EXCLUSIVE | HT City Showstoppers Shoot: From sustainable fashion to wedding outfit tips, Manushi Chhillar gets candid

Actor and former Miss World and actor Manushi Chhillar is followed by plethora of fans for her style and fashion game and her approach towards it is not a mere coincidence. The actor, shares her detailed point-of-view on what defines fashion and styling for her. As the actor embraces HTCity’s Showstopper shoot, she shares insight into sustainable fashion, wedding looks and more!

How would you describe your personal style? As a Miss World, how has your perception of fashion and beauty changed over time?

I would describe my personal sense of style – I love things which are classic but at the same time I feel that I would like to style myself as per what I am feeling in the moment and what I am feeling about where I am and what I am supposed to do there. Over the time, I like to try new things and I have tried a lot of new things. I love experimenting. As much as I love classics silhouettes, style, things that are timeless, but at the same time, I love just following what I am feeling at that moment. Of course, my perception of fashion and beauty has been built over the last few year for having so much exposure and I’d say that for me its all about feeling confident and comfortable at the moment. End of the day we are dressing up for ourselves and we should be enjoying how we are looking, we should be enjoying be feeling good in what we are styled in. That’s the most important thing.

Also Read: Manushi Chhillar opens up on 30 year age gap with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan co-star Akshay Kumar: ‘Nothing atrocious’

Can you share any memorable fashion or style advice you’ve received that has stuck with you?

I think I have always been very clear with what I want. Very early on since I was Miss India, when I went for miss world, I knew what I wanted to wanted to wear. I pretty much decided everything, with all experts that I had access to at that time. Till date I have been very clear as to what to wear. There have been times where I have obviously followed what I thought everyone else was doing, what would look nice but I don’t think I’d be happy doing what everyone else is doing. I have always been happy doing what I wanted to do. This is something that a very big designer told me that, ‘Manushi, you have always made your own decisions from the very beginning, you have known what you wanted to wear, so why do you want to be lost in the crowd?’. I think that is great advice. Style is individuality and I don’t want to lose my individuality and I think that is why I really enjoy fashion. That is something my stylist also tells me and champions that it doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing.

How important is sustainability in fashion to you, and what steps do you take to incorporate it into your lifestyle?

Sustainability is definitely the way forward now, especially in the fashion industry that does generate a lot of waste. As a celebrity, public figure, we are expected to produce so many new looks every time we are in front of the cameras. I totally believe in recycling. I have no problem in repeating my outfits. Of course with designers, a lot of the outfits are sourced, so that’s great because you know that it’s not a waste of an outfit. At the same time, I have become a fan of slow fashion. I think with time, I feel that I do believe a lot in my basics which I can repeat and style in my own way. I do enjoy slow fashion, pieces that are created keeping sustainability in mind, being mindful of the planet. So I think these are small steps which I have incorporated in my life, to minimalize the waste that is produced. At the same time, I feel that with the brand which I have launched, we are into sustainability, recycle ocean plastic to create our fabric. Right from fabric, stitching to the packaging is all sustainable and that is something that I am proud of and hopefully, I am able to grow that even more. For me I am the champion of sustainability and I am trying to incorporate it in the day-to-day life.

How does your personal style influence your on-screen personas or characters?

All the onscreen characters and personas that I have portrayed till date have been very distinct. So the style and appearance of those characters have been very much in accordance to what the character requires less than what I would do in real life. My film film was a period film, the fabrics and everything was picked up from what people in that century would wear. My second character was very loud and so on and so forth. I think all of their styles were pretty much script-derived and not my personal style derived. Hopefully one day I can do a movie where I can get my own stylist on board and showcase my own sense of style and take on what the character would wear.

Could you share some of your essential wardrobe pieces?

My number one and most important is a good pair of jeans that fits you and suits your body type. I think that’s the number one. Your white tank top, a blank tank top, a good pair of white sneakers and I would say a white shirt. I would say these five are absolutely essential and you can style them in so many ways. A good bodycon in neutral colours are also very good.

How do you balance comfort and style when dressing for wedding ceremonies? What are your favorite wedding accessories that can elevate any outfit?

I recently attended a wedding and many ceremonies of it and my learning from the first few events was to be comfortable because there is so much do. While you are at a wedding its not just pictures and going on a red carpet. I cancelled heels from my life. I wore sneakers under my lehenga, I wrote sneakers to the sangeet underneath my lehenga. So I think comfortable shoes was something I really learnt. Luckily if you can hide your shoes, then please wear your shoes and your outfit has to be practical because in weddings there is so much work, so much running around, partaking in whatever is going on. So, comfort is very important so make sure whatever outfit you are wearing is something in which you can walk in and hold and carry and manage a lot of things. My favourite wedding accessories that could elevate any outfit would be the right jewellery. I have tried to play with jewellery this time and I really enjoyed it. I can’t point at one piece of jewellery for the outfit but the right piece of jewellery really changed the look.

Can you recommend some must-have outfits for different wedding events (sangeet, mehendi, reception, etc.) and How do you approach makeup and hairstyle choices for weddings to complement the outfit?

I am a big fan of sarees and I think I am the biggest supporter of sarees in the world. I could wear a saree every single day of my life and I feel that they just bring the best out of a woman. I feel that one saree in a colour that compliments your skin tone, a nice traditional silk saree with heavy jewellery or jewellery according to whichever event you were planning to wear that saree to. That’s one must-have outfit for the wedding. I think lehengas could be divided into your lighter ones, then your heavy ones. For weddings I feel lehenga is a classic and the best. So heavy lehenga for a wedding. For smaller events, you have lovely lighter lehengas like in Bandhini, some that come in lovely embroidery. Reception I would always recommend a glam saree, with work on it. May be in a fabric that drapes well and falls beautifully on a woman’s body and I think my make up and hairstyle choices very much depend on what I am doing. If I am dancing, I like to tie my hair and it depends on what kind of outfits I am wearing.

What are some common fashion mistakes you think people should avoid?

I feel that the number one mistake that people should avoid is trying to be someone else. I feel fashion is something which has to be in accordance to personal sense of style and style is something we are all born with and feel from within. I feel that we need to look at everything as one look. I like to look at my fashion and my entire look as a combination of all accessories whether its the shoes, hair, make up, the outfit, the jewellery, everything put together. That’s one look and not individually. These are the two things I would recommend people to follow. First is to avoid what is expected of you, or avoid doing what everyone else is doing but do what you want to do and do what you feel best at it. Second would be to look at the entire look as one and not as things individually.

Credits

Creative Direction: Shara Ashraf Prayag

Styling: Sheefa S Gilani

Hair and makeup: Kinchangthui Bariamtak

Photographer: Vidhi Godha

Talent Coordination: Monika Rawal