Fashion Nexus

The season of weddings, parties and award nights is in full swing, and every special occasion calls for a spectacular outfit. Ruling out exceptions such as Mark Zuckerberg, for most celebrities with a super-active social life, wearing the same outfit for different occasions is an absolute no-no.

With many showstopper outfits making headlines every day, as celebs post pictures of themselves in beautiful designer garments and tag the brands too, one wonders whether the outfits they wear are borrowed or bought at huge discounted prices from their designer friends. 

Styling experts and designers provide a peek into the business of rented designer wear donned by celebrities.

Hema Malini put up a picture on Instagram after attending Isha Ambani’s wedding, crediting @warp and Weft for the saree she was wearing.

Shirin Salwan, stylist at Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop, says, “Weddings are a very personal affair for some, while others choose to celebrate it extravagantly, and flood social media feeds with picture-perfect images from their gala affair. This was the year we saw some of the most OTT weddings and there is no better platform for a brand/designer to market bridal designs than a celebrity wedding.”

Jahnvi and Khushi Kapoor are two of Manish Malhotra’s most well-known muses. The duo is spotted MM creations at almost every event, crediting the designer on their social media.

Explaining the trend, she says, “Right from the A-list attendees to massive social media coverage across various platforms, there’s a lot to gain from dressing celebrities for their big day. And while most brides-to-be have specific requirements and prefer getting it customised, some often play muse to the creations of a top designer for their wedding. Whether it is done free of cost or presented to them as a gift is an arrangement between the celebrity and designer based on their personal equation.” 

Jacqueline Fernandez in a Manish Malhotra creation.

A celebrity needs a fabulous outfit to stand out, and a designer needs a much-talked-about event to showcase his/her creations. Amandeep Kaur, who styles actor Vicky Kaushal  reveals, “Celebrities hire stylists, who get outfits from multiple designers, in exchange for pictures of them wearing the outfit. It’s a mutually benefiting system where celebs get beautiful clothes to wear, and designers get promotional pictures for their social media.”

While most designers are happy to share the pictures of celebrities wearing their outfits, they often shy away from talking about the prices and discounts that are offered to an A-list star client. 

Speaking about the arrangement, designer Sunil Mehra remarks, “With the ever dynamic spree of celebrities wearing designer outfits, it becomes a task even for the celebrity to keep purchasing the garments from every designer. There surely are times when the celebrities do buy the garments they like. There are instances where any celebrity wears a garment just for the particular event, without them having any fancy for. As a designer, it is always a pleasure for us to see a celebrity wearing our garment. It indeed is an appreciation for our creations.”

Celebs need clothes, designers want publicity
Designer Nupur Saxena of the label House of Primes, says, “The world of glamour and fashion is a co-dependent industry. While celebrities are always on the look out for good clothes, designers look at them as ideal influencers to market their clothes. In India, people still consider actors as trend setters and whatever they wear becomes a norm. So designers lend them clothes for high profile events and get a brand mention in return. It is great publicity for brands hence no one minds renting or gifting an outfit to a celebrity. Sometimes if the outfit is really good, celebrities end up buying it too. The arrangement of depends a lot on the personal relations of the two parties involved.”