Celeb stylist puts together an exhibition of fashion design
From Anushka Sharma, Sonam Kapoor, Katrina Kaif to Kareena Kapoor — Tanya Ghavri has managed to style all the popular actresses in Bollywood. She is one of the most famous celebrity stylists in the industry today. Lending her styling expertise to wellknown actresses, Ghavri is ready to make her mark in the national capital with her much-awaited trunk show, Dhoom Dham Weddings: The Holiday Trunk.
After a very successful edition in Mumbai, the show is bringing designers from all across the country, with representatives arriving from cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.
Referring to her exhibition, Ghavri tells Guardian 20, “This has been a concept in the pipeline for almost a year now. It’s something that my partner Ashi Dua and I have been very excited about. We were always dabbling with the idea of it, now that everything has worked out we are thrilled to have our first ever holiday trunk in Delhi. It’s really exciting. It’s going to exhibit some amazing clothes for the holiday season and much more. We have an extremely popular lineup of designers, such as Shweta Kapur, Jayanti Reddy, Nishka Lulla, Shift by Nimish Shah and Masaba.”
Earlier, designers exhibited their collection through fashion shows but now they increasingly prefer fashion exhibitions. Talking about that shift, the stylist says, “I think fashion shows and trunk shows/exhibitions have been going on for a while now, and having both the mediums to exhibit your work is a perk. A Fashion show is very important as it shows how the clothes would look on a body, and an exhibition is where customers can come and physically see the clothes and buy them. The only thing that’s changed is that, I think, there is more demand now, hence trunk shows have increased. People want to look good. Everyone is on the same fashion level and are conscious may be because of the influence of social media and television or the influence of the West. Everyone feels the need to be well-dressed and to look good.”
The stylist also believes that, be it fashion shows or trunk shows, everything now is concept-driven. It’s all about curating ideas. She also says that fashion weeks are here to stay, but trunk shows will take over eventu- ally.
The collection at the trunk show focuses on clothes for the holiday season with special emphasis on holiday and resort wear. “We have an amazing line-up of designers to bring together a whole lot of designers from all over India including Delhi. I think collections are based on day-to-day and easy-towear for the summer season. It’s about comfortable clothes for this holiday season. These are the summer essentials for everyone.”
For Ghavri, this year’s spring/summer trends are oversized shoulder dresses, flower printed attires, artsy pop, sheer with lace , metallics, jumpsuits, hide-andseek cutouts, and Seventies prints among many more designs.
Being a celebrity stylist is not easy. One has to be creative and quick. “I think the most important thing to keep in mind is the nature of the event or the film scene you are styling a celebrity for. You have to keep their body type in mind as well as their comfort, because if someone is uncomfortable it shows on screen. I also like to research a lot before doing any styling,” says Ghavri.
But the most challenging aspect of working as a stylist is time management, which Ghavri has learnt to balance over the years working with so many celebrities. “I still struggle with keeping that balance but I am much better at it now,” she says.
The competition is cutthroat, but Ghavri believes that she has never worked keeping this idea in mind. She says, “The only way one can distinguish their work from others is by attempting new ideas and concepts and by continuing to learn in the process.” The exhibition, Dhoom Dhaam Weddings: The Holiday Trunk, will be on view at The Grand,Vasant Kunj on 22 April
The stylist also believes that today, be it fashion shows or trunk shows, everything is concept-driven.