Celebrity costume designer's tips for stylish people

New Delhi: They might have a curvy figure or a chiselled physique, but National Award-winning costume designer and stylist Niharika Khan says celebrities are equally conscious about their body as the masses.

Niharika, who has created costumes for stars like Anushka Sharma, Vidya Balan, Farhan Akhtar and Arjun Rampal, told IANS: "I really enjoy it. It's always the same. Everyone has the same insecurities and problems... the same body issues. Everyone is conscious. You can be well maintained, but you are always conscious about one or two things that you have.

"Everyone has that 'Oh my thighs are big!' or something like that."

Niharika was here to assist and advise prospective brides and grooms at The Treasury of Trousseau, a fashion and lifestyle event at DLF Emporio.

Films keep her busy most of the time and she is currently looking forward to Shah Rukh Khan-starrer "Fan" and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's "Mirzya".

"I am working on 'Fan' with Maneesh Sharma with whom I did 'Band Baaja Baaraat'. It's really interesting and fun. We understand each other. Another film... which for me is so far probably my most creative work is 'Mirzya'. I am working on the folklore portion of the film. That's huge... like a creative push for me," shared Niharika.

There were also reports of the costume designer quitting "Fitoor" due to budget issues.

"Abhishek Kapoor (the film's director) is one of my closest friends. My contract was for eight months... to give it more time became cumbersome for a single parent like me and when you have the best friend running the show, he totally understood," she said.

She also believes that trust needs to be built while working with people.

"People need to trust that I will make them look like the character and that trust builds over time. They (director and actor) might have a different viewpoint about what their character should look like. The three of them have to compromise to come to what the character should really be like," she said.

She might have won the National Award for "The Dirty Picture", but the designer, who isn't formally trained in the field, says any project "makes me nervous".

"Different directors have different take on characters. It's probably tougher to create characters that you have already created because you have a mindset of the character like of rock stars.

"They are supposed to be like this because I did 'Rock On!!' whereas another director will come and say 'Oh my rock stars will look like Pakistani rock stars and not like Indian rock stars and you have to change that around. So, you are always nervous and excited," she said.

Is fashion designing her cup of tea?

"Maybe, I will design T-shirts or I might not, but definitely curate something," said Niharika, who wants to "get into universal cinema".

"It's always fun to create characters from wherever," she said.