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After Hrs profiles some of the game-changing Bollywood red carpet stylists

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Over the years red carpet dressing has evolved a great deal in India. It's no longer about wearing a mermaid gown or a sequinned sari. From airport appearances to night outs at suburban restaurants to the Cannes red carpet - every look is planned months in advance. From the definition of the eyelashes to the layering of the jewellery to the clutch-dress match - everything is examined and scrutinised by the unsparing eye of the media. Hence the red carpet dressing gains even paramount importance. We spoke to some of the leading stylists who are rewriting style rules, giving makeovers to stars and throwing refreshing surprises. Read on ...

Sanjana Batra
Age
26

Celebrities you're styling currently
Alia Bhatt, Huma Qureshi, Esha Gupta, Shilpa Shetty, Parineeti Chopra, Yami Gautam, Bipasha Basu and Kriti Sanon.

Style mantra
To enhance my client's personality as well as their body type. It has to be age appropriate. It's important that stars don't ape anyone. With each of my client, I have a different approach - I like to play on their strength. I never aim to create buzz. However, it's crucial that they are event appropriate and the colour works on them.

Your personal style
Feminine chic, I like classic influences love wearing whites- always gravitate to, utlility is very important- comfy and works for the weather, clothing can't be hindrance to my work. I end up shopping a lot of high street.

Red carpet milestone so far
Alia Bhatt in a white Temperely vest suit for the Filmfare Nominations Bash 2015. It was quite a shift from her usual red carpet style and i think she worked it to the fullest.

Esha Gupta in a vibrant Manish Arora Lehenga for a Bollywood wedding function last year in November. I think very few people could carry this look off without looking it OTT/overwhelmed and Esha is super effortless in anything she wears so was a good fit for her.

Huma Qureshi in an Urvashi Joneja ensemble at a recent event in Delhi. i love how she is always open to trying out new things and experimenting. She also really trusts her team completely.

Dream celebrity you'd love to style
Kangana Ranaut and Blake Lively - she can carry off anything. Also, Sienna Miller.

Biggest red carpet faux pas according to you
Inner wear is a major issue. Understanding how things get photographed is crucial - the angles you get photographed in can make or break it. Media cameras are not forgiving. Seeming effortless is imperative. The sheer fabrics tricky.

Other interests besides fashion
Travelling, doing yoga and pilates, watching TV shows - read online. Also, checking out new stores and designers.

Fav designers/stylists you look up to
Anamika Khanna, Anand Kabra, Pankaj and Nidhi, Sanchita, Lanvin, Balmain, Alice & Olivia, Stella McCartney.

Allia Al Rufai
Age

31

Celebrities you're styling currently
Anushka Sharma, Deepika Padukone, Nargis Fakri, Varun Dhawan.

Style mantra
Style should be effortless

Your personal style
I like clean lines and keeping things au courant.

Red carpet milestone so far
Dressing Anushka for Jab Tak was memorable.

Dream celebrity you'd love to style
Id love to style Queen Rania of Jordan as she has so much elegance. Also, Clémence Poésy and Anne Hathaway.

Biggest red carpet faux pas according to you
A gown with the wrong length and ill fit.

Other interests besides fashion
I love interior design. Formula 1 and Floral art.

Fav designers/stylists you look up to
YSL, Celine, Dolce & Gabbana and Dior and stylist Lori Goldstein.

Sneha Mehra
Age
27

Celebrities you're styling currently
Sonakshi Sinha, Ileana D'cruz, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sophie Choudry, Tamanna Bhatia.

Style mantra
To keep it quite simple, less is more. For me good fit is the key and one shouldn't come across as trying too hard.

Your personal style
My body allows me to experiment a lot since I am thin. My style is classic usually but I do try different things. By far I am a classic dresser however I do like unexpected combinations. Having said that, I would never be caught in a very loud or shiny outfit ever.

Red carpet milestone so far
Sonakshi Sinha in Amit GT at the Screen awards, Rachel Roy at Star Guild 2014 and in a navy Gauri Naninika metallic gown at Gima 2014.

Dream celebrity you'd love to style
Deepika Padukone because she is a trained model, has a great body and she can carry off anything.

Biggest red carpet faux pas according to you
Red carpet doesn't mean you need to try too hard to stand out. Stay true to your personal style. Do what works best for you. At Cannes, Charlize in a simple yellow Dior gown was brilliant.

Other interests besides fashion
I'm a trained journalist. I love writing. I'm a fitness freak, love working out and travelling.

Fav designers/stylists you look up to
I like Anaita Shroff Adajania. I like work youngsters like Sanjana Batra, Tanya Ghavri - they are trying new things.

Among designers I like Cue, Anamika Khanna. Balmain, Dolce & Gabbana and Victoria Beckham - she has made a great transition from being a celeb to a designer.

Akshay Tyagi
Age

29

Celebrities you're styling currently
Hrithik, Mahesh Babu, Varun Dhawan, Arjun Kapoor and Pulkit Samrat.

Style mantra
Clean, classic and chic. I never like to keep it busy or loud.

Your personal style
Comfy, easy and work-friendly.

Red carpet milestone so far
Hrithik Roshan in a blue suit at IIFA last year and also at a Dubai club opening where he wore a grey suit.

Dream celebrity you'd love to style
John Hamm and Hugh Jackman.

Biggest red carpet faux pas according to you
Really bad hemlines of trousers which bunch around the footwear.

Other interests besides fashion
I am interested in architecture and it inspires me in a major way.

Fav designers/stylists you look up to
Issey Miyake, Hussein Chalayan and Alexander McQueen.

Astha Sharma
Age

29

Celebrities you're styling currently
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at Cannes, Jacqueline Fernandez, Esha Gupta, Kalki Koechlin on project basis.

Style mantra
Depends on the client - their background, their body types, the kind of clothes they've been wearing. I try and get them to adapt to current look of the season. You need to retain their own -personal style - they have to be comfy and it can't be a look right off the runway. It has to be a balance between their personal style and look of the moment.

Your personal style
Very casual. I like comfy clothes which help me transition from day to night, say by mere addition of heels. I'm very relaxed in my dressing and don't like to dress up too much.

Red carpet milestone so far
At Cannes Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Sabyasachi and Elie Saab. Styling Ash was most challenging and exciting because it's an international platform and you have to take care of care of many factors - the right presentation of her personality. It's not just about brands. We started work in January.

Dream celebrity you'd love to style
Jennifer Lopez and Anne Hathaway can rock anything. I would love to dress them in Indian designers.

Biggest red carpet faux pas according to you
Outfits not going with the hair and make-up. I do understand last min issues - up and down but the look gets killed without the right hair and make-up. Also, a lot of attention must be paid to the accessories - jewellery, bags and shoes.

Other interests besides fashion
I love reading, travelling, practise yoga whenever I get free time. My work allows me to travel a lot.

Fav designers/stylists you look up to
Zuhair Murad for the red carpet glamour, Alexabnder McQueen for his creativity.
In India I love Rohit Bal - his craftsmanship is amazing.

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