Forces Of Fashion

“In difficult times, fashion is always outrageous.” The pithy maxim by famed Surrealist designer Elsa Schiaparelli best describes the times we live in. But for these four men and women, all singular in their approach to style, maximalism isn’t just a passing phase—it’s rooted in their very sartorial identity. While for one it may be a love for logos, for another it’s a penchant for dramatic silhouettes. What unites them is their strongly individual approach to rule-breaking, no-holds-barred fashion.

- Elsa Schiaparelli

KAREENA KAPOOR KHAN

On the sofa in front of me, with a cup of tea in her hands, Kareena Kapoor Khan is looking absolutely at ease. Nothing unusual about that, you may think, but picture this—Kapoor Khan is wearing a blinding neon green dress from Christian Cowan, with perfectly placed cut-outs (that show off her Pilates-toned midriff), a plunging neckline and seriously fierce Aquazzura heels. She’s also in full hair and makeup. A far departure from her jeans and a vintage-inspired sweatshirt, (another of her well-documented #airportlooks) on her way to this very shoot in London’s East End. The common thread—Kapoor Khan’s insouciant slant towards style, stardom and pretty much everything else. She’s made strong statements without so much as batting an eyelid—no strategy needed behind her walking down the ramp sporting a nearly seven-month baby bump or her decision to dress comfortably for transatlantic flights, making way for athleisure airport style in the country.

EASY DOES IT

When it comes to defining her style it’s this very dichotomy between casual and couture that makes her interesting. Like with her opinions, Kapoor Khan is not one to sit on the fence, sartorial or otherwise. Though she does admit, as she settles into the couch, that this look is uncharted territory, even for her. “It’s quite over the top. I think people are used to seeing me in something more understated.” On most occasions for Bebo (as she’s popularly known), it’s either denim 24/7 (“I have about 40 pairs of jeans, and another 40 that I’m hoping to fit back into,” she says with a self-deprecating laugh of her collection of Rag & Bone and J Brand) or full-on, high-voltage, silver-screen glamour (think that cobalt blue glitzy gown for New Year’s Eve in Gstaad or that molten metallic number at the Mowgli premiere).