Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt: Fashion icons in their own right

From playing iconic roles to making headlines with their style statements, both divas are in a league of their own

LAHORE:

Bollywood superstars Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt have, for several years now, been involuntary parties in a tabloid-constructed feud over the former’s ex-beau and the latter’s husband, Ranbir Kapoor. Despite the passage of time and the fact that Deepika has gone on to marry fellow actor and Bollywood heartthrob Ranveer Singh, the media and respective fandoms of the two have continued to perpetuate a rivalry between the two silver screen divas.

What has transpired over the years is constant trolling and criticism of Deepika and Alia from the respective fandoms of the two contemporaries—with Alia, in particular, routinely facing backlash for allegedly copying Deepika’s fashion statements. While the Padmaavat star has established herself as a fashion icon in Bollywood and the world over, the Student of the Year protagonist is also en route to claim her rightful place as one of the most fashionable ladies in B-town.

Deepika paves way

Deepika’s rise to fame was the result of her debut role in Om Shanti Om. This film heavily focused on costume design and made a point to dress Shanti Priya in the most beautiful outfits to reflect yesteryear's Bollywood era. Since day one, Deepika was dressed to the nines both on screen and off the screen.

Her cobalt-blue saree with gold sequined trimming and contrasting black sequined bralette blouse remains, to this day, one of the most iconic and renowned film looks from recent years. Many women have worn inspired renditions of it since it first appeared on screen in the 2013 film Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani and have also used it to cosplay Deepika’s character from the film, Naina Talwar.

As Deepika continued to turn up look after look, she gradually attracted global attention to her exquisite outfit choices. This culminated in her being invited to the annual Met Gala three years in a row, from 2017 to 2019—an event known for being extremely exclusive and curating a guest list based on the level of fame and developed fashion sense of prospective invitees.

Deepika’s evolution as a force to be reckoned with in South-Asian and global fashion can clearly be seen in the transition from her somewhat tame and muted debut look for the 2017 Met Gala and her extravagant ‘go big or go home’ ensemble from Met Gala 2019.

Her first Met Gala appearance saw her mount the famous Met steps in an elegant white Tommy Hilfiger creation. The satin slip-dress-like gown had slim bedazzled straps that extended over her shoulders and then thickened down the low-cut back of the dress, a side slit that ran up to the middle of her thigh, and an embellished and beaded hem that lengthened into a small train. Styling for the look included a middle-parted and slicked-back hairdo adorned with a silver bejewelled headpiece and matching silver chandelier earrings.

As a renowned fashionista, Deepika was named the newest global ambassador to the luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton in 2022. She is also the global ambassador for high jewellery and watch-making brand Cartier. The 2022 Cannes Film Festival witnessed Deepika wearing a number of custom Louis Vuitton looks and jewels by Cartier. Still, her most well-praised look of the event was the contemporary white Sandeep Khosla saree she wore on the red carpet.

Stitched in a sheer white fabric, the whimsical fall of the saree was modernised with pleated ruffles alongside the trimmings. Save for a sparse embellishment of crystal work on the ruffles; the saree was minimal. However, the fully beaded bralette blouse embellished with pearls and crystals made up for the minimalism of the draped fabric. What further elevated the look was the sprawling pearlescent collar of the saree that also doubled as a necklace. The strapless blouse, ruffled hems, and detached-attached collar were the contemporary elements that distinguished the traditional saree outfit as one fit to be worn on an international stage while still paying homage to Deepika’s home country.

While the actor chose to play it safe at her first Met Ball, her look for the 2019 Met Gala look was bold, beautiful, and right on theme. In keeping with the ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’ theme, Deepika cascaded over the pink carpet in a pink, shimmering, strapless, and structured gown by Zack Posen. The theme called for an overt and theatrical display of fashion, and the asymmetrical draping and structured fall of, what appeared to be, the glistening brocade fabric of the gown delivered just that.

Alia's alluring strut to the big league

Being invited to the Met Gala is what really consolidates a celebrity’s status as a fashion icon, so it came as no surprise when this year’s exhibit ‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty’ was witnessed by a number of A-list celebrities and fashionable personalities including the Gangubai Kathiawadi actor.

Alia made her Met Gala debut in a custom Prabal Gurung ballroom gown, encrusted with 100,000 pearls that paid homage to Lagerfeld’s long stint at the house of Chanel and its signature use of pearl accessories, accents, and embellishments. The styling was kept simple, with Alia wearing a low-slicked-back ponytail, sultry yet subtle brown smokey eyes, and pearl-decorated earrings. She also paid tribute to Karl Lagerfeld’s personal style by wearing fingerless white embellished gloves.

As the only Indian actor in attendance this year, Alia was featured in a video on Vogue’s official YouTube channel as she got ready to walk the famous Met steps amidst frenzied paparazzi and famed Hollywood stars and renowned fashion personalities.

The Brahmastra: Part One—Shiva star claimed her rightful place on the prestigious 2023 Met Gala guest list and reinforced her status as an emerging Indian fashion icon after several years of compiling A-star looks in her fashion portfolio.

Like Deepika, she burst into the limelight with a film that used a strong costume design element as a storytelling device. Set against the backdrop of a bougie private school being attended by the teenage kids of India’s elite, the fashion had to be on point and Alia's character of the school’s “It Girl” Shanaya Singhania became the primary focus of that.

The film even includes a creative and modified version of the famous song Gulabi Ankhen that opens with Shanaya strutting through a designer boutique as the song begins and name-drops a number of famous luxury fashion houses and designers— 'The girl's got everything; I've got it all, Jimmy Choo and Manolo, Prada, Galliano; Cant get nuff, I want more and more...Louis Vuitton and Stella Mccartney, Donatella Versace; I use a bag from Gucci’.

Although Shanaya’s preppy outfits and headband combo were very much of the time, her outfit from the film’s popular dance number, Radha, is one that will go down in Indian fashion history as one of the most frequently cosplayed looks from Bollywood cinema.

The look that arguably popularised the lehnga choli silhouette in Pakistan also prompted many women to recreate or put together inspired versions of the Barbie-pink choli and sequined silver-and-pink lehnga. With how visually striking and instantly recognisable it is, it finds itself next to Deepika’s ‘Badtameez Dil’ saree look.

Even as Alia’s trajectory to becoming a fashion icon was set off early on, she kept the pace going and never faltered when serving pap-worthy looks. In more recent years, her promotional tour and premiere looks for Gangubai Kathiawadi and Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani have had the media in a frenzy, with many lauding her for the effort she puts into embodying her character off-screen without making her outfits look like costumes.

Every look pays tribute to her character but is also in keeping with contemporary fashion trends. We saw this when she was on the rounds to promote Gangubai Kathiwadi. While the film is set in the 1960s and the costume design was accurate to that time period, Alia still found ways to dress like her character in a more contemporary and fashion-forward way. Alia’s vibrant and flowy saree looks for the promotional tour of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani are the internet’s current obsession, with many scrambling to get their hands on similar, if not identical, sarees.

Not rivals, but contemporaries

Deepika and Alia have served their fair share of memorable looks and will continue to be seen as style icons, locally and internationally, for many years.

Each possesses their own fashion prowess and distinct sense of style as evidenced by the vastly different but equally celebrated looks they wore on their wedding events—which were, arguably, the most important days of their lives and made those moments the most-watched of their fashionable moments. Deepika’s red-and-gold Sabyasachi bridal lehnga choli continues to make appearances on wedding blogs and bridal mood boards.

And of course, Alia’s white-and-gold-embellished organza saree by Sabyasachi was a picture of grace and sophistication that many prospective brides wish to replicate on their own big days.