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Whenyou askKaranJoharabouthisrelationshipwith
fashion,hewaxeseloquentwiththedizzyingwonder
childdiscoveringtheinsideofa candystore.Hespe
withcompletecandour.“Mysartorialchoiceshaveal
always been dependenton my waistline—whichhas
tuatedmorethantheweatherinEngland.”Hisis alsot
Benjamin Button of wardrobes—reverse-ageing from
nondescript baggy black in his teens to graffiti-cove
look-at-me-nowpopdenimasheturns47.Whilea car
sel of his butterfly-patterned Gucci blazers and rh
stone-studdedopticalframescommandeertheintern
ether,onesuchtreasurehasnowbeencastinwaxatSin-
gapore’sMadame Tussaudsfor posterity.For the man
who always dresseslike it’s the first Mondayin May (
Met Gala’s red-carpetspectaclehas nothingon the di
tor-producer’sfloral bathrobe-suitnumberat theVo
Womenof theYearawardslastyear),fashionis a cost
party,andeveryone’sinvited.
Let’strackyourstyleevolutionovertheyears.
Asa child,I wouldgototheraddiwalaandbuyfash
magazinesnoonehadheardof.Theywereseveralseas
outof datebutI wassointriguedbytheclothes.Anot
bigimpactwasmytrystwithcinema.ThefirstHollyw
film I saw wasRomanHoliday(1953)andI juststare
thecostumes.I waslargefora verylargesectionofmy
life,andmybodydidn’tsupportmysartorialambitio
would wear ill-fittedblack suits so I could camouflage
derthelayers.EvenduringthedayI woreoversizedjump-
ers (in the Mumbaiheat, mind you). With age and m
ritycamea senseofabandonthathasallowedmeto
withoutanyfearof repercussions—evenwhenmymot
tellsmemydistressedBalenciagajacketlookslikeso
onesnippedit withscissorswhileI wasasleeporwhen
two-year-oldseyemylookwithjudgement.
Fastforwardtotoday...Howwouldyoudescribe
yourstyle?
It’ssafetosayI’mnominimalist.I likebling,because
halfSindhiandit comeswiththeterritory.I havea f
blown shoe fixation,and I love followingcurrenttre
MystyletodaysettlessomewherebetweenRanveer
gh’s flamboyanceand Saif Ali Khan’ssubtlety.
Yourfilms, too,havecreatedcultfashionmove
ments—beit the‘Cool’necklaceinKuchKuch
HotaHai(1998)orPoo’swardrobeinKabhi
KhushiKabhieGham(2001).
The films reflectedmy head space. When I was going
througha responsiblephaseI madeMyNameIs Kha
(2010),and when I wantedto let go of all the seriousn
I madea high-schoolmusicallikeStudentof TheYear
(2012).When heartbreakstruck,I madeAeDilHai
Mushkil(2016),but, throughout,the clothesmatched
thesyntaxof thescreenplays.KuchKuchHotaHaihada
collegevibe,soit hadtobeathleisure.
KabhiKhushi KabhieGhamhada
flamboyantIndian family in London,so
wehadEnglishcolours—ShahRukh
[Khan]worepastelsuitsthatnooneever
wearstoworkandKareenawasextrain
everyway.ButmyfavouritehasbeenMr
Bachchan’swardrobeinKabhiAlvida
Naa Kehna(2006).I loved the OTT fur
jackets;Manish[Malhotra]andI hada
field day shopping.Doyouhavea maximalist’srule
book?
Yes!Butwebendthemtoourliking.Fora
formal event alwayswear a tuxedo.But
there’s a fine line betweenan eleganttux-
edoandlookinglikea you’reaboutto pour
someone’sdrink,sostandout.Adda little
heeltoyourshoes—itgivesyoua better
walk.There’snorealdistinctionbetween
menswearandwomenswearanymore.I’ve
shoppedAshish’ssequinnedstufffromthe
women’s sectionand absolutely lovedit.
Whatunitesusasmaximalistsis thefact
thatweareallattention-seekers.I’mvery
awarethatwhatI’mdoingcanbea hitor
a miss,soyoujusthavetomakesureyou
lovewhatyou’rewearing.It’sa wonderful
feeling.—AkankshaKamathKEEPINGUPWITH
KARAN- Thedesignerstonamedrop?
“I’mreallyintoJapaneseandKorean
designersrightnow—YohjiYamamoto,
Sulvam,MaisonMiharaYasuhiro,The
Soloist,SongfortheMute.” - Thestorestovisit?
“HLorenzoandMaxfieldin LA,andDover
StreetMarketstoresanywherein theworld.” - Themillennialphrasetouse?
“I lovemillennialspeak.Thewaytheygive
petnamestowords.Myfavouriteis brillfor
brilliant,andthephrase‘that’ssick’.Whendid
sickbecomea goodthing?!” - Thecultaccessorytoown?
“TheLouisVuittonX Supremetote.I trackedit
andmadesureI gotit.” - Thediettotry?
“Cheato—whenyoucheatonKeto.”