Muted, minimalist and comfy- that’s exactly how you’d define Athiya’s personal style. Her Instagram feed is literally a mood-board of effortless, everyday fashion. So naturally, when it came to her wedding wardrobe, it was quite a thrill to see her personal style translate into a gorgeous bridal ensemble. Athiya chose a gorgeous Anamika Khanna lehenga set that has set the tone for the brides of 2023.
In conversation with celebrity stylist Ami Patel, we discovered the behind-the-scene details of what it took to create this chic bridal look for the actor. Stay tuned till the end to get Ami’s pro-tips for brides-to-be.
The Vision
Stylist Ami has known the actor for a long time which helped capture her personal style into her wedding look. “The vision behind Athiya's bridal look was literally an understated chic which is what Athiya is. She has oodles of style, oodles of great taste, but she is not a person who will, you know, say, look at me. She'll never dress in a way that will scream for attention. So, for the colour of the outfit, she was clear she wanted a baby pink, but not that typical shade but almost like a nude pink which was so stunning that Anamika did.”
The Details
“The work on her outfit was exquisite. We were very clear that we wanted it to look intricate. We wanted to look like art. If you notice closely, Anamika has actually lined some of the flowers with pearls. The lehenga itself was this unique kind of chikankari. There are shades of gold, ranging from silver gold to rose gold, to dull gold, to antique gold and ivory. The entire mix just had a certain harmony to it.” It took around two and a half months to bring this stunning look to life.
The Jewellery
“We were very clear that we wanted polki jewellery and that we didn't want a complicated design. We wanted large polki stones and a very distinctive design, which was simple, but still a statement, trend-setting piece. We didn't want emeralds or any other colour. Notice that we did get a little bit of a colour in with a little ruby under the polki that enhanced and created a depth to the necklace. It anchored the entire look together and became central point of interest.” The jewellery had a modern touch to it that was perfectly balanced with a minimal maangtikka. “Birdhichand [Ghanshyamdas Jewellery] did an amazing job with it.”
The Style
“I think none of the celebrity looks that I've styled in terms of bridal have overlapped even a little bit because at the end of the day, each girl is different. Each girl’s personality is different, and the idea for a bride is to really give her what she wants and you know, enhance her personality. For example, for Priyanka [Chopra] the first line of her brief was she wanted to wear red. She didn't wanna wear that extreme shade of poppy red, but she wanted to wear like a deep red. she did not want any zari on her lehenga with tonal effect. Every bride, especially the celebrities have their own distinct which has come through. Athiya's look was different from the others in terms of her blouse. The long sleeves and the tiny choli, the colour itself and even her jewellery was completely different.”
Word Of Advice
“First thing I'd like to tell the brides is to be your own bride. Don't look at what your mother wore, your sister wore or any other celebrity wore. Dig deep into your own mind and see what is it that you want to be on that day. Remember one thing, no matter what colour, shape, size you are, it doesn't matter because on that day you are going to look like a star. Be open to choices unless you know for a fact that this is what I want. Work with your personal taste and style and yes, budget as well. You don't have to spend too much. You can look beautiful by literally being you.
Really think ahead and be sustainable. Wear something that's amazing and beautiful, but you can repeat. My motto has always been #itscooltorepeat and don't leave anything to last minute. Have a stylist or have a close friend or somebody who's gonna help you with things. Make sure that you've done your fittings ahead of time and you've worn the entire look at least once. So, on your wedding day, you're not stressed about it. Even if it means two, three fittings, make sure that your outfit is tried with the jewellery.”