Stylists Pranay Jaitly and Shounak Amonkar of Who Wore What When proves it takes two to tango
In a candid chat, stylists Pranay Jaitly and Shounak Amonkar of Who Wore What When share their journey — from styling Vidya Balan to Shahana Goswami at Cannes.
How has Who Wore What When’s journey been so far — from styling actor Vidya Balan to today?
It has been a beautiful journey filled with unexpected turns. When it all started with Vidya, neither of us could have predicted how it would unfold. We have been fortunate to have had people who trusted us and embraced our ideologies along the way.
What is your fondest memory of styling a celebrity?
This is a tough one… there have been so many memorable projects over the past nine years. Our fondest memory is the first time we styled Vidya Balan. She shook our hands and welcomed us to the team. Another highlight would be styling Radhika Apte for the 2019 Emmys, where she wore Iris Van Herpen and looked like a sculpture on the red carpet. More recently, Shahana Goswami in a custom Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla at the Cannes Film Festival was another standout moment.
What are the challenges of styling a Bollywood celebrity and what has been the biggest lesson the styling world has taught you?
The biggest challenge when it comes to dressing up a Bollywood celeb honestly is to deal with the ‘yes-men’ around them and if there is one thing styling has taught us, it is to help each other out and support designers/PRs/actors.
How important are trends when styling someone?
Trends are important to stay with the times and to create a relevant look but more importantly, one needs to understand what works for the celebrity and how comfortable one is in it instead of forcefully making them wear something just because it’s in the news.
One trend you can’t style around, and one trend you'd want to make a comeback?
Neon should never come back. It's just not something that resonates with us, and we feel the same way about skinny jeans! On the other hand, we would love to see the 50s voluminous skirts return.
Where do you think the styling business is headed? What does the Indian styling industry need?
In personal styling, we need to tap into the unique style of each actor, rather than blindly copying trends from the West. The styling business in India has a lot of potential in understanding the importance of curating an impactful look.
With two brains behind the styling consultancy, are there times when you struggle to agree on ideas?
After working together for nine years and knowing each other for 12, we now understand each other’s strengths and ethics. We try to avoid stepping on each other’s toes and reach out with an open mind when we hit a roadblock. That said, we do argue over mood boards and concepts until we both come up with something that satisfies us.
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