Karan Johar fashion mission
Why director turned designer Karan Johar feels most people are ‘badly dressed’
Mumbai: A number of Bollywood celebs marked their attendance at the Mehboob Sudios in Mumbai to attend an exclusive preview of a fashion line designed by one of B-town’s favourite, Karan Johar. After designing a men’s wear collection with Varun Bahl five years ago, Karan’s back to what he calls his “passion and hobby”. Only this time, it is a women’s collection called Marquee, for women’s apparel brand Vero Moda.
Seated in his vanity van right before the show starts, he tells us that the collection is “chic, affordable, edgy and has a bit of bling”. Lured by the magic of fabric and weaves at a very young age, Karan tells us that fashion was a part of him since he was a child. “Children of my age used to read other kinds of material, but I used to read about fashion.” It was his sartorial love interest that later took him to London right before the making of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. “It was the first time that someone was flying abroad to get clothes for a Hindi film. Back then when you spoke about fashion, people thought you were demented.”
The director-turned-designer tells us that filmmaking however, remains his first love. “I almost feel like picking up the phone and telling Shah Rukh or Mr Bachchan that I am ready to design for them once more,” he says. How does he describe his personal style? “My personal wardrobe is simple and formal. I wear a lot of blacks and suits. But I do have a take on women’s fashion and that is what my collection is about,” he says adding that women today need to start dressing for nobody but themselves.
We ask KJo who in the industry he thinks could use a wardrobe makeover? “Farah Khan. I keep teasing her about the kurtas she wears.” In an industry that today lays so much importance on fashion, how common is it to spot a fashion disaster, we ask him. “Oh they’re everywhere. I find most people badly dressed — either the styling is off or what they’re wearing is wrong.”