Sparkling up the stars

Anandita Gupta

An ace fashionista glamming up Indians at the Cannes Film Festival (for three consecutive years now!), Akshay Tyagi is on the speed dial lists of most Indian celebrities. This acclaimed fashion stylist, after all, has been the creative force behind the most dapper B-town biggies, successful films, red-carpet events, brand campaigns and most innovative fashion editorials. No doubt, Bollywood stylist Akshay Tyagi has come a long way since he first styled Hrithik Roshan in Krrish 3 in 2011.
With over 13 years in the industry, Tyagi has earned a reputation as India’s top costume designer and stylist, outfitting A-listers, ranging from Ashwariya Rai Bachchan, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Kiara Advani Roy to Hrithik Roshan, Aditya Roy Kapur and Varun Dhawan.
Tyagi seamlessly incorporates the Indian culture into his styling. Collaborating with emerging Indian designers like Torani, he showcases traditional Indian heritage with a modern twist, “This approach not only highlights the richness of Indian embroidery and silhouettes but also represents them on global platforms,” emphasises Tyagi, who has recently worked as the stylist for Faraz Arif Ansari’s much anticipated film Bun Tikki, starring stalwarts Zeenat Aman, Abhay Doel and Shabana Azmi. “Whether it’s ostentatious, understated or classic, I believe in tailoring each look to match the client’s personality,” quips the stylist, who was most recently invited as a panellist at the Harvard Business School for their India Conference.
Akshay Tyagi’s foray into the fashion world began with a childhood passion for dressing up his cousin sister’s dolls at the tender age of five, “I’ve always been interested in dressing up my cousins, friends and relatives. While growing up, I was quite fascinated by Indian wedding wear. I started sketching when I was 10—and somehow, just stuck to it,” he recalls. This early interest led him to pursue a degree in in textiles and fashion at Nova Scotia College of the Art and Design University, Canada. His professional career kicked off in Canada, where he worked as a visual merchandiser and stylist for Club Monaco.
His Bollywood stint happened after moving back to India in 2011. Tyagi worked with the expert costume designer, Anaita Shroff Adajania and her banner Style Cell as an assistant in Krrish 3, Bang Bang and Finding Fanny. Since then, he stayed with Hrithik Roshan independently, being his personal stylist. As more and more people got to know about his incredible styling, he branched out to other actors in the industry; independently working with South star Mahesh Babu, Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra. And there was no looking back since then.
“The biggest moment for me was when after three years of working with Hrithik, people started noticing how his appearance had changed in terms of the suits he was wearing and the looks he was pulling off. Soon, I branched out to a few more actors in the South and within Bollywood.”
Today, Akshay’s roster of clients remains impressive, with almost A-listers getting styled by him. So, who are his favourite celebrities to work with? “I have had quite a fortune to work with a lot of amazing people. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Gully Boy star Siddhant Chaturvedi. He is very cool, neo-modern and someone who prefers younger silhouettes. And working with Varun is always amazing. I feel he is very athletic and loves ‘80s driven, vintage fashion. In actresses, I would say Tara Sutaria. It was pretty interesting to translate her hot girl image to a very simple character in Marjaavaan,” says the pleasantly unassuming Mumbai-based stylist.
With everyone looking up to him for style advice, what does this fashion guru’s own wardrobe look like? “I would like to call it comfy chic. You’ll catch me in comfortable clothing like soft fabrics, denims and cozy footwear as I’m always on my feet. And my main hero is a cool pair of sunglasses,” says the stylist.

On a food trail around Shimla

Faraz Arif Ansari of Sheer Qorma fame has directed Bun Tikki, Zeenat Aman’s comeback film. Also starring Abhay Deol and Shabana Azmi, the film was shot in Shimla. Abhya Deol, who will be seen in the film alongside Zeenat Aman and Shabana Azmi, in an interview with The Tribune earlier said, “I’ve done Honeymoon Travels with Shabana, but we didn’t have any scenes together, so it was nice. This one gave me the opportunity to act with her.” He adds, “Zeenat is an amazing human being and she is a living legend, so just to see the two of them together in one frame was really awesome. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was.” Talking about how different the two stars are, Deol muses, “Shabana is kind of fire, while Zeenat is like water — both equally captivating in their own ways.”

Relish before  you watch
We don’t have much information on the reel Bun Tikki as the makers have kept the plot of the film under wraps, but here are a few famous outlets in Shimla where you can relish the edible variety.
Sita Ram’s Shop, Lakkar Baazar
Tikki Bun, St Bede’s Chowk
Lekh Raj’s Tikki Shop near DC Office
Pandey Ji’s Bun Tikki, Lakkar Baazar