Stars on the ramp: Deal, dosti, etc

Priyanka Chopra
Originally uploaded by pappu_ambitions

What’s the best place to see a Bollywood star at her/his glam best? These days, usually the ramp. With almost every designer worth her/his salt getting a movie star to walk for them at fashion weeks, what determines whether a star is fashionably hot or not?

Says Ritu Kumar, who had Priyanka Chopra, Neha Dhupia, Riya and Raima Sen walk the ramp for her in Mumbai recently, it’s about personal equations. “I don’t usually get celebs to walk the ramp for me. But our showing at the HDIL India Couture Week coincided with our 40 years in existence. And to celebrate that, we called Priyanka, Neha, Riya and Raima to walk the ramp. You need to share a comfort zone with the celeb you’re calling. They should also actually wear your clothes off the ramp, so that both your and the celeb’s design sensibilities match. I’ve been designing Priyanka’s and Neha’s clothes for years now. And Riya and Raima’s mother, Moon Moon Sen, has walked the ramp for me when she was her daughters’ age! Also, the celeb modelling your clothes should have the personality and look to carry off your style.”

Designer Renu Tandon says that a star’s presence helps garner attention amidst fierce competition. “People think a film star looks beautiful. And then they see her looking beautiful on the ramp, from a closer distance than the 70mm screen, wearing your clothes. And so, they begin to associate your clothes with that beautiful person on the ramp. So, getting a celeb always works in these times of extreme competition. But I have been lucky in that I haven’t had to pay any of those who walked the ramp for me, because my friends’ base is very wide. If the stars are not my friends, then they are my friends’ friends. Sometimes, they like one of my designs so much, as a gesture of thanks, I give it to them; at other times, it helps build a longer association. But still, the personality of the celeb and my clothes have to match.”

Designer Varun Bahl says that sometimes, a designer has no choice but to have a celeb walk the ramp. “I generally keep away from these kind of hassles. I feel it takes away from the purpose of a designer show. The attention must remain on the clothes, you see. Yes, Celina walked the ramp for me a couple of seasons ago, but that was because the sponsor wanted a showstopper. And, after all, the sponsor is the one putting in all the money and so, one has to compromise,” he says.

When asked for his comments on Shilpa Shetty walking the ramp for him, designer Tarun Tahiliani declined to comment.

Off the record...
Industry insiders say it’s never just dosti that brings stars on the ramp. “Earlier, it was all yaari-dosti. But now, these Bollywood stars have also become very smart. They realise that this is also an ‘endorsement’ of sorts and therefore are extremely reluctant to do it for free. Of course, they won’t say no to you to your face, but the minute you talk to them about walking the ramp for you, they’d bring in their dates problem,” says one. “It was never for free,” concurs another source. “Some kind of give and take was always there. If we did not give them money, then they would take clothes designed by us.”

A third says it’s about three-way tie-ups between brands, stars and designers. “Suna hai aaj kal business deals ho rahe hain. It is all because of these big foreign brands that have come in. They get into these deals with Bollywood stars to be their ambassadors and walk the ramp for them. This has made the stars aware of such possibilities too.”