It's been more than five years since Ayesha Kapur won a million hearts and numerous awards with her acting skills as the young Rani Mukherjee in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black . Then the 16-year-old donned the hat a designer and launched her own line of accessories named ‘ayesha'.
The brand, with around 10 stores all over India, recently opened its latest store in the Capital.
The young founder and face of the brand says, “When I accompanied my mother for shopping I realised that the kind of jewellery I wanted was not available anywhere. I would also give my opinions whenever I visited my mother's store Casablanca (in Puducherry). It is then that I put my ideas together and came out with ayesha.” She adds that ayesha, therefore, reflects the taste and needs of young girls like her who are “urban, trendy, restless and constantly changing.”
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Elaborating on the collection, designed by Ayesha with the help of mother Jacqueline and a design team, the young actor says, “There are different kinds of jewellery, key chains, laptop bags, flip flops, hair accessories and sunglasses. The USP of the collection is that it is a perfect blend of the ethnic and the urban. There are a lot of beautiful Indian designs, to which I have added modern elements. It portrays that while I want something funky and chic I want to hold on to my Indian roots.”
On how she plans to dissociate her brand from Hidesign, Ayesha replies, “Hidesign is completely different from ayesha. Though the two might be overlapping because of my father, Hidesign is more of a subtle brand, whereas ayesha is funky and trendy.”
Despite the success of her line of accessories, neither education nor films have taken a backseat for this young designer.
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She has auditioned for some films and is awaiting results. Is it not difficult to balance acting, designing and education? “It is difficult,” confesses Ayesha, “but it is fun. I actually get bored too easily so the work is fun and exciting.”
On her personal style statement, she says, “Style for me is something that makes me comfortable. It keeps changing with my mood. Some day it is purple and big earrings, the next day it is white.”
While people await her reappearance on the silver screen, we hope she is able to strike gold with her designing skills as well.