What’s in an image?
Namma Chennai’s image consultants are a busy lot these days
By : kruthi gonwar
Update: 2015-10-27 02:03 GMT
The way you walk, talk, communicate, eat, and attire yourself, says a million things about you — especially in today’s extremely social and fast world. You want these things to send a positive message, or you may go viral for all the wrong reasons. The fast pace is increasing the need for being presentable round the clock.
Chennaiites from a varied range of age groups, professions and lifestyles are now knocking on the doors of image consultants, not just for personal shopping sessions, but also for getting trained on table manners and etiquette, protocol for hosting business luncheons or dinners, and more. Surprisingly, a lot of college-going kids are among their clientele as well, presumably for their interviewing requirements.
Ekta Surana, founder of Redefine Image and a trained consultant from the London Image Institute, is working with a lot of corporates, individuals and college students. “My clientele includes a wide range of ages, starting from 16, all the way to 60. I essentially deal with the ABC of image — which is Appearance, Behaviour and Communication. Different people come with different requirements. Today, everyone wants to work on creating a personal brand for themselves and want to keep modifying it,” she explains and adds, “A lot of 30-plus women, and the ones in their post pregnancy phase, are the ones who want to get a makeover and get back into shape. I speak to them, understand their lifestyles, their goals and ambitions and start on them accordingly.”
Image consultants stress on the need to wear colours that work with the person’s skin tone. In addition to colour, their makeovers include modifications in prints, fabrics, cuts, patterns and fits. Studies have shown that over 33 per cent of clothes lie untouched in one’s wardrobe. Sulakshana Badani, a popular image consultant from the city, whose series of videos, ‘Stay Stylish with Sulakshana’ are quite a hit, said that the trend has changed drastically of late.
When I entered this market, it was very new. All my clients are individuals, rather than corporates. I believe in speaking to more of middle class and upper middle class clients. Money can’t buy you style. I started this out of passion and help people feel more confident about themselves. A lot of new and young CEOs and successful entrepreneurs are now looking for an image makeover to impress at their business meetings, and more. There are even instructions about how one gets out of a car. So, people are definitely more conscious and cautious now,” she explains.
Bhavya Chawla, chief stylist from Voonik.com, mentions, “There is a reason why a certain kind of clothing range has been mentioned for a certain age group. One gets tagged very easily in times like today. So, it is always important to know what you love, what you are comfortable in and then enhance your best and camouflage the rest. One needs to look and feel confident and that's what I do to my clients. I first motivate them and then go ahead with their makeover process,” she explained.
Ramesh K Narain, who is a management cosultant and one of Ekta's clients talks about his recent makeover — “Just two rounds of siting with her, and I started reevaluating how I present myself. Earlier, for social events, I just used to wear whatever was on top of my closet — but then I learnt that we can communicate with colour, and it makes a big difference. For instance, when I go to pitch an account, I wear a jacket and clothing that is inspired by my brand’s colours — to add more authenticity. I also stopped wearing jeans for work meetings completely. I understood even something as trivial as choosing thr right cufflinks makes a difference. And overall, I have added a lot of confidence to my personality because of my dressing!”