BENGALURU: Do you have a favourite outfit but worried about repeating it? Celebrities and influencers alike are setting new trends of repeating outfits, and if they can do it, so can you. Iti Acharya, the actor who made her debut at the Cannes Film festival 2022, wore an outfit that was previously worn by a Tamil actor a few months ago. Despite her designer friends being reluctant, Acharya made a bold decision and repeated the dress at the Directors’ Fortnight.
“Lately, I realised that we have overcome the norm of wanting to be the first and only celebrity wearing a particular designer. Haven’t we all seen Kate Middleton gracefully renewing and repeating her outfits in different ways?” she says.
Having graduated from NIFT, Acharya understands what it takes to design one outfit. “The dresses which the celebrities wear at events are super expensive. A lot goes behind such outfits. Production in large quantities results in huge amounts of waste,” she quips. Actor Priyanka Upendra approves of the idea of sustainable fashion.
“For the love of keeping it minimalistic, I restyle old sarees with new blouses. I re-wear even the red carpet looks because I feel it is impossible to keep adding to your wardrobe. I love repeating my outfits,” she says. Upendra does not just swap clothes with her friends, but also shares with family since her kids are now older. “Aishwarya, Ayush, Upendra and I share our neutral outfits. It is all about accessorising it differently. Try a different dupatta or have the dress dyed to another colour,” she advises.
The whole concept of not repeating an outfit seems alien to actor Sharmiela Mandre. Until a few years ago, it would be a big deal if a celebrity wore the same outfit at two different events. “I wore an outfit for a performance at an award function and repeated it for the audio launch of my film. It was a pretty outfit and I did not see anything wrong in wearing it again. If not to a stage, where else would I wear a stage outfit?,” she asks.
When Acharya repeated her outfit, a boy called her out on it. “It is never the right thing to let anyone belittle you. When you know why you are doing what you are doing, there is no need to feel ashamed of it,” she remarks. Mandre, who follows trends closely, reworks outfits. “There is a brand that reworks your outfit into another one. I recently converted a saree into a crop top and pants because I love its material. I also transformed a skirt into a jacket. There are clothes I haven’t worn for years and this is how I make them wearable,” she says.
Restyling and accessorising it the right way is a game-changer, Acharya says. “A different headgear, a trendy piece of jewellery, or footwear gives the outfit a new look. There is a lot to learn from Komal Pandey’s fashion videos,” she adds.