Sartorial Sharpshooters

FARHAN AKHTAR
ARRESTING ACTOR-DIRECTOR
Farhan Akhtar has gained in many ways post Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. For now with a body to die for, Farhan looks fantastic in anything that he sports. He is often seen in long-sleeved round-neck, fitting tees and jeans, cargos teamed with chappals, and scarves loosely thrown over tees. What sets him apart is his experimental attitude with his envious locks that he adorns with thick cloth hairbands – for this, credit does go to his wife, Adhuna. At formal occasions he wears slim cut natty suits. His performance at a music concert in August 2013 saw him in grey cargos and a cobalt blue short sleeve tee – looking every bit the rock star he has portrayed in films gone by.

DEV PATEL
PREPPY ACTOR
Dev Patel dresses like most young boys of Indian origin who were born and brought up in the UK. Simple tees, blue denims and cardigans seem to be his staple look for the day. At night, he transforms himself under the media’s glare and at the prestigious awards, you will find him in black suits with neck-ties looking every bit the Hollywood star. At the 44th NAACP awards in February 2013, he wore a conservative grey suit and charmed the interviewers with his famous British accent.

VIRAT KOHLI
MAVERICK CRICKETER
Nike’s brand ambassador, ‘Just Did It’. The captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore was awarded the ICC ODI player of the year in 2012. His attitude is his strength – whether on or off the pitch. He dresses fiercely with spiky hair, tattooed left arm matching the left earring and rainbow coloured shades. The boy from New Delhi is definitely on the right track to bowl maidens over with his spunky look. He’s the new icon for our cricket-frenzy nation. Just awarded the Arjuna Sports Award, he deviated from his casual attire and replaced it with a formal suit.

KUNAL KAPOOR
BASHFUL POSTER BOY
He is the quintessential tall, lean and handsome man who can effortlessly steal attention in any room and of course, the hearts of all the women in it. With dimples like that, one wonders why he would need to bother with clothes. The quintessential poster boy, he rose to the Hall of Fame with his role in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Rang De Basanti and hasn’t looked back ever since. His clothes do not shout. Just like him, they are quiet and understated. Shirts thrown over round-neck tees, vests with jeans and casual shoes add to his boyish charm. When interviewed at a fashion show, earlier this year, he wore a blue suit with a bow tie and seemed to steal the show.

MANISH MALHOTRA
DAPPER DESIGNER
A former model, blessed with good looks, an envious mop of hair and a lean body, Manish Malhotra has successfully compartmentalised his dressing avatars. At his own well-turned-out showings, when he plays the role of a designer to the hilt, he dresses glamorously with velvet Chinese collar jackets teamed with blue denims. Off the ramp, he boldly flaunts champagne and other metrosexual type long sleeve linen shirts. At his muse, Kareena Kapoor’s wedding last year, he wore a black velvet sherwani, a white churidar and a red silk pocket scarf. He could easily have been mistaken for the ‘Brother of the Bride’.

KARAN JOHAR
DANDY DIRECTOR
Fashion, like films, has always been a part of his impeccable DNA. It has been rumoured that before Karan Johar plunged into the world of film production and direction, he designed costumes for Aditya Chopra’s film, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. So it was no surprise when he recently launched his menswear collection. With access to the country’s top designers, many of whom are his friends, he is seen wearing clothes ranging from well-tailored suits, waistcoats, Indian kurtas and sherwanis. His favourite outfit seems to be the tuxedo and single breast jackets, which he wears mostly at award functions and the shows that he hosts. On a recent dance show that he judged, every episode saw him sit in judgment in a different look. Well-turned-out and in control.

GAUTAM SINGHANIA
INTREPID INDUSTRIALIST
As the chairman and managing director of one of the largest apparel brands in the country, Gautam Singhania lives up to the popular slogan ‘The Complete Man’. His passions are vast and furious – they extend from owning fast cars, yachts and planes to nightclubs! At corporate events, he is aptly dressed in pin stripe suits, silk ties and button down shirts. When he is seen in colourful chinos and short sleeve white shirts or colourful Ferrari sports T-shirts, you know that he is living the high life! At the Parx Super Car Show 2013, he looked the part in a sports collar tee and blue denims – every bit the man who knows how to pursue his flamboyant dreams.

RAJESH PRATAP SINGH
TRADITIONAL MINIMALIST
He hails from the royal Rajput family of Rajasthan. His salt and pepper hair lends him a distinguished appearance. Often been termed as a recluse, he does not have celebrities walking down the ramp at his shows, his clothes do all the talking. The designer is best known for his minimalism, simple cuts and ‘pin tucks’. His clothes like him, are sophisticated, simple and anti-wrinkle. He looks so comfortable in his own skin with casual linen shirts, jeans and wavy hair, which earlier was sometimes tied back into a ponytail. When he decides to dress up, he looks like the original rock star in perhaps what is one of his own creations, a well-cut jacket and tailored pants. At the inauguration in July 2013 of The Royal Textile Academy in Bhutan, the veteran designer wore a Bhutan inspired grey and white outfit, looking every bit the calm, confident and sensitive-to- the-cause designer that he is acclaimed to be.

SULAIMAN MERCHANT
COOL COMPOSER
One of Bollywood’s hottest music composer duos, Salim and Sulaiman’s dressing styles are as contrasting as the music that they are in sync with. Salim is the more traditional dresser whereas Sulaiman dresses like the music he composes – soulful and trendy. At 6 feet 3 inches, he can carry off an ensemble of jodhpuris, shirts, waistcoats and ties. He is a pretty sight at his live performances! Unlike many of his contemporaries in the field, he does not shy away from accessories and sports a variety of necklaces and earrings. On the sets of Indian Idol Junior where he was a guest judge, he wore a fitted white short sleeve shirt, black jodhpuris and black tie – reiterating his penchant for soulful dressing.

JYOTIRADITYA SCINDIA
PLEASANT POLITICO
If only politics could be as black and white as Jyotiraditya Scindia’s trademark black bandhgala, white churidar and politically correct khadi kurtas. Harvard, Stanford and stints at M & M (Morgan and Merrill), could not take the neta out of this Scindia who provides ample eye candy in the political arena. One of India’s Young Turks, his sense of style is pure ‘vintage’. Classic and timeless, it reeks of royalty akin to his lineage. At non-political dos, he often dons blazers, suits, polo tees and chinos. The final verdict is out. He looks best as the desi boy. The Saifeena wedding witnessed him dutifully holding his mother’s hand, wearing a formal black bandhgala and grey pants – hopefully the shade was not meant to be a reflection of the country’s political situation!

THE 10 BEST OF BEAUS 2012
Abhay Deol, actor
Arjun Rampal, actor
Imran Khan, actor
Rakesh Thakore, fashion designer
Rohit Bal, fashion designer
Sanjay Kapur, industrialist
Sidhartha Mallya, industrial scion
Saif Ali Khan, actor-producer
Rahul Khanna, actor
Aki Narula, movie costumier and stylist