After her formal education in fashion from the London College of Fashion and Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, Nitasha Gaurav started working for Femina India, where she later became the fashion editor. But it was her collaboration with Ranveer Singh as a personal stylist that brought her under the limelight. She is the method behind his madness and is responsible for all the audacious, outlandish looks he effortlessly carries on and off the red carpet. The stylist has redefined men’s fashion in India by blurring gender-specific norms of dressing. From flirting with bold colours to making waves with print-on-print ensembles, Gaurav doesn’t believe in playing by the rule book. In a detailed interview with the Peacock Magazine, Nitasha talks about her muse, inspiration and the trend we cannot get enough off.
1) WHAT WOULD BE YOUR TOP TIPS FOR PEOPLE TO DRESS UP THIS PARTY SEASON?
- Sequins – lots of sequins.
- Neon colours
- Oversized proportions
2) WHAT IS YOUR WARDROBE MVP(MOST VALUABLE POSSESSION)?
“My bags and stain-removal pens”
3) MINIMALISM OR MAXIMALISM?
“Minimalism for the day and maximalism for the night, minimalism for weekdays, and maximalism for weekends”
4) WHO ARE THE MOST OVERRATED AND UNDERSTATED STYLE ICONS?
“Overrated – people who don’t take a fashion downtime. There has to be time for sweats and sneakers. Underrated – People from eastern India. Even the everyday street style is impossibly chic.”
5) A CELEBRITY WHO IS NATURAL?
“Ranveer Singh, although his natural may not be everyone else’s natural.”
6) WHAT SELF-STYLED LOOK ARE YOU PARTICULARLY NOT FOND OF?
“I love every one of them. What’s not to love?”
7) WHAT WOULD YOU NEVER WANT ANYONE TO WEAR?
“Something that didn’t make them happy on the inside, I wouldn’t want anyone to ever dress that way.”
8) FAVOURITE TREND RIGHT NOW?
“Ugly dad sneakers”
9) WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON PEOPLE OBSESSING OVER AIRPORT LOOKS?
“Front-of-plane travel merits dressing up, just like people did in the past. But if you’re travelling in the back of the plane, by all means, dress for comfort and swollen feet.”
10) GO- TO DAYTIME/ EVENING LOOK ?
“Daytime – t-shirt and flared denim jeans, evening – a trapeze dress in a strong solid colour. It lets you eat/ drink all you want.”
11) A CELEBRITY WHO’S WARDROBE YOU WOULD LOVE TO STEAL?
“Manish Arora’s wardrobe for The Burning Man”
12) HEELS OR SNEAKERS?
“Sneakers 95% of the time, heels on very special occasions”
13) WHAT DOES FASHION MEAN TO YOU, IN ONE WORD?
“Laundry”
14) LEATHER OR DENIM?
“Denim for my jeans, leather for my shoes, never the other way around”
15) FEATHER OR FUR?
“Neither. I prefer my fabrics vegetarian.”
15) WHICH MOVIE CHARACTER’S STYLE WOULD YOU LOVE TO STEAL?
“Any of the leading ladies from the ‘70s”