We often wonder: Who is a stylist? The dictionary describes us as: A designer of fashionable styles of clothing. Ask us, and we will tell you it is like putting a bit of yourself out there each day for people to love, hate or judge!
In the past four years—which were highly illustrious, we admit—we as ‘partners in crime’ put our heart and soul out there. We styled divas, stars, celebrated souls and our own selves with equal effort, research and attention to detail. Personally, we see ourselves as two ends of a spectrum, kinda yin and yang, one a Yohji Yamamoto (Shounak), and the other, Raw Mango (Pranay Jaitly). But together, I think we try to create magic around our subject—who, in this case, are the women we identify with, power houses who are happy in their skin and want to look like themselves always. Yes, we are blessed to be able to style Vidya Balan, Radhika Apte, Konkona Sen, Kalki Koechlin, Maria Goretti—all women who have a mind of their own and, with them, we, under our styling umbrella, ‘Who Wore What When’, have been privy to a ride that can best be called a roller coaster!
It was in 2015 that we returned to India, clueless like many our age. A prestigious degree in hand from Milan, yet lost. ‘Italy-sick’ and yearning for that life when, like a prophet of the future, appeared in our lives the celebrated weave protagonist Gaurang Shah, telling us in his customary swag style: ‘Here are a few saris, style them…’ They were the most stunning Jamdhanis that took our breath away. And before we knew it, we were on our way to Neemrana, styling a poetic, Indian miniature art inspired shoot. The shoot met with critical acclaim and, lo and behold, Pranay and Shounak, the stylists, were born. India was adopted and Milan thrown out of all thoughts.
In the same ‘twist of destiny’ style, we were asked, once again by Gaurang, to style Vidya Balan for an inaugural. We hit it off and, within a week, got an SOS call from her team to dress her overnight for the premiere of Kahaani. We ran around, got designer stores opened, and curated a look. And at the end, when she said, “Welcome to the team,” life finally fell into place.
Shaunak and I learn from people with knowledge and the humility to share it with young professionals like us. For us, knowledge is to share, and the more we see, the more we learn, and we are eternally grateful for our support system.
There have been iconic moments, like the time Radhika asked us to style her for the Emmy Awards. We had been stumped when we got a reply from the global brand Iris Van Herpen in seven minutes flat. Or when we created 35 looks for Vidya for the release of Shakuntala Devi, all sourced locally from artisans and sustainable brands.
Styling in India is still a new profession. People often wonder about the utility of this role. For us, it is like filling colour on a rich canvas, adding that little detail which makes the defining difference. In the past four years, we have done many amazing campaigns with Vidya, who shares our passion for promoting what is local. Yes, indeed, it has become a universal mantra now, but both of us and all our clients have followed this track since forever. Give us an Amrapali, a Shanti Banaras, an Ekaya or a Kishandas or even a new sustainable brand over global luxury (which we enjoy too) any day, and our adrenaline feels the rush. I think stylists today are going more and more for the rooted route and that, I feel, is the real stroke of mastery that we have humbly contributed to the canvas of India Inc.