She prefers not to dress in Bangkok maal the way other actresses do. She'd rather appear for a film's promotion in international designer Prabal Gurung's midnight blue dress than a wispy sari. And this has been reason enough for the Indian media to hail actress Sonam Kapoor as the new style icon. After careful consideration, Mid Day fashion editor Shweta Shiware says, I disagree
She prefers not to dress in Bangkok maal the way other actresses do. She'd rather appear for a film's promotion in international designer Prabal Gurung's midnight blue dress than a wispy sari. And this has been reason enough for the Indian media to hail actress Sonam Kapoor as the new style icon. After careful consideration, Mid Day fashion editor Shweta Shiware says, I disagreeTo tell a story so well that it fulfills itself, ceases to be a story and turns real. That's the story of actress Sonam Kapoor's style. The airily, subversive 25 year-old brandished luxury merchandise and spouted fashionista jargon with the modesty of a refined narcissist, and a media hungry for just one fashionable Bollywood star, hailed her as India's answer to Aniston. What someone forgot along the way was that doctored dressing robs style of its mojo. Make it effortless, or at least, make it appear effortless.
The white layered Thread Social dress worn by Sonam Kapoor in Aisha
u00a0is from her personal wardrobe That's on public turf. Now, over to screen. Hailed as the project that would introduce the concept of injecting high-end brands like Christian Dior, Chanel and Salvatore Ferragamo into a Hindi film frame, last week's release Aisha was as much a let down for fashion-hungry as the electric blue jumpsuit Sonam wore at Twinkle Khanna's home decor line launch last April.
"In reality, no one is committed to a particular brand. You can't live your life around one brand, like Aisha does. The character lacked individual style; the brands defined her rather than other way around," says a fashion stylist who caught the movie last week, and didn't wish to be named.
Nevermind the brazen positioning of merchandise (special mention to a white river rafting expedition scene where luxury handbags costing nothing less than a couple of thousands are shown hanging on Aisha's bedpost), the film failed to live up to being India's answer to Sex & the City. What it ends up being is a profitable showcase for a fistful of international designer brands. Period.u00a0
Clutching on for dear lifeJust because it's called a clutch doesn't mean you grip it with both hands.
It looks far sexier held in one hand, casually. In the photo to the right,
Sonam gets it bang on, effortlessly carrying a nude Balenciaga. Fitted
jacket over a cool tunic and tights, her hair tight in a laid-back topknotu00a0
-- perfect.Adoration for glossy, heady fashion is a legacy passed down from mother Sunita, we hear. It's lovingly nourished by Rhea, Sonam's younger sister and Aisha's producer.
This online shopping fan steps out to cast her vote and wins accolades on blogs for her blushing red Wayfarer worn with an animal print scarf that hides a tired blow-dry. Sheu00a0 preens on the cover of leading fashion magazines and deals with wardrobe malfunctions with a jab of safety pins. "Sonam has an enviable closet, and follows fashion to the point of being obsessed with it," says Anaita Shroff Adajania, stylist for Love Aaj Kal and Dhoom. Interestingly, the ritzy-preppy outfits that Sonam paraded in Aisha, either belonged to her personal wardrobe or the film's stylist Pernia Qureshi.u00a0
Drop your hands to your sideWhy stand hand akimbo with your feet awkwardly apart, during a photo
-call? No one stands like this for the shutterbugs, except ramp models
during a fashion show, and they know how to make it look sexy cool.
Wrong body language can ruin the best of branded clothesFashion insiders will regale you with stories about the young actress' commitment to fashion. "Ask her about Alexander McQueen's collection from two years ago, and she will tell you about it," says one. But information and access to brands, doesn't add up to a style icon formula. "Her fashion is current, relevant, but is it iconic? I don't think so. She needs to cultivate her own style and elevate it to an iconic status, like Jackie O did with pill box hats," says young Kolkata designer Kallol Datta.u00a0
"Sonam enjoys fashion, maybe a tad too much. Her experimental streak compels her to try on everything, and in a fit of enthusiasm, she forgets that not every style flatters your body," adds Nisha Jhangiani, fashion director Verve magazine. Maybe we have found the answer then to why she chose to wear halter neck dresses in Aisha, drawing undue attention to her not-so-slim arms.u00a0
Lesson: Never share screen space with a modelRamp model Lisa Haydon's first appearance in a Bollywood film didn't
disappoint, primarily because she delivered what was asked of her.
To look the part of a New York-returned financieru00a0-- earthy and sensual,
she was perfect. Most viewers felt Aisha paled in front of Aarti
(Lisa's screen name), especially in the beach throwball scene where a
confident Lisa carried off a two-piece bikini, while awkward Sonam wore
a flashy turquoise swimsuit tucked inside boyfriend jeansPerhaps it's Sonam's disagreement with most things conventional, that separates her from the rest of her Bollywood brethren. "It's interesting to work with her though, since she surrenders to fashion. She is not adamant to wear tight or revealing clothes; she understands why a slouchy garment works sometimes. She has what I'd call an alternate style. But she is not a stylist's dream come true. Only models are," says a candid Anaita.
Nisha seconds that. "She is stylish among the current crop of actresses. The only Bollywood actress who actually buys the clothes you see her wear at events, as opposed to sporting freebies. Take her acting career away, and she will still be the the sameu00a0 fashion-obsessed 25 year-old."u00a0
