Dressing up Bips, Dips, Kat is fun

Mumbai: Designer duo Gauri and Nainika Karan enjoy working with Bollywood celebrities and have dressed many actresses but say styling Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif is fun because they appreciate their style.

"We do dress up a lot of the actresses and it has been an enjoyable experience dressing them. They are all different in their own way, so it`s a different experience every time. But it is always really nice working with Bipasha, Deepika and Katrina because they appreciate our sense of style and our design philosophy very much," Nainika told reporters in an interview. "It`s always nice to work with someone, who trusts you as a designer and leaves it to you to decide what is best for them," she added. The duo are the grand finale designers for the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW). So will three beauties will be in the guest lobby for their show Tuesday? "We have invited a lot of people because we work with them and we know them but the thing with film stars is that they are always shooting and they are always traveling, so you just can`t say whether they will be able to make it or not," said Nainika. There won`t be any celebrity showstopper for the show because the LFW grand finale`s have Lakme models as the showstoppers. The Delhi-based sisters, who are very famous for their feminine gowns, are very happy to be the grand finale designers. "We were really happy when Lakme approached us. It`s very challenging to do a grand finale," said Gauri. "Lakme`s theme is fantasy for the grand finale this time. When you think about fantasy, you think of colours like blues, pinks, greens and whites but yet not very strong and more fresh, soft colours, more pastels, but with a little bit of vibrancy in them as well. We used a lot of lace and tule to give the collection a dreamy, surreal, light, airy and feminine look. "Our clothes are always feminine but this one is even more so. The silhouettes are not very sharp and structured, they are more fluid and floaty, very fairytale like," she added. But do they think that celebrities are important for the success of a show? "I wouldn`t say it`s important, but if it`s something that goes with your brand then why not? Fashion goes hand in hand with cinema. Designers are always associated with actresses and it`s a nice association because you are kind of helping each other," said Gauri. "All over the country, people aspire to dress like our actresses and for designers that`s very nice because if an actress wears your outfit, you instantly get a lot visibility. On the other hand, the actress gets styled in a nice way so it works both ways," she added. Gauri and Nainika grew up watching old Hollywood films and usually design clothes with a very old world, classic, chic feel to them. They also feel that showcasing a collection at fashion shows helps in promoting the brand and fetches business. "It`s part of your branding and marketing to do a show and it forces you to create something new and something different and spectacular. Also, through your show, pictures of your designs are all over the place - in magazines and papers and even on channels and even buyers come to know about what you`re making. "It becomes very easy for the buyers to work with designers. Doing shows keeps you on your toes so it`s good," said Gauri. Do they like showcasing more in Delhi or Mumbai? "Shows in both the cities are organised very well. It`s the same vibe, same feel and for us its just showing your collection, whether it`s here or it`s there. Both ways it`s great for us," said Gauri. IANS