“STYLING IS A FIELD WHERE YOU LEARN ON THE JOB”

AASTHA SHARMA, 31 Stylist, Mumbai

Styling is finally gaining prominence. When I was studying marketing and merchandising at Pearl Academy in Delhi, there were hardly any stylists. Even when I launched my company in 2012, it wasn’t really a big industry, but it’s grown phenomenally in the past five years. People are no longer shy of taking professional help, be it for corporate meetings or weddings. People understand fashion more and there are many more brands.

Fashion has changed Earlier designerwear was expensive and exclusive. But with the exchange of international fashion, designers and opportunities, there are several fashion-oriented jobs. You can now get designer wear from `5,000 to `5 lakh.

Styling celebrities Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s Cannes look got me a lot of appreciation; I’ve been working with her for three years now. I’ve also been styling Esha Gupta for five years and she’s so easy to style, and sometimes very challenging to style too. It’s a process—you need to understand their personal style, how they perceive fashion, how well can they carry it off, push them a bit and create a rapport. Learn on the job The market changes every fast. There’s something new every week and you have to be updated in real time.

Many hands of fashion I cater to celebrity styling, fashion editorial styling, commercial shoots, ad films, cinema styling and personal shopping. I recently moved from styling to designing when I launched a fashion line with SBuyS. It’s fun to go back to the sketching board. As told to Aditi Pai