Being a celebrity in the 21st Century is no piece of cake. Whether onscreen doing a challenging role or offscreen, going to the gym, or catching up with friends and family, a celebrity is always assumed to bring their fashion A-game by us, the audience. Style isn’t something that naturally comes to many, especially as it takes a lot of trial and error to find just what’s right. And to reduce the pressure industry’s long-hour shoots bring with it, there are stylists today whom we have to credit for making our beloved celebrities ‘the best dressed’ person on many occasions. Bollywood currently has some of the best stylists in the business; some have gone as far as the Cannes Film festival to have wowed us with their impeccable work on actors and actresses. Once you look at their work on Instagram and Pinterest, you won’t leave the apps without saving and pinning some of the looks they’ve created.
Anaita Shroff Adajania
Anaita is someone who has dipped her toes in various verticals of the entertainment industry and tasted the fruit of roaring success in quite a few of those. Starting off as a model alongside appearing briefly on the silver screen in movies like ‘DDLJ’ and ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho;’ Shroff Adajania began her career in fashion as early as 1996 as an editor with Elle magazine. Alongside helming a successful career in Fashion Magazines, Anaita became a costume designer for several movies, notably Dhoom, Dhoom 2, Love Aaj Kal and Cocktail styling John Abraham, Hritik Roshan, Aishwariya Rai, Bipasha Basu, and Deepika Padukone respectively. The looks and styling of which are iconic and still talked about with high regard.
The former Vogue India director can be credited for paving the way for stylists in the Indian Entertainment Industry, being the first to do so for celebrity Red Carpets, public appearances, press events, and recently, having us gush over her styling Katrina Kaif for the actress’s nuptials to actor Vicky Kaushal. While still a director at Vogue India, Anaita had our jaws dropped to the floor when she styled Kim Kardashian in a ‘red-hot’ saree for the Cover of the magazine’s March 2018 issue.
Mohit Rai
Currently, the number one and the most sought-after stylist of B’town has to be Mohit Rai. There is not one celebrity in the industry that Rai hasn’t already worked with. One of the few stylists who truly understands body form, individual style especially that of a female, irrespective of age, does complete justice to his ‘elegant with an oomph of sexy’ styling. His portfolio includes popular personas like Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Neetu Kapoor, and Priyanka Chopra, blowing us away with his exceptional work each time, and being an inspiration to the many budding stylists.
Shaleena Nathani
Stylist Shaleena Nathani’s work is synonymous with Deepika Padukone; you cannot separate the two. The two pretty much started off together in their respective careers. Be it the actress’s award-show looks, red-carpet, wedding guest, bridal, airport looks, or her many looks at the Cannes she’s graced her presence with year after year, Nathani never disappoints. Trained under the wing of Anaita Shroff herself and a prior Style Cell crew, Shaleena has ace actors Madhuri Dixit, Shah Rukh Khan, and Kiara Advani, to name a few, apart from Deepika roped in as her clients. The stylist’s USP is her constant experimentation with textures, volume, and colors. Her styling is often described as the cusp of modern femininity and athleisure.
Tanya Gharvi
Getting her to break into the industry as an assistant to Pernia Qureshi, there was no looking back for Tanya Gharvi after giving us some stand-out outfit inspiration in the Sonam Kapoor star Aisha. Like her work in the movie, Tanya continues to have not just her clients but onlookers spellbound with her attention to detail and eccentric taste, creating a competitive space for other stylists to come to par with. Her clientele base has an array of talented artists, including Freida Pinto, Sonam Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan, Alaya F, and Shraddha Kapoor.
Ami Patel
If making a basic outfit more put together was a sport, Ami Patel would bring home every award on this planet there is. As someone who’s been part of the Industry for many years, Ami holds her position as a stylist high, giving us stunning celebrity looks to admire and mimic. Her styling is a harmonious marriage of classic timeless with trends, giving birth to chic, happy, and simplistically charming looks. In recent times, she has dressed powerhouse actors such as Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Alia Bhatt, Karisma Kapoor, and Isha Ambani, an Indian businesswoman, and daughter of billionaire Nita and Mukesh Ambani.
Sanam Ratansi
One would assume Aditi Rao Hydari naturally looks like royalty since she comes from that lineage. It might play a role, but one cannot simply ignore the brain behind bringing that royalty to life with the choice of styling. Sanam Ratansi truly knows how to play to the strengths of a client’s Personal style, be it Ms. Hydari, Huma Qureshi, or Surveen Chawla.
Allia al Rufai
An ex-Harper’s Bazaar stylist and a fashionista herself, be it a casual public outing or a red-carpet event, Allia’s styling for her clients is always top-notch like the looks are being shot for an editorial. She is known for dressing new-age talents Sharwari Wagh, Vaani Kapoor, and Yami Gautam with her signature style of playing with exquisite chic pieces of clothing to make a soft statement.
