147
Onthesofainfrontofme,witha cupofteainherhands,
KareenaKapoorKhanis lookingabsolutelyat ease.Nothing
unusualaboutthat,youmaythink,butpicturethis—Ka-
poor Khan iswearing a blinding neon green dress fro
ChristianCowan,withperfectlyplacedcut-outs(thatsh
offherPilates-tonedmidriff),a plungingnecklineandse
ously fierce Aquazzura heels. She’s also in full hair and
makeup. A far departure from her jeans and vintage-i
spiredsweatshirt, (anotherof herwelldocumented#a
portlooks)on her way to this very shoot in London’sE
End. The commonthread—KapoorKhan’sinsouciantslant
towards style, stardom and pretty much everythingel
She’s made strong statementswithoutso much as batti
aneyelid—nostrategyneededbehindherwalkingdownt
rampsportinganearlyseven-monthbabybumporherde
sion to dress comfortablyfor transatlanticflights,making
wayforathleisureairportstyleinthecountry.
EASYDOESIT
When it comes to definingher style it’s this very dichoto
between casual and couture that makes her interesti
Likewithheropinions,KapoorKhanisnotonetositont
fence, sartorialor otherwise.Thoughshe does admit, as she
settlesintothecouch,thatthislookis unchartedterrito
evenforher.“It’squiteoverthetop.Ithinkpeopleareus
toseeingmeinsomethingmoreunderstated.”Onmost
casionsfor Bebo (as she’s popularlyknown),it’s either den-
im24/7(“Ihaveabout40pairsofjeans,andanother40that
I’mhopingtofitbackinto,”shesayswithaself-deprecati
laughofhercollectionofRag&BoneandJ Brand)orfu
on, high-voltage, silver-screenglamour(think that coba
blue glitzy gown for New Year’s Eve in Gstaad or th
moltenmetallicnumberattheMowglipremiere).
SELF-SERVICE
What we have all come to love about KapoorKhan is that
is notsomuchaboutwhatshewearsbuthowshewears
She has an unwaveringinner confidencethat allows her
turn every outfit—aneveningdress, track pants or a sim
whitekurta—intoa fashionstatement.Howis it thatshe
can wear a pair of jeans and a T-shirtand make it seem li
she’sincouture?“Ithinkit’sbecauseIreallybelieveit.Y
have to work it so that whateveryou’re in feels like you’
wearingagown.”It’snotassimpleasitsounds.She’sone
thoserarecelebritiesthatwearsherclothesratherthanl
ting the clotheswear her—atrait that may have been i
spired by Kate Moss, who she cites as her style icon. “I like
peoplewhocanmakea statementwithsomethingcasu
like throwingon a black blazer and headingout. Kate Mo
is all about the attitude.She always looks like
she’shavingagreattime.That’swhatfashion
shouldbeabout.”SQUADGOALS
Open a magazineor scroll throughInstagram
and you’ll certainlysee that KapoorKhan is
having a great time—livinglife large with her
fashion-forward girl gang (Karisma Kapoor,
AmritaArora,MalaikaArora)oronthearmof
her sharply dressedhusband, actor Saif Ali
Khan.Butwhenaskedwhoshedressesfor—
her girlfriends,her husbandor the ever-pre-
sent paparazzi—theanswer,withouta hintof
hesitation,is herself.“If I didn’t dress for my-
selfyouwouldn’tseemeinjeansandaT-shirt
becauseeveryonetells me it looks so ’80s, but
Idon’tthinkso.Nothinggoesoutoffashion;I
don’t follow trends.” On the subjectof her
fashion posse, if she could raid one of her
friend’swardrobes,who would it be? “I think
everyone wants to raid mine.” She’s joking
butit’sprobablynotfarfromthetruth.“Okay,
I’d probablyraid my sister’swardrobe.Karis-
ma has amazingtaste but I’m a size up, so
there’s no chance of that.”FAMILYTIES
Does she ask her husbandfor his opinion?“I
do. He’s into saris and anythingglamorous.
He hates labels. He’s very understated.”
That’s why you’ll never see two-and-a-half-
year-oldson Taimur—amini Instagramstar
in his own right—inflashymonograms. “His
dad doesn’twant to see him in any designer
names—RalphLaurenis as far as we go—so I
dress him in ACDC T-shirtsand shorts.He’s
alwaysdressedreallychill.”
It’s been a whirlwind48-hourtrip for the
cover shoot, andasshewhipsoutheriPhone
to FacetimeTaimurjust before his bedtime,
everyoneon set lets out a collective “aww.”
Her favouriteaccessoryis herphone. It keeps
herconstantlyconnected—beit callstocheck
ongoingsonbackhomeorkeepinga keeneye
on who’s wearingwhat, througha Whatsapp
group with Karan Johar and MalaikaArora.
Whenit comestogreatstyle,KapoorKhanal-
wayshasthelastword.—MalikaDalamal