Red carpet repeats in Bollywood: Who wore it better? Deepika or Madhuri

Mumbai: Every red carpet event these days is followed up by a detailed analysis of the outfits worn by the celebrities. And if a celeb opts for a garment that has, by chance, been worn by someone else even from the other side of the globe, out come the unflattering comparisons.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, for example, had a rough start to the year with her Cannes dress being an identical copy of what actress Kristin Chenoweth had worn earlier . Considering the nasty comments and jokes that go around the Web, one would think that the stylists’ would do their research to avoid such boo-boos.

Surprisingly, stylists’ seem to be perfectly okay with dressing the supposed trendsetters in “second-hand choices”, and the stars are fine with it too. Madhuri Dixit definitely seemed to be at ease with a green lace dress in a recent episode of Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa in spite of the fact that a similar dress had not only been worn earlier by Deepika Padukone, but by Priyanka Chopra too.

And to think that Madhuri and Deepika share the same stylist! It doesn’t end there. Hansika was spotted wearing a maxi dress to an awards ceremony that once again, Deepika had earlier worn.
Stylists defend themselves saying that neither they nor the stars mind wearing something that has been worn by someone else earlier.

Designer Ridhi Mehra explains, “It’s not as if stylists are copying each other. There is limited good stuff in the market and everyone wants the best thing. In the case of Madhuri and Deepika, while on Deepika the dress looks hot and sexy, on Madhuri it looks elegant. As long as it suits different personalities, it’s okay.”

Speaking from personal experience, designer Anand Kabra says, “My garments have been repeated at least twice by celebrities and on both occasions, the actress wearing it second knew that the outfit was worn by someone else earlier. Shilpa Shetty once decided to opt for a garment that Richa Chaddha had earlier worn. The second instance was when Nimrit Kaur went for an outfit that was first won by Esha Gupta.

“Maybe the stylists believed that it can be worn in a better way and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s the stylists’ call and their job is to ensure that at the end the celebrity looks good.” While most agree that it is the stylist’s job to keep track, they also defend them saying it is a risk the stylist takes with the confidence that their client can pull it off better.

Fashion designer Rick Roy says, “There are just so many events going on these days it’s honestly impossible to keep a note of what the celebrities are wearing to each event. Moreover, the trend these days is to pick up stuff. It’s no more the tradition where something is specifically made for each actress, mainly because they are invited to so many of them.”

And if a dress does happen to match what someone else wore, Rick says it’s not a grave error. “Unless it’s a statement piece which will put the celebrity in the spotlight, it’s okay if an outfit is repeated,” Rick adds.

Not too far away from criticism was Samantha who seemed to be opting for garments similar to Deepika and Sonam. Her stylist Neeraja Kona says, “I don’t believe that a garment once worn by someone can’t be repeated. If you like the look, it all depends on the styling. It’s always about trends and we do our research well, even though a dress might be similar, what makes it different is how it has been styled and accessorised.”