Actor Hina Khan’s recent remark on Indian fashion designers looking down upon TV actors and not letting out their clothes for sourcing has led to a debate in the fashion fraternity.
TV celebrity stylists do agree that they have been refused sourcing requests from various designers by saying that they don’t give their clothes to TV celebrities. At the same time the stylists also feel that somehow these designers are also right because every brand has a certain aesthetic and if they feel that a certain celebrity doesn’t fit in their brand aesthetic, they can deny the sourcing request be it a TV or Bollywood actor.
Fashion designer Rimzim Dadu opines, “For me, it doesn’t matter whether the celebrity is a TV actor or a film actor or a singer as much as the work they have done connects with the brand. It’s important for designers and the muse to have a sense of synergy and they should be able to relate to each other’s work. Otherwise, you risk the possibility of diluting your brand. I can speak for myself that we have collaborated with a wide range of celebrities – from debut actors to singers to international stars to Bollywood A-listers. And I am sure other designers will agree with me that it’s more about finding that connection, and not so much about valuing one platform over the other. The entertainment space has become so democratic now with the advent of OTTs and TV channels still hold great influence. So no designer can afford to ignore any platform, it’s always about mutual understanding.”
Celebrity stylist Medha Bahuguna who styles actor Priyanka Sharma says that she has had first-hand experience of designers who have denied sourcing for TV celebrities. But she also believes that they might not be completely wrong in doing so because a lot of times they have a brand image and when they think that their clothes won’t go on a particular celebrity they say no for it. “They have even denied sourcing for some Bollywood celebrities. So it is not just to do with TV in particular,” she says.
Another leading fashion designer on the condition of anonymity revealed that a lot of times designers don’t like to give their clothes to TV actors because they are mostly seen wearing rip-offs of other designers and if they wear their clothes, it might hamper their brand image.“So if a stylist approaches me with a sourcing request of a TV actor, the first thing that I see is how they have been styling their looks of late. Most of the time we have seen these actors wearing rip-offs from famous Indian designers and there are proofs on social media, on platforms like Diet Sabya where you see how ruthlessly some designers copy the other prominent designers and make these TV celebrities wear it. There have been cases in the past where TV stars have been seen wearing designer rip-offs. So somewhere we lose that trust in them,” he says.
However, designer Rina Dhaka feels that it is the lack of connectivity or the bridge in between. “ On my part, to be honest, I have always loved the reach of television, more so than cinema. And today at this time, it is so true, I think it’s the lack of connectivity. My doors and stocks are open for them.”
