet events. While basically, it’s a lot of bags, boxes, suitcases and a tonne of clothes to take care of. Your life is surrounded by glamorous things like shopping malls, celebrities, shoot sets, gorgeous clothes, 5-star hotels, and beautiful locations, but behind all that, there is an enormous amount of physical hard work and sleepless nights in preparing looks and managing resources.
Q: Thanks to the internet, everyone has an opinion over everything that a celebrity does and wears. How do you deal with criticism if that ever comes your way, and what’s your take on Diet Sabya’s impact on the fashion industry?
Amandeep Kaur: Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I believe fashion is an extremely personal choice. Each look is a decision between the stylist and the celebrity, and it’s okay to not please everyone while you are at it. People can judge and assess, but at the end of the day you and your client need to be happy with the outcome, that’s all that matters. While Diet Sabya’s criticism and accountability have brought in a lot of positives, like calling out copies or nudging actors to credit their teams, it’s also an anonymous person creating entertaining content/gossip by criticising looks behind a screen-name. So, I just feel we need to take Diet Sabya’s opinions and criticisms like we would take anyone else’s. Ultimately it’s one person’s point of view and it’s okay to not match yours.
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Q: What are the pressures that come with styling the leading men or women in Bollywood?
Amandeep Kaur: The pressure is immense, you are constantly under the microscope, and everyone has an opinion of your work. While your work is not just you, it also brings along a very popular person in the conversation, it creates extra pressure to make sure you are not letting down the celebrity you are styling. The bigger the celeb, the more gossip and varied comments/trolls. But I just try to focus on enjoying my work, making sure I am happy and my client is the happiest. After that, no matter how much you scrutinize, if you had a fun day at work, it’s all good!
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