As told to Nishi Tiwari (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 23, 2019)

I met Kareena a few years ago during a bridal shoot in Dubai and started to work on her personal look right after Taimur (Ali Khan, her son with husband Saif Ali Khan) was born.

She is one of those people who can’t look bad in anything, solely because of her personality. No matter how elaborate or extravagant an outfit is, who has designed it or even if it has a seven-foot train, Kareena will always be the star in it. You know how with some stars the clothes wear them? With Kareena, it’s her wearing the clothes.

For a stylist, it is important to take the client’s personal taste into account, and pick stuff that they would like to wear and be comfortable in. Kareena’s style is inherently classic, chic… and very expensive. You make her wear anything and she will make it look like it’s worth a thousand dollars. The shirts she is seen in, on the streets and at the airport, could be high street, but she elevates it. And it’s all so effortless!

She is classically beautiful, so everything classic looks amazing on her. When you do a sari for her, I don’t think those funky saris with belts and trousers would be the way to go with her. Rather I’d go with a classic sari, worn the way it is supposed to be worn. That is who she is. And of course, she represents quintessential Bollywood glamour.

Kareena loves black and white; and she likes denim. It’s a classically royal style. Fortunately for me, she never says “I don’t like this colour,” or “I won’t wear that.” Her brief is open-ended. Also, I grew up admiring Indian couture, my aesthetic is essentially glam and that aligns with Kareena’s personal style. She may make it look extremely easy, but we never go for easy-dressing.

Something that she isn’t comfortable with is the concept of ‘funky’, which can be described as everything trend-driven, in-the-moment. Style is something people should be able to look up to even years later. For instance, Audrey Hepburn, or Jackie O, even 70 years later, they are classically beautiful. Kareena’s style, too, will never seem dated.

She loves everything luxe—anything that looks expensive, is made of premium-quality fabric. If we’re talking cotton, it has to be a luxury Egyptian cotton with high thread count, not a cambric. In denim, it has to be something of premium quality. If you look at her airport looks, she will be wearing t-shirts with denims, kurtas… sometimes, it’s all-denim. Kareena has openly spoken about how people getting styled for airport looks is ridiculous. So, everything she wears comes from her own closet.

But when Kareena wears a garment, she owns it. It doesn’t look like someone has sourced it for her. She likes to show off her face. Sometimes, we get a grand outfit and wonder if it’s a bit too much. Kareena will put it on and it looks just right on her. Her face is her best feature. To be fair though, her make-up and hair is consistently chic and clean. Nothing too dramatic or hectic. She works with Mickey (Contractor) and Yianni (Tsapatori), stalwarts in their respective fields and together they make magic.