Indian television had its first Marilyn Monroe moment when Pooja Bedi set a hundred hearts aflutter standing on the bonnet of a blue vintage car, her red dress billowing in the wind. The movie: Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, and the song was ‘Pehla Nasha’.
Ashley Rebello, the stylist, designer and costume designer who put together that look, says he had to get his assistant to climb on to the roof of the car and play out the scene repeatedly, to ensure it unfurled perfectly. “My assistant, of course, wore a pair of jeans below her dress,” he laughs.
That was his first assignment as a costume designer, way back in 1992. He also styled Aamir Khan for the movie. “I remember giving him a leather jacket, a simple shirt and a pair of jeans,” says Ashley. He believes that the film was memorable not only because it was path breaking in terms of music and storyline, but also because of the unique understated styling.
For someone who’s been part of the industry for 25 years and designed and styled a large number of celebrities including Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Vidya Balan, Kareena Kapoor and Sachin Tendulkar, it’s interesting to note that he originally moved to Mumbai from Mangalore to become a singer.
While seeking chances, he also took up a job as a manager with Benetton, the high street clothing brand. “I had a talent for styling people; a lot of my clients would ask me to pick out their wardrobe. I would always tell my mother and sister what to wear; and my friends too… I threatened to not go with them if they didn’t wear what I chose,” he grins.
And so, one day, just like that, he confidently walked into filmmaker Mansoor Khan’s office and became the costume designer of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar .
One would imagine that after a successful start, the designer would have got numerous calls from directors to sign him up. Not quite.
His next break came three years later, when Raveena Tandon asked him to create her outfits for Andaz Apna Apna .
“I made nighties for her. Yes, nighties. But that’s what excites me about my job. Every day, I go in not knowing what I’m going to work on, and who is going to be part of the role play.”
Wanted , Yuvvraaj , Ready , Dabangg, Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na, Josh, Hum Saath-Saath Hain, Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai are some of the films he’s worked on. There are international projects too — a few French movies and American serials. He even worked with Baz Luhrmann while styling Nicole Kidman for ‘Chamma Chamma’ in Moulin Rouge! .
Ashley says the process of creating costumes can take anything from a day to six months. When he designed costumes for Chameli , he went shopping with a sex worker, who showed him where she bought her footwear, clips and fabrics. And that’s how Ashley put together Kareena’s wardrobe for the film.
For Chandni Bar , he visited the woman the film was based on, met her friends and saw what a day in her life was like. “To create outfits for a movie, it’s important to live the characters’ lives in your mind,” he says.
While ensembles for most of his projects have been fresh, trendy and innovative, there are a couple he is embarrassed about. “The clothes I created for Sonali Bendre in Tarazu …when I look at them now, I tell Sonali, ‘Why didn’t you shoot me’. What was I thinking!”
According to him, Salman and Sonali are fun to style, because both are clotheshorses and carry off anything he puts them in. It’s the newcomers who are challenging to work with. “That’s because the director is constantly exerting pressure to make actors look like Greek gods, even if they aren’t,” he laughs.
One of his biggest compliments came from Sonakshi Sinha, when he styled her for her debut, Dabangg . “She said, ‘At a time when everybody is in swimsuits and miniscule clothes, you dressed me modestly, head to toe in a ghagra choli. You created the Sonakshi Sinha, the world saw for the first time’.”
Ashley is also a mentor for students at INIFD (International Institute of Fashion Design) — he teaches them the nitty gritty of the business. He was in Chennai to launch a new online programme for the institution.
The stylist is unhappy about copy pasting trends. “Just because Kylie Jenner is wearing something doesn’t mean we blindly replicate it,” he shakes his head. The 49-year-old believes the industry today is very superficial. “Recently, a newcomer was arguing with me about a dress that she thought worked for a sequence. ‘But it’s a D&G’, she kept saying. I said, “So?’ Does it go with the theme? Does it look interesting?”
While the industry is becoming a slave to brands, Ashley is not, and he shows me his bag — a Ted Baker messenger. But, Ray Kelvin, founder of the British label, would be far from amused if he saw it. The strap has been yanked off and replaced with one from a Louis Vuitton bag. “I didn’t like the canvas strap it came with,” laughs Ashley.
Clearly a mix-and-match philosophy works best for him. Which explains his outfit of choice for a day — polka-dotted pants teamed with a pink Nehru jacket.
Upcoming films
Sultan
Laali Ki Shaadi Main Laddoo Diwana
Do Lafzon Ki Kahani
Julie 2
Ali
