ESHAA AMIIN

The celebrity stylist, costume designer and fashion influencer’s personal style translates effortlessly into her work, be it for movies, ad campaigns, or cover shoots. She talks about her journey, favourite celebrity wardrobes, and more with Kalwyna Rathod

- Kalwyna Rathod

The brain behind Akshay Kumar’s Elvis Presley look with a twist in Singh Is Bliing, and the late Sridevi’s varied avatars in the advertisements for an Indian-Chinese food brand, Eshaa Amiin has a body of work to take inspiration from. The fabulous stylist and designer credits her mom for planting the idea of pursuing a career in fashion. Of her first tryst with colours, cuts, and silhouettes, she reminisces, “I was always interested in art, and, as a six- or seven-year-old, when my mom noticed me sketching girls in different outfits, she mentioned the words ‘fashion design’.

That’s when I first heard them.” She went on to study fashion and apparel design at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Mumbai. “I remember the time I worked with an European export house as a designer – we’d visit the Flora Fountain area in Mumbai to get our hands on international fashion magazines to see and study what was happening globally. We didn’t have social media at the time!”

Having worked across industries, web series, and ad campaigns, Amiin likes working with ads and movies most. “Films require more research, which I do enjoy, but ads are faster, and you can move on to the next project quickly. With movies, you have to retain even the smallest accessory, because you aren’t sure until the end whether a scene needs to be reshot,” she states. Maintaining that people in both, Bollywood and Tollywood, are professional, she says one has to be sensitive towards the region and audience. “So, while we adopt a conservative approach for South Indian movies, Bollywood movies allow more liberty and opportunity to experiment, given the urban, global appeal.”

STYLING THE STARS