HYDERABAD: Stylist Priyanka Mishra a.k.a Pyu Mishra’s earliest memories revolve around visiting her dad’s office who was into handloom, handicrafts and several other textiles. “Thanks to him, I had first hand exposure and experience with karigars working with beautiful zaris, zardosi, pearl and handmade fabric, pillow covers, brass sculptures for and real gold thread embroidered curtains, bedsheets and some beautiful things comes to life with chanderi, Maheshwari, tussors and other silks. I also would visit other countries and exhibits with my father, so I grew up with such creative images around, so I’d say the profession chose me rather than the other way round,” she tells CE.
With not having to look out of her own home or even her state (Gujarat) she was unconsciously training to do what she is today. “All these aside, I remember when my relatives would ask me what I wanted to be when I grow up, I’d say ‘a tailor’ because I didn’t know there was something called a designer or stylist back then. I told people I want to dress up those I saw on TV and here I am today, living the dream,” an elated Pyu shares.
Some of her clients to include Aamir Khan, Sushmita sen, Sanjay Dutt, Alia Bhatt, Kartik Aryan, Ayushmann Khurrana, and Vicky Kaushal, among many others. Asked to name her favourite, she explains why it’s tough to do so: “I consider myself extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to work with beautiful people, inside out. Aamir has a humble persona who takes time to sit with us for costume meetings and will brainstorm styles for the film as well as the events. Sushmita too is amazing to work with who always carries a positive aura, ready to try and experiment and Kartik makes work not feel like work.”
“I love the styles of Johnny Depp, Austin Butler, Zendaya Gigi Hadid, Meghan Markle, Padmanabh Singh - The Maharajah of Jaipur and Ranveer Singh, to name a few,” she says of her favourites.The bubbly stylist mentions her knowledge of the ABCs of textiles as her biggest USP. “Not many designers have known it all about the right thread work or block printing or zari work from the right karigars, etc. How I capitalise on that is my biggest USP,” says she.
Pyu says that she does see a few differences when it comes to styling Tollywood and Bollywood. “When it comes to Tollywood, the concept of promoting the movie is relatively new, when compared to Bollywood. There are some 20 events to attend that give us a great chance to experiment on newlooks. The trend of airport looks is still nascent here. But looks like it’ll all change soon, given how all industries are merging well, which is a win-win for us too,” she shares.
Pyu is currently working on some really fun and vibrant projects and has one lined up with Sonu Sood and some she can’t disclose yet, but is equally excited about them all. “The ultimate dream probably would be to start a label of my own and maybe even a restaurant, because I love to entertain guests with food. I hope to do something in the music industry too, given my vocal training and finally global domination when it comes to fashion,” she signs off.
Celebrity Bollywood stylist Pyu Mishra, better known for styling Sonu Sood and Aamir Khan, when he was in the city to meet Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, among others, during the promotions of Lal Singh Chaddha, gets candid about her home birthday her passion, styling differences in Tollywood, favourite clients, styles and more