Insta-nt celebrities

She teams an off-shoulder short number with a hat in one picture, a fiery orange dress with an LV tote and nude stilettos in another, and white track pants with glitter sneakers in a third. Meet Aakriti Rana, one of the growing tribe of 20 somethings who don’t have degrees in fashion and are not trained as designers, but are setting trends for lakhs of wannabe fashionistas.

Their fashion quotient on point with impeccable makeup and clothes, they are the proverbial girls-next-door with loyalists eagerly following their posts and pictures on Instagram and other social media; a committed social media following that has led to their passion for fashion morphing into full-time, lucrative careers.
Apart from the adulation, these girls rake in the moolah too, endorsing top brands, getting to keep clothes and makeup and also the opportunity to fly to exotic destinations.
Rana’s Instagram handle La Chica Loca, for instance, has more than 2.5 lakh followers. Some, she says, have even thanked her for changing their personality and making them a hit in college with her style tips.

Armed with an MBA degree, the 25-year-old, who started La Chica Loca in October 2014, says she did not train to be a fashionista. “I was always creative and the same thing reflects in my clothes too. Though I have an MBA, I knew I could not tie myself down to a 9-5 job. Since I also liked dressing up, I started putting pictures on Instagram. The response was phenomenal and my work got recognised very quickly.”

Delhi-based Kritika Khurana, popular as That Boho Girl on Instagram and Snapchat, is another celebrity fashionista. Khurana, in her early 20s, who has completed her BA in English literature, has a whopping 3.2 lakh followers on Instagram, where she doles out tips to young girls on how to dress nattily and accessorise right. Combining various styles – boho, chic, ethnic – this bubbly girl sometimes pulls out dupattas or kurtas from her mom’s closest and teams them with palazzos. When in a mood for an androgynous look, she digs into her father’s wardrobe.

Khurana credits her success to the quirky fashionista in her, one whose experiments in college were applauded and sought after. Seen as “another average girl” by a lot of her peers, she was determined to invent a style that was “average” and yet fashionable.

Then there’s 26-year-old fashion blogger Kiran Khokhar, also a Delhiite, whose Instagram account Indian Chic is a pit stop for young girls looking to style high street wear with “a touch of elegance”.

“I started my blog after graduation. I always wanted to write about fashion in a way which an average girl could relate to. So from the clothes that I model and style, everything is very relatable,” she says.

Since this job also entails striking a balance between buying one’s own clothes and endorsements that come their way, these girls are smart investors.  With a fan following running into lakhs, they also understand the necessity of remaining visible and up-to-date.

“The key is to mix and match, and buy smart. Fashion blogging does not mean becoming a brand w***e. I purchase clothes from Sarojini Nagar and also wear top brands. Since we largely spend from our own pocket, clothes are repeated. That is where the stylist kicks in,” says Khokhar, a science graduate.
Rana and Khurana also repeat their clothes but exude freshness because they are styled differently.

Brand magnets

Big brands have sat up and taken note of the bloggers and their growing popularity. Their girl-next-door persona, devoid of the trappings that come with being a professional model, has ensured that brands like Adidas, Swarovksi and Nyx are flocking to such bloggers for endorsements.
Khurana recently went for an off-road experience sponsored by Land Rover while Rana is branding for fashion designer Sonia Parmar and Marks & Spencer.
“They are the opinion makers and trendsetters. Youngsters emulate their style and shift loyalties to the brands they prefer. The bloggers are one amongst them and do not exude the touch-me-not arrogance of a model. This creates a more relatable connection,” says Arvind Dhingra, business head of a high street Spanish brand that is a hot favourite with young girls.

But don’t they feel like throwing up their feet once in a while, lounge in their PJs and forget about looking chic all the time?
“Not at all. Fashion is not a career but my passion. So it has never been a chore. I love makeup and shoots. I also know that I would never be caught in my nightsuit by my fans,” says Rana. Atta girl!

The earnings
A fairly established fashion blogger earns anywhere between Rs 50,000 to Rs1 lakh per month. This earning is directly proportional to the number of followers – the bigger the better. These bloggers also keep the clothes they have modelled, but in some cases, as Kiran Khokhar puts it, “this is the only income”.

Festive fever
With the festive season ahead, Aakriti Rana gives us three different ways to style the choli and twirl away this garba:
1. Wear it with a high waist palazzo pants for a sleek and modern look.
2. Wear your choli with a high waist long skirt to look traditional yet modern. 
3. Make your outfit look edgy by styling it with a dark pair of high waist denims and drape it with a dupatta.