In Conversation With One Of India’s First Fashion Stylists
One of the very first fashion stylists, Mohan Neelakantan has styled leading ad campaigns for top fashion and lifestyle brands. Here the renowned stylist sits down for a chat where he talks about fashion, style and the hottest trends of the season.
Excerpts from the interview:
How did you venture into styling?
I graduated from NIFT (I was in the first 2nd-year batch) with a degree in Fashion Design and then joined Elle Magazine a year after it was launched. That is how I started my career as a stylist.
Why didn’t you start as a mainstream designer?
Because I was never interested in it! When I found styling I discovered my passion. I was designing clothes, but my clothes were a bit unusual. So I was happy designing for export houses, domestic labours, etc.
Did you face any challenges as a stylist?
I have faced many. These days you have courses related to stylists, courses which were not there when I joined. I learnt it on my job, I had an instinct for styling and putting things together.
Tell us something about your first project as a stylist.
When I started with Elle Magazine, the head office was in Mumbai and they would get me to source clothes and I used to work with them 3 days a week. Even though I was working only 3 days, I would be in the office every day as I loved the atmosphere, culture and the fact that you could style. When I got bored of sourcing, they would give me a shoot to do. I tried to keep the styling as unusual as possible because that was the whole idea of the magazine and they loved what I did.
Who is your favourite stylist?
Among the Indian stylists, my favourite is Aki Narula; I think he is very good and Gautam Kalra is also a very good stylist. Internationally I like a lot of editorials, so I can’t pinpoint a particular name.
What is your signature style?
My signature style is anything which is colourful and I like to add a bit of a twist.
Do you think somebody’s profession and age is important to maintain a style?
I think it is all very relative; it depends on the situation too. For example, if you are going for a board meeting, then there’s no need to add quirkiness to your style.
What tips would you give to men and women to help them develop their styling sense?
Know yourself – don’t follow anything blindly. You should know your body style, your face structure and just be comfortable.
There’s a lot of colour involved in the 70s trend, so it is very good for both men and women. Military is also in trend for both men and women – it is actually becoming a classic and it will never go out of style. When it comes to jewellery, ethnic jewellery is big right now.
What’s your favourite colour?
There’s nothing like a classic red or shades of red. You can play with different colours, but red remains the ultimate classic.
What’s your take on bridal trends?
Classic red remains in style and it’s not going anywhere. Others include gold, yellow and blues. Jewellery I think should be traditional.
What things do you keep in mind before styling? Is there any concept you follow when it comes to styling a person?
Time – it depends! Sometimes you get a lot of time to sit and think about it, sometimes you get a call and they tell you that day after tomorrow is the shoot and you have to prepare for it as soon as possible.
The concept comes from when you see your client. Sometimes we have to work with the photographer; he might have a vision in mind. Then we also have to work according to the brief.
You must have gone through a time where you want to do something in particular and clients wants it differently?
Many a times! I make them try and take a picture and tell them that if they don’t like it we’ll change it.
Do you have any advice for upcoming stylists who want to join this industry?
There’s a lot of hard work involved. Many of the budding stylists have this misconception that this is very easy, which is not. Things look glamorous on screen, but behind the camera things are different. And it is not a 9 to 5 job, sometimes you have to reshoot the entire thing, you could be called anytime – don’t count on having fixed hours.
Have you worked with any Bollywood personality? How was the experience?
I worked with Katrina Kaif and the shoot was very pleasant.
Tell us about your forthcoming projects.
Right now I am busy with Pearl Academy, and I just finished a shoot for some Kolkata clients.
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