Since the time she’s arrived on the fashion scene in India, Nishka Lulla has managed, like her clothes, to grab attention and on the way, even make a couple of headlines. At 24, the young fashionista with an enviable celebrity clientele and a recognised label, Nisshk, is enjoying a success that every designer aspires for. Fresh from showcasing her latest collection in Mysore, as part of the Blenders Pride 6-city fashion tour, Nishka is relaxed as she opens up to DNA about her first love: fashion.
Travel as inspiration
Starting off with the most recent fashion tour held in Mysore and the collection she showed off there, Nishka says, “I showcased a party collection and typical of my label, the clothes are youthful and vibrant in easy-to-wear silhouettes and there’s an Indian touch to them.”
It was the first time that Nishka was showcasing at Mysore, a city that’s not really known for its fashion aesthetic. But the experience was fun, as Nishka talks about it with girly delight, “I’ve never been to Mysore and that was one of the reasons I agreed to take part in the fashion tour,” she reveals and opines “The very idea behind this tour was to create fashion awareness in cities that are not yet exposed to it.” Apart from Mysore, she will also be showcasing in Bhubaneswar, next. So, does travelling inspire her with her design sensibilities et al? It’s a definite yes, when she assents and says, “I do travel to get inspiration, whether it’s in terms of the kind of dress, or the colours…colours are my main focus point so, I get better ideas about colours to experiment with through my travel experiences. Using kalamkari fabric, for instance, was an idea I got during my travel to Hyderabad for my films.”
Styling for South Indian actors
And talking about films, Nishka opens up about how she’s been deluged with styling offers, rather interestingly, from South Indian films. “Genelia D’Souza, Shriya Saran and Tamannah Bhatia are some of the actors I style for and currently, I am doing the styling for around 13 movies,” she says, sounding amused. So, what does she keep in mind while styling a heroine? “I keep in mind the role she is doing, I also see what will suit the actor’s personality — the colours, the silhouettes that will fit her body type... I also take into consideration the director’s preferences,too… it’s a whole package of considerations I take while I am picking the clothes and even the accessories,” she replies with an enthusiasm that hints at how much she is enjoying it. Talking of the best thing about the job, she chimes, “You have to make an actor look different in every movie, I enjoy that aspect of the job because you get to groom the actor. As a kid, I loved to groom my Barbie dolls, and styling a heroine today is a lot like that,” she says, smiling at the analogy.
Of all the looks she’s worked on, which one does she think got her the most attention? “When I started working with Tamannah, one of my first projects was doing her style for the Tamil movie, Siruthai, especially for a beach song (Chellam Vaada Chellam). After the movie released, I got a lot of calls, and every director who saw it sent me a request to style for the film and every actress wanted to work with me! “I enjoyed that look a lot because it got me all the movies I am doing now,” she chimes. She also happy with the look she’s managed to create for Tamannah in the recently released Telugu film, Endukante Premanta and Genelia in the upcoming movie, Rock the Shaadi. “Genelia’s looking gorgeous!” she gushes.
Esha’s wedding
While we are still on the topic of dressing up actors, one can’t not talk about Esha Deol and her grand wedding for which Nishka and her mom, Neeta Lulla had designed the clothes. Getting candid, she says, “The Deols are like family to us and my mom and I designed each and every costume that Esha, Ahana and their mother wore. Ahana’s mehendi outfit was designed by me. I’d used kutchi bharat work with kalamkari peacock motifs for the dress.” And talking about her own look for the day, she says, “It was a South-Indian wedding and because I am always getting all the South Indian heroines to wear kanjeevarams for their shoots and events, I decided to wear one for the wedding. It was fun dressing up in it and going the whole hog with wearing jewellery and hairstyling,” she says, like any excited 24-year-old.
A lover of all things bright and pink, fashion for Nishka is “personal. It’s an extension of yourself. I design clothes that I can wear myself and as long as I am true to myself, I don’t have to worry about what others write or say about me,” she concludes.
