Costume Styling for Bollywood movie Akira

COSTUME STYLING FOR BOLLYWOOD MOVIE - AKIRA
GRADUATION PROJECT REPORT
GUIDE: YASHWANT MISALE
SUBMITTED BY:
RAJASI DATAR
MUM13MM03
BATCH: 2013 – 2015
MASTERS OF FASHION MANAGEMENT
DEPARTMENT OF FASHION MANAGEMENT STUDIES,
NATIONAL INSTITUE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY,
MUMBAI, INDIA.
NATASCHA CHARAK NIKITA MOHANTY
STYLING
To whomsoever it may concern,
This is to certify that Ms.RajasiDatar was working with us as a costume
assistant from 26/01/2015 to date. She has proven herself to be a very hard
working, pro-active, creative and a dedicated individual. She has worked
amicably with the team and was eager to learn and take on additional
responsibilities.
We wish her good luck in all her future endeavors.
NataschaCharak
Fashion Stylist
CERTIFICATE FROM FACULTY MEMBER REGARDING
COMPLETION OF WORK
This is to certify that Ms. RajasiDatar has completed the Graduation Project
Report on the topic “Costume Styling For Bollywood Movie Akira” under my
guidance. She is hereby allowed to participate in the internal and external
jury for the graduation project.
Date - 14/05/2015
YashwantMisale
Assistant Professor
Fashion Mangement Studies
NIFT, Mumbai
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this project report on “Costume Styling For Bollywood
Movie Akira” is my original work. I declare that all the facts and figures
which have been included in the report which is an inevitable part of the
Graduation Project for completing my Masters of Fashion Management,
Mumbai, are all true to the best of my knowledge.
Date: 14/05/2015
RajasiDatar
Masters of Fashion Management
2013 – 2015
NIFT, Mumbai
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and deep regards to
my guide and mentor YashwantMisale for his exemplary guidance,
monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the course of this report.
The blessing, help and guidance given by him time to time were very
encouraging.
I also take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to my industry
mentor, NataschaCharak, Freelance Fashion and Costume Stylist for her
cordial support, valuable information and guidance, which helped me in
completing this task through various stages.
I am obliged to cast and crew of “Akira”for the valuable guidance provided
by them. I am grateful for their cooperation during the period of my project.
Lastly, I thank NIFT, Mumbai for giving me this opportunity to intern and
gain an experience that I will value for life long.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Fashion a term very popular in the western countries finally found its routes in India many years
ago. Fashion was always an area of interest for people in India, but they were of the opinion that
fashion is for the classes not masses. People saw their favourite actors flaunting a sharp black
suit and it became everyone‘s envy back then. Soon imitation of fashion from the west and from
our very own Bollywood was made available to the common man. Soon fashion became
accessible very easily in India. Today no matter how much you earn, there are retail shops for all
pocket sizes. The culture of affordable malls like Big Bazaar and Max stores has made fashion
buyable to people who were earlier hesitant.
Besides retail, the industry is also expanding its threshold to other parameters like International
collaborations, unique fashion inspirations, events over the globe etc. One such parameter of the
industry is Fashion Styling. Celebrity styling today has become a part and parcel of every
celebrity‘s life. Having a fashion stylist has become a priority and necessity. Fashion stylists are
required for shoots, appearances and even everyday dressing. Celebrities depend on their closet
refreshment on these stylists. And what a celebrity wears today has been everyone‘s business.
Apart from celebrity fashion, fashion in Bollywood films has also evolved tremendously to new
heights. Today, a mere silk saree in the snow mountains is definitely not enough. There has to be
something interesting in a person‘s outfit that can be seen on screen but at the same time is
relatable for the audiences. Gone are the days when only designers worked for a limited period to
make few select costumes for movies and left the film mid-way. Today costume stylists are
being hired for the entire duration of the film. Stylists are expected to purchase, design and tweak
everything they get their hands on and make something beautiful or statement like.
Today film stylists are making a conscious effort to break the barriers that previous designers
faced before. Stylists are getting more brand conscious and want to discover newer styles. They
are travelling worldwide for inspirations and doing a background check on the films characters.
For example, LeepakshiEllawadi, fashion stylist for Amitabh Bachchan starrer
BudhaHogaTeraBaap, went on a twenty day shopping spree to a London with the man himself.
They shopped at Harrod‘s, Armani, Burberry, Tom Ford, Hugo Boss, Paul Smith, Gucci and
Etro.
Today besides the actor, even the director, producers and creatives want to be a part of costume
trials and look tests. They want to give an opinion and see how a particular outfit looks on the
actor before they put him in it and start shooting. Production houses have increased their budgets
for costume and allow for sourcing from the worldwide markets either online or by sponsoring
the stylist‘s trip.
Actors too want more options and what to wear what best suits the role. They are less picky
about styles no as they are ready to experiment with their look and clothes to suit the character.
The role of the stylist though has become easier on some level due to more room for creativity
and independence but at the same time has added pressure.
Through this project, I have citied out the roles, tasks and duties of a stylist. Styling is not merely
combining pieces of clothes together but it follows a proper structure and discipline. It requires
constant knowledge regarding happenings in the industry, communication with designers,
research on new styles, knowledge of stock in stores etc. When it comes to films, everything is
character oriented and the subject moves from what would the stylist like to what the character in
the film would like. Sometimes certain things do no please the stylist but yet she goes ahead with
them as the character in real life would have liked them. Costume styling is thus comparatively
different from fashion styling.
The objectives of undertaking this project were as follows:

To understand the dynamics of the film industry

To observe and learn all the aspects of film making

To create costumes

To understand how to character dress multiple people at a given time

To complete tasks such as manage continuity, create breakdowns, budgeting and look
books

To manage merchandise with utmost care

To expand my horizons of style by referencing
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
NUMBER
TITLE
PAGE
NUMBER
I
LITERATURE REVIEW
1
II
MOVIE BACKGROUND/
COMPANY PROFILE
13
III
PROJECT – COSTUME STYLING
FOR AKIRA
16
IV
OTHER PROJECTS
37
V
LEARNING OUTCOME
40
VI
WEBLIOGRAPHY
41
CHAPTER 1
LITERATURE REVIEW
The film industry in India is one of the biggest and oldest in the world in terms of production and
audiences. ―Bollywood‖, the industry based in Mumbai tops all the regional industries inits
national profile and global appeal. Bollywood is one of the largest film producers in India and
one of the largest centers of film production in the world. It is more formally referred to as Hindi
Film cinema.
Each year, Bollywood sells up to a million more cinema tickets world-wide than Hollywood.
Despite little or no coverage from mainstream Western media, limited-release Hindi films can be
found shooting up the US Top 20 and UK Top 10 box office charts. In fact, it is being said that
Bollywood movies are now grossing more money in Britain. Classics as Dil Wale Dulhaniya Le
Jaenge, Hum AapkeHainKoun, KuchKuchHota Hai or KabhiKhushiKabhieGham have proved
their critical and financial success worldwide. The success of DDLJ has been so massive that it
was screened continuously at South Mumbai‘s Maratha Mandir for consecutive 20 years. The
Maratha Mandir's management ended the film's run after 1,009 weeks on 19 February 2015 due
to low attendance. The last show was attended by 210 people.
With movies like Happy New Year, Dhoom 3, Bang Bang the budgets in Bollywood are clearly
on a rampage. Movie makers know the importance of cinema in an average Indian‘s life and thus
they are willing to invest in it as long as this importance remains the same which they know will.
Nothing defines socio-cultural trends in India as films do. Over the years, Hindi films and filmwatching habits have succinctly portrayed how the nation thinks and reacts, whether the
audiences are in a happy mood or an angry one.Its growth from a national pastime to an
obsession that woos Indian and NRI audiences alike has made Bollywood the world‘s biggest
film industry. The past few years have given the broad hint that this is the time for change in
Hindi films — that the hackneyed, formulaic approach towards filmmaking will not do anymore.
This has also been an exciting time for the crossover movie, with the genre letting a bright pool
of budding filmmakers experiment with themes as never before.
There has been a tremendous change in the way films are being conceptualized and made. Today
there is room for imagination, versatility and willingness to do something which has never been
done before. Through movies like Barfi, OMG, Madras Café, Queen etc. filmmakers are not shy
to try and get to the real art of cinema and film making. There is innovation in the director‘s
vision, actors‘ choices, songs, dance, cinematography, costumes etc. This new face of Bollywood
that is emerging is very important inorder to be an excellent tool of communication and
expression.
THE FILM MAKING HIERARCHY
Making a film involves few major stages like content or development, production, direction and
release which is more like running a business. The entire process of film making is divided into
segments and the professionals are appointed in a hierarchical format for the smooth functioning
of all the operations and tasks.
Film production comprised of intricate processes like balance aesthetic, financial and
organizational needs. Making or shooting of the film is carried out at various places depending
upon the demand of the story and it takes months and years to accomplish the film project. Film
jobs hierarchy helps to make the film making process quite easy.
Film making involves different stages which are as follows:

Development:
This is the initial stage of film making in which idea of the story is written. After
selecting and writing the film story, the writer and the producers brainstorm on the
characters of the film and the main plot it is circling. This stage is purely a trial and error
phase which could last till infinity. As this is the base of the film, the producer needs to
be convinced that he can build his film on this single idea and brief.

Pre-production:
After the first stage the next step is to make the film in a well-designed and planned
manner. Director visualizes the film with the illustration and script of the film. The
producer of the film presents his budget and expenditure and finalizes it with the director.
Director is responsible for the casting of the actors which will fit in the particular
characters. After confirming the actors, unit production manager manages the final
budget and fix the schedule with the actors and directors.

Production:
In this stage shooting of the film starts with the help of actors and crew members. The
crew is divided into number of teams and each team has an HOD (head of department).
Various teams of the crew include:
 Direction team which consists of associate director, first assistant director (first ad),
second ad, third ad, costume ad etc.
 Director of photography (DOP) with his team
 Costume team which consists of head stylist, assistants, dress dadas etc.
 Art/ setting team
 Lighting team
 Sound team
 Stills & making team
 Spot team

Post production:
This part of filmmaking involves editing of the scenes and sounds. Sound tracks and
songs are added in this stage. Dubbing of any kind takes place in this stage.

Distribution:
This is the final stage for the completion of the film in which film is released in the
cinemas and multiplexes. The people involved in this process are distributors, area
managers, box office managers. A lot of marketing and promotional activities take place
before distributing the film in theatres.
COSTUMES & CHARACTERS
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress
of a particular people, class, or period. When we talk about costumes, it hasthree P‟sattached to
it.
•People
•Place
•Period
Every character or actor has certain personality and individuality. Getting that personality across
on screen could be very tricky. If the right costume is presented before the audiences, the person
can become that character and is no longer who he was in real life. He is believed to be this
completely new person who he claims to be. For example, today when we think of Batman, we
cannot picture him in a sweater vest with chino pants. We only think of him in his black robes
and cape. Similarly when taking about James Bond, a crisp, tailored Tom Ford suit is inevitable.
One of the more prominent places people see costumes is in theatre, film and on television.
Television has a completely set of different norms that are followed when it comes to costuming
as compared to films. Costumes also differ depending upon the geographical range of the film or
show. For example, in the movie Queen, KanganaRanaut‘s transition from a conservative Lajpat
Nagar girl in Delhi to a free spirited woman in Paris and Amsterdam is potrayed brilliantly
through her costumes by stylists Rushi Sharma and ManoshiNath.
In combination with other aspects, theatrical costumes help actors portray characters' age, gender
role, profession, social class, personality, and even information about the historical period/era,
geographic location and time of day, as well as the season or weather of the theatrical
performance.
COSTUME DESIGN & ITS IMPORTANCE: HOLLYWOOD
There have been tremendous research works done in Hollywood on the role of Costumes asan
important part in portrayal of a character. Previously, costumes were theresponsibilities of the
director and actor until 1920s. Later, with the formation of large studiosin Hollywood, costume
design became a specialized task. Studios began to maintain large costume departments with
skilled staff that worked exclusively on costume pictures. By the end of the decade, every studio
had its own costume department and designers on board.
COSTUME DESIGN & ITS IMPORTANCE: BOLLYWOOD
Even in the silent era, filmmakers paid close attention to costumes of every character. The
attention to finery scaled up when cinema turned coloured from black-and-white.
Exclusive and intricately designed costumes have today become one of the key aspects of
making a film click at the box office. The look of an actor has to be appealing as it is one of the
reasons to help pull the crowd. Importance has always been there on costumes as there is no look
without costume designers.
An early trendsetter in fashion was Bollywood (Hindi cinema), where costume designers started
experimenting with film fashion in the 1960s. Though period costumes in Sahib BibiAur
Ghulam (1962)
and Amrapali (1966)
were
considered
finest,
varied
trends
through TeesriManzil (1966), ChalteChalte (1976),Karz (1980)
and Chandni (1989)
were
becoming immensely appreciated. These were soon followed by the mass market. Also situations
and themes in Indian cinema became westernised making way for the display of diverse fashion.
Over the years, popular Bollywood trends have been the Madhubala's Anarkali-look with kurtas
and churidars in Mughal-e-Azam (1960), purple embroidered sari worn by Madhuri
Dixit in Hum
AapkeHainKoun...! (1994),
to Rani
Mukherji's
short
kurti-suits
in BuntyAurBabli (2005),Veer Zaara suits and blouses from Parineeta. This comes besides
various fashion interpretation of the sari in films like Chandni (1989) with Sridevi, Main
HoonNaa (2004) with Sushmita Sen and Dostana (2008) with Priyanka Chopra, which became
fashion trends.
Thus, costume design is one of the most important factors in the filmmaking industry. Along
with the script, actors and music, the clothing and various costumes worn throughout a film have
a very important role to fulfill. They can make the characters interesting and believable, sad or
funny, good or evil, and they can greatly influence-sometimes at a subconscious level-how the
audience sees the characters that wear them.
The clothes worn by a character reveal to the viewer what his or her role is in the film. This
could be either central, expressed by a unique costume with powerful colors and sparkling
accessories, or as part of the background with a less varying costume worn by multiple
characters, such as stage dancers.
Costume design remains one of the most misunderstood and underappreciated filmmaking arts.
Far in excess of merely ‗dressing‘ an actor for their role, costume design is discourse. A film can
be read via costume; sometimes overtly, sometimes subtextually. Not just conspicuous sci-fi or
period, but contemporary stories set within a familiar world in familiar attire. On screen even the
most rudimentary item of clothing can take on meaning.
Costume design need not be subtle. Particularly in science fiction, oftentimes clothing is used as
visual iconography that speaks to the audience, though without breaking the fourth wall. When a
world is unfamiliar or at the behest of its own rules and backstory, dress can ‗fill in the blanks‘ as
it were.
Sci Fi films and their innovative costuming
Costume thus is an essential element of the overall design of a film. Working within the
director‘s vision for the film, costume designers try to replicate clothing by investigating the
dress and fashion of the time, or historical period, and essentially dress actors to look (or more
fully become) their characters. A costume can be tailor made, purchased, or rented. In the earliest
days of cinema, actors wore their own clothing, but this would change with the advent of featurelength narrative films. The costume designer soon became an important part of the production
design team. During the studio era in Hollywood, the costume designer helped to establish a
symbiotic relationship with the fashion world, and helped to galvanize cinema‘s influence on
fashion trends and interest around the world. Costume design research can be challenging.
During the silent era, there were no screen credits. In the United States, by the 1950s, the studios
disposed of many of the records related to costume design. Preservation of film and related
documents was not much better elsewhere in the world. Beginning in the 1970s, several
interesting histories of Hollywood helped to define the work of the costume designer and the
importance of costume to the film. Much less has been written on costume design in the
international film world.
In the last several decades, scholarly discussion of costume and fashion in relation to film has
emerged from multiple disciplines, including the study of costume, fashion and dress, gender and
feminist theories, cultural studies, and the longer history of the study of clothing and material
culture.
COSTUME STYLISTS: THEN AND NOW
Bhanu R Athaiya
Bhanu R Athaiyabegan her career in costume design in 1953. Over the next 56 years, she built an
extraordinary body of work that defined the aesthetics of costume design in Hindi Cinema. She
was the first Indian to be awarded the Oscar for her work in Lord Richard Attenboroug‘s Gandhi.
She has also received many other accolades for her work in costume design. In her recently
released book, ―The Art of CostumeDesign‖, she shared her eventful journey and experiences of
designing the costumes in the Indian films like Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961), Satyam
ShivamSundaram (1978), Lagaan ( 2001) and Swades (2004) etc.
Bhanu R Athaiya
The Art of
CostumeDesign
by BhanuAthaiya
Ben Kingsley‘s
movie Gandhi
Oscar nominated
film Lagaan
Today, fashion is not just limited to designing and then getting into industry or showcasing ones
collection on the ramp. Fashion designers have explored new areas of proving their talent and
making a niche market. This one such field is a stylist. Gone are the days when a stylist was just
a helper to some designer for creating a look. Today, a stylist is the person who is responsible for
creating a look for either an individual or a model with clothing and accessories to make a
statement. Fashion stylist is a much talked about term these days. Conventionally, a stylist works
on a commercial, fashion show or magazine shoot but today, with appearance being key in so
many organizations, fashion stylist often works for individual clients creating their own unique
style.
Manish Malhotra
He revolutionized costume designing and introduced the concept of styling in Bollywood after
his first film as a designer for Juhi Chawla starrer Swarg over two decades ago.The designer
made his inroads with Bollywood and became one of the most recognized names in the fashion
industry globally. Manish clearly marked his foothold in the fashion industry by winning the first
Filmfare Costume Award for the film Rangeela.Across 25 years of his career Manish has
received over 35 awards and designed looks for over 1000 films.
He has been felicitated by National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi; with the Rajiv
Gandhi Award by the Mumbai Pradesh Youth Congress 2002 and the Indo American Society for
his contribution to fashion design. Bollywood also bestowed Manish with many awards and
acclaims for creating magic with his costumes, his distinct style and his ability to envision a look
for the character in films like Rangeela, Raja Hindustani, DilTohPagal Hai, KuchKuchHota Hai,
Mohabbatein, KabhiKhushiKabhiGham and many more.Manish went on to become the most
sought after Bollywood designer and has dressed the most glamorous women in the industry like
Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Karisma Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherji,
AishwaryaRaiBachchan, PreityZinta and many more.
Manish Malhotra
Most famous costume
from the movie
Rangeela
College looks that became
popular after
KuchKuchHota Hai
Neeta Lulla
The four time National Award winning Costume designer Neeta Lulla has given Bollywood
industry the remarkable films in terms of grandeur costumes. Then be it Jodha Akbar, Kisna,
Devdas or a regional film Balgandharva, the designer is known for her high Indo-western fashion
sensibilities and impeccable craftsmanship‘s that she cleverly uses in her films. The designer also
boasts of huge celeb clienteles and list of over 350 bollywood films that include Chandni,
Lamhe, KhudaGawah, Khalnayak, Taal, Hum Dil De ChukeSanam, Hum Hai RahiPyaarKe,
Darr, Mission Kashmir, Devdas, Jodha Akbar, and Balgandharva among many others.
Neeta Lulla
AishwariyaRai in
Jodhabai‘sJodhpuri attire
for Jodha Akbar
HrithikRoshan in Akbar‘s
Mughal attire for Jodha
Akbar
Anaita Shroff Adajania
The Fashion Director for Vogue India, Anaita has been noted for her design work on several
Bollywood films including Dhoom 2, Being Cyrus, Everybody Says I'm Fine!, Love AajKal and
Cocktail. She was awarded a series of industry accolades including the coveted ‗Best Fashion
Stylist of the Year‘ at the IIFAs in 2005 and 2006. Adajania has also been recognised as the most
stylish Bollywood designer at the MTV Lycra Awards in 2007 and for ‗Best Costume Design‘ in
2007 and 2010 by the IIFA.
AnaitaShroff
Adajania
Anaita‘s styling for Dhoom 2, Cocktail and Bang Bang
NataschaCharak Nikita Mohanty
While Nikita has earlier styled for movies like English Vinglish (secondary costumes), TV
shows
including KhotteySikke and Seven and
assisted
on JhoomBarabarJhoom and YehSaaliZindagi, Natascha is known for films like ChandniChowk
to China, Salaam-E-Ishq, English Vinglish (She styled Sridevi for the New York portions of the
film) and so on.
Together they styled secondary costumes for Dharma Productions‘ 2 States, Humpty Sharma Ki
Dulhania etc.
They have also styled various ad films together. I have been assisting them on ads such as Berger
Paint Commercial and the soon to be released Amitabh Bachchan and Chef Sanjeev Kapoor ad
of Daawat Rice.
Berger Paints Commercial
Daawat Rice Commercial directed by GauriShinde
Primary And Secondary Styling
Film styling in Bollywood comprises of not only selection of clothes per actor but also showing a
gradual connection between all the character dressing and the plot of the story. It is impossible
for a costume stylist to dress the entire cast and crew of the film. Also, the budget of the lead cast
definitely varies from that of the other cast. Thus, in order to make things simpler for the
production and the costume stylist, the cast of a film is divided into primary and secondary
costumes. Primary cast consists of the lead actors in the film and secondary comprises of
everyone else who is a part of the film right from a supporting actor to an extra seen on screen. It
is upto the production‘s discretion to divide its cast as per primary or secondary styling. It is
usually based on how big a role he/she has in the film, the stardom of the celebrity or actor and
the kind of stylists the production has hired. In most cases, the primary cast is styled by a
separate costume stylist, whereas the secondary styling is done by another person. The costume
brief of each character thus varies as per it being primary or secondary. Secondary styling could
also at times consist of some of the lead cast, i.e. in the case of Akira lead being Amit Sadh and
AnuragKashyap.
In case of primary styling, the stylist requires styling of just one or two persons, as in case of
Akira it being Sonakshi Sinha who is being styled by SakshiMehra. For a primary character as
there are no budget constraints, the nature of costumes is obviously more vivacious and exciting
as the cast is a part of the main movie.
For secondary styling, as the number of characters is much higher, not every outfit is designer or
branded. For all the important characters in the film and also depending on their character sketch,
the clothes are made or purchased. Clothes can be picked up from designers to high street brands
to local shops. A lot of secondary characters include extras which are seen only from a fraction
of a second on screen or amongst a crowd of hundred people. The stylist in this case need not
style them individually. A brief is sent out to the extras‘ (junior actors‘) co-ordinators and they
are asked to carry their own options.
Sometimes, a secondary stylist does purchase clothes and accessories for the extras and
background artists but this usually happens in bulk. Clothes are usually rented from rentals such
as Patel Dresswala or Gem Dresswala or bought off in bulk from markets like Fashion Street,
Hill Road, Linking Road, Colaba Causeway etc.
PRODUCTION GODOWN & PETIS
Bollywood stars break into a song on screen, crooning atop snow-capped mountains, flowing
valleys and exotic flower beds or, gyrating in different costumes every nanosecond. By the time
the last shot of the film is taken, there are stacks of clothes left behind. Some may be garish,
others outlandish and some wearable off screen as well, but most make their way to the
production house‘s trunks, or petis in Bollywood parlance. They are stacked and rehashed for the
production house‘s future projects. Sometimes, when celebrity designers are styling for the lead
stars, the outfits go with the designer. It all comes under the production costs incurred for a film.
Fox Star‘s godown is present in Goregaon West in Mumbai. It stacks clothes of its previous
films such as Bang Bang and Dum Maro Dum.
CHAPTER 2
MOVIE BACKGROUND
About Mouna Guru
Mouna Guru is a 2011 Tamil thriller film directed by Santha Kumar and produced by M. K.
Thamizharasu. The film featured Arulnithi and Iniya in the lead roles. Mouna guru illustrates a
misunderstood college youth becomes unwittingly involved in a crime plot that spirals his life
out of order. The film has already been remade in Kannada as Guru (2012) and in Telugu
as Sankara (2015).The film opened on December 16, 2011 across Tamil Nadu to positive
reviews from critics.
Plot
College goer Karunakaran (Arulnithi) always finds it difficult to adjust with the society that he
lives. As a result he is unable to control his anger and often ends up with some trouble. His
unpredictable behaviour becomes a constant worry for his mother and brother. A series of
incidents forces him to leave his home town Madurai and as usual ends up in Chennai. Despite
scoring high marks in school, he joins a local arts college in the city and stays in hostel from
where the trouble begins. Now there is another story which goes parallel. While traveling from
Bangalore a group of cops witness a car accident. When they are about to take the victim to a
nearby hospital, they comes across a huge stash of cash. The policemen kill the victim and flee to
Chennai with the money. A cluster of lies, ego clash at the hostel and family's ignorance brings
innocent Karunakaran into this crime plot. The rest is a racy roller-coaster ride that forms the
climax.
About Akira
Akira, which means graceful strength in Sanskrit, is a remake of Tamil
film Mouna Guru. The film is being directed by the legendary director
A.R.Murugadoss who has given blockbusters like Kaththi, Thuppaki and
Dheena in South whereas Ghajini and Holiday in Bollywood.
The plot of the movie remains the same however; the lead role of Akira is
being played by Sonakshi Sinha. The entire film is thus women oriented and talks about safety
and security of women and women empowerment. It shows how women of today are able to
defend themselves when the entire society is either against them or is out to attack them.
Sonakshi plays the lead role of a small town girl, Akira, who moves to Bombay who has a brave
heart and no tolerance for injustice. The male protagonist is being played by well-known
director, writer and producer and debut actor AnuragKashyap. Anurag plays a villain in the film,
GovindRane, who is an Assistant Commissioner of Police who is corrupt and unjust. The movie
is about how an incident puts innocent Akira and corrupt Rane in a dark situation where the latter
wants the former dead.
Other characters in the film include Amit Sadh who plays Akira‘s love interest, Konkana Sen
Sharma who plays an honest inspector, SmitaJaikar as Akira‘s mother and a friendly appearance
by Shatrugan Sinha as Akira‘s father.
The film is being shot majorly in Mumbai but places like Pune, Dehradhun and Hrishikesh are
also being considered.
A.R.Murugadoss
Sonakshi Sinha
Akira
AnuragKashyap
ACP GovindRane
Amit Sadh
Siddharth
Konkana Sen Sharma
Inspector Rabia
About Fox Star
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation also known as 20th Century
Fox, 20th Century Fox Pictures, 20th, or simply Fox (20CFFC)-is an
American film studio, distributor and one of the six major American film
studios. Located in the Century City area of Los Angeles, just west
of Beverly Hills, the studio used to be a subsidiary of News Corporation, but
is now a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox.
20th Century Fox has distributed famous film series, including Avatar, the first two Star
Wars trilogies, Ice Age, Power Rangers, X-Men, Die Hard, Planet of the Apes, Night at the
Museum, Taken, Fantastic Four, Alien, Predator, Alvin and the Chipmunks. Television series
produced by Fox include The Simpsons, Family Guy, The X-Files, Bones, How I Met Your
Mother, Glee, Modern Family, New Girl, and 24.
Fox Star Studios - India
Fox Star Studios was founded in 2008 in India. The CEO to date is Vijay Singh. Shashanka
Ghosh‘s Quick Gun Murugun was the first Bollywood venture for Fox Star Studios as a
distributor. Soon it produced big budget films like My Name Is Khan, Jolly LLB, Finding Fanny
and the big budgeted Bang Bang!
CHAPTER 3
PROJECT – COSTUME STYLING FOR AKIRA
Film styling and costumes can be a very intricate, lengthy and a rigorous process. The brief given
by the director is subject to change at any given moment due to change in script, budget
constraints by production, last minute additions etc. There is a simple process that is followed for
costumes wherein inorder to avoid damages i.e. wastages of costumes, approval is taken at every
level from both the direction and production teams.
The process of styling for a film goes through the following stages:
COSTUME
BREAKDOWNS
SCRIPT
READING
SOURCING
FOR FILM
LOOK TEST/
TRIALS
PREPARATION
OF BUDGET
FILM STYLING
PREPARING
LOOK BOOKS
MEASUREMENTS
SOURCING
FOR LOOK
TESTS
1. Script Reading:
Every creative department like art, costume, stills, making etc. in the film is given the
script for proper understanding of the plot of the film. For Akira, in addition to the script,
we were made to watch the original movie Mouna Guru movie for more clear
understanding.
2. Costume Breakdowns:
Once the script is final,the stylist needs to review costume plots to check whether any
costume doubles are required, and to work out if the number of costume changes is
possible. The stylist needs to look at how many wardrobe items need to be made,
purchased or hired, and work out how many staff is needed under her team. Each
character‘s breakdown is made by reading the script simultaneously to know the exact
number of changes and those costumes in continuity.
A breakdown contains:
 Scene numbers: A scene number is given to each scene with the intention of easy
identification. The scene is sometimes set inside (interior) or outside (exterior).
The abbreviations INT. and EXT. are used. A period always follows each
abbreviation. Sometimes the action may move from interior to exterior several
times within a scene. In the interest of brevity, the writer may choose to use
INT./EXT. or EXT./INT.
Scene numbers are also related to the time of the scene. Day or Night are
normally used, but Dusk, Dawn, Late Night, Early Morning and others can be
used if necessary. For example, if a particular scene requires a sunrise, Dawn can
be used.
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Description: Each breakdown contains a one line description of what the scene is
for more clarity than just a mere scene number. It takes the concerned person back
to the script and gives a gist of the scene.
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Location: It states the location the shot needs to be shot at in the film.
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Primary Character: This places emphases on who is the primary character in the
breakdown is
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Costume number: Costume number is to manage the continuity of the same
costumes and to number each look in the film.
Costume breakdown for Amit Sadh (Siddharth), comprising of
total 14 changes plus 11 changes in song
3. Preparation of Budgets:
Once costume breakdowns are final, a stylist needs to prepare a budget for every
character based on number of changes and number of scenes he has. Cost needs to be
considered on whether or not the costume requires a ―dupe‖ or duplicate in case of action
sequences. The budget once made by the stylist is passed on to the production head for
approval. Every character small or big needs to be budgeted for. There has to be a
separate budget for all the extras and background junior artists.
4. Preparing Look Books/ Mood Boards:
Every character has a certain personality or trait to it. This personality reflected through
the actors costume along with his hair and makeup. To put across to the director what the
style and personality of the character would be in line with the story of the film, look
books are prepared. The lookbook could either be a PowerPoint presentation or a PDF
file. The entire character sketch is seen through the look book presentation. It includes
references of costumes, accessories, hair and makeup all given by the costume stylists.
Look books need to be made keeping the script in mind as the choice of costume for a
character also depends on the scene he is in. These look books are approved by the
director and changes if any are made immediately. For Akira, secondary costumes
required making about fifteen look books.
Look book of character Nikki who is a college brat and rebel
Look book of Akira‘s mother who is from Rajasthan
Mood boards for Siddharth, Akira‘s love interest and Young Akira
5. Sourcing for Look Test:
A look test is dummy photo/ video shoot for a film usually to check the look of the
character. It also is done to usually shortlist some of the cast by seeing their getup and
compatibility with their co-actors. For a look test, the most important costumes in the
film are tried on the actor and shot. For e.g. In Akira, for AnuragKashyap a police
uniform was one of the costumes that was tried on for the look test. The stylist thus needs
to arrange clothes any by the following ways: Source clothes from brands on approval – The stylist needs to send out sourcing request
to the designers or brand PRs. Maintaining email address and phone numbers is a very
important task for the stylist. Also constant networking with newer designers is also
essential. The sourcing request should be sent via email followed by a call or text
message. Details of the shoot should be mentioned very clearly in the mail including
return date of the garments. Once certain clothes are approved only those clothes are
purchased and the rest returned to the stores.
Sourcing is when you look for designers, stores, showrooms, and any other place you can
borrow clothes, accessories, or shoes to dress your clients. Most movie promotions get
good coverage in the media in the form of magazines, newspapers, fashion blogs,
television channels etc. Thus brands or designers allow stylists to borrow clothes free of
cost for styling celebrities. The stylist may need to visit the store to make selections or
request for pieces by scanning the lookbook. This process of borrowing merchandise
from stores is known as sourcing. A stylist must always visit the store with a company
sourcing letter.
A challan acts as a gate pass for the
stylist while sourcing at a store. It is
also a record keeping document for the
store as it contains the product codes
of the sourced garments.
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Purchase clothes directly – Basics like round neck tshirts, jeans, nightwear, accessories
etc. are directly purchased from stores
Tailored clothes – Certain clothes need to be tailor made which are given to the stylist‘s
tailors.
Peti clothes – Some clothes are also pulled out from the petis if there are fewer options
available and if it is a great find.
6. Look Test/ Trials:
Various outfits are thrown together with accessories to create a new look for the
character. The looks should not only be in trend and versatile but should also please the
client or celebrity and most importantly fit the brief and directors vision. For this reason,
fittings are most essential in fashion. Fittings ensure not only proper sizing of garments
but also help the stylist in seeing how the garment looks on his or her client.
Along with costume, even hair and makeup is tested. A look test is usually done in a big
studio with proper lighting equipment. Certain dialogues and scenes are made to be acted.
The entire crew is present for the look test. A smaller version of the look test is a trail.
Trails are usually done in the actors‘ homes and only done in presence of the costume
stylist. A look test thus helps the team to understand the exact content the stylist was
portraying through her look book. A stylist on the other hand gets clarity on what works
on the actor in terms of colors, silhouettes, fabrics based on his or her skin tone, built and
direction‘s choice.
7. Sourcing for the film:
As the stylist gets a clearer picture after a look test, the film shopping begins. Shopping
for a film includes shopping at high street malls, to roadside shopping and also to the
sourcing from luxury brands and national and international designers. However, every
garment should be bought keeping in mind the budget and the costume breakdown.
For Akira, we sourced from the following brands/ markets
High Street Brands
(Amit Sadh,
AnuragKashyap)
Boutiques, Local Shops
Tailors, Printers, Dyers
Zara
Glanz Fabrics
Swastik Creations
Marks &Spencers
Check up – Hill Road
Fashion Creations – Ashfak
Master
Jack & Jones
Shanon – Hill Road
Bodyline – Farheed Master
The Denim Story
Reliance Trends
Gas
Westside
Shoib Master
Palav Brothers – Police
Uniforms
Super Dry
FBB
Gem Dresswala (for rentals)
Quick Silver
Aura – Pali Hill
Patel Rentals
Steve Madden
Hues – Pali Hill
Cotton World
H20 – Pali Naka
Fab India
Colaba Causeway
On Set Styling
On a film set, a fashion stylist is responsible for every shot taken by the director and every frame
his/her actors are in. The clothes, jewellery, shoes and any other accessories need to be removed
from the petis prior to the artist‘s call time and neatly ironed. These are then sent to the artist‘s
vanity. A stylist needs to be present each time the artist gets ready in order to make sure the
garment is worn properly and if needed the continuity is maintained. There is always a time
crunch for hair, makeup and costume, hence the stylist needs to step up and minimize time. Once
on set, the stylist needs to check each frame behind the monitor to see for any errors or
untidiness of the garments.
There are times when last minute requirements arise on set which were not anticipated before. In
such cases a stylistneeds to know how and where to find places for to meet requirements. The
time available to get things is limited as the shoot is ongoing, thus the stylist needs to quickly
find out vendors/suppliers or alternatives from where she can source no matter what location the
shoot is taking place.
After packup, the stylist needs to be present to make sure all the used clothes are taken in for
laundry and the accessories are kept back. In case of continuity, she must ensure separate packets
are made with names of the location and scene numbers.
On day styling thus requires the stylist to be on her feet throughout the day. The stylist must be
very attentive and alert.
If the stylist is styling a shoot, it is essential to carry a Styling Kit. The styling kit is an integral
part of a fashion stylist. The kit contains basic items such as:
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Measuring Tape
Scissors
Needle and thread
Nipple Tape
Safety pins
Buttons
Clamps
Cello tape
The Styling Team
Costuming is Hindi film is fragmented process as Hindi films are made in heterogeneous mode
as compared to Hollywood films. The costumes are developed in parallel to other filmic
components. The single costume designer is very rare; rather the stars retain their own personal
designer or stylist for their films. There may also me separate dance dress designer. This kind of
hierarchy may be controlled only by directors who wish to hire designers.
Each stylist has her team which comprises of assistant stylists, interns and dressmen or ―dress
dadas‖. Assistant stylists help in prepping like making look books, look tests, sourcing, garment
making, costume breakdowns and budgeting. Interns can be given the work of sourcing, returns
and preparing look books.
Thus the Styling team consists of:
Fashion Stylist
Assistant Stylists
Styling Interns
Dressmen/
Dadas
Dress Dadas/ Dressmen
Costume production in Hindi film is embedded in a social world of independent tailors
andmenswear shops, designers, stylists and theatrical supply shops. Positioned between set
andsource are workers known as ―dressmen‖ who take care of costumes.
The chief sources for ready-to-wear film costumes have historically been dresswalas, each with
their own tailoring staff, that keep on hand a large stock of items of costumes. Their
responsibilities are taking care of the clothes used in a production from beginning to the end of
the shooting, keeping them safe, cleaned, repaired and ready tobe used as required in the
shooting. They also fetch clothes and materials to the set fromvarious sources like laundry men,
jewelers, rentals and tailorsetc. The dressmen are invariably men. They work on contractual
basis, often working on four to five films together. This ensures regular flow of money and
allows them to widen their professional connections. Recruitment indressmen‘s line is not
organized rather it is throughfamily relationships and contacts. The training for a dressmenis
more like ―situated learning a highly characteristic of informal work situations.
Character & Costume Sketches
Each character has a certain personality or mood which is reflected in his or her costume.This
personality can be reflected through the clothes in terms of colour, texture, fabric, detailing etc. It
can also be depicted from the accessories, hair make up and obviously the posture and acting.
AnuragKashyap – ACP GovindRane:
He plays a negative character in the movie, someone who is very cruel, corrupt and selfish. Since
it is his acting debut, we needed to give him a look that would be registered with the masses and
something relatable to that of a Maharashtrian cop. The colour palate for Anurag is primarily
dark colours like blacks, greys, navy blues, olive greens and khakis. Majorly the fabrics used are
linen and cotton. In terms of silhouettes, we have stuck to basic full sleeves shirts rolled up with
mostly cop khaki pants and cop shoes. The accessories used for him are a few but also are
established throughout the film. We have given him a ear magnet, a pendant chain, stone rings,
kada and a watch throughout.
Colour Palette
Style References & Accessories
For Anurag, costumes were purchased from Zara, Jack & Jones, Marks &Spencers, Keneth Cole,
West Side, Cottons World, KhadhiBandhaar, etc. His accessories were bought from Als in
Bandra. To keep his character as real as possible, his police uniform was made from the person
who actually makes real police uniforms in Mumbai called Paval and Sons. All the original trims
on the uniform such as badges, name tag, police hat, whistle, stars, etc. were sourced from Palav.
Amit Sadh – Siddharth:
Amit plays a martial arts teacher and a NGO worker. He is someone who is full of life, cheerful
and has a positive outlook towards life. The colours used for him are thus pastels like peach,
pink, powder blue, yellows etc. There are a lot of prints that are used for his look making him
look younger and interesting. As he is into martial arts, we have kept his look slightly sporty as
well by giving him high tops or sneakers constantly along with joggers.
Pastel Colour Palette
Type of Prints
Style References & Accessories
For Amit, most the purchases were from brands like Zara, Superdry, Quicksilver, Gas, Jack &
Jones, United Colours of Benetton, Guess, etc. We also purchased clothes and accessories from
Asos Europe to get more variety. He went through a makeover in terms of his hair style from B
Blunt for which we were present.
His NGO uniform which would also be worn by his other NGO co-workers was to be designed
by us. We had to come up with a logo for his NGO titled – Raindrops.
After referencing and various trials, this logo created by us was approved by the director.
The tshirt we decided to go for was raglan sleeves with red and white as the primary colours.
Logo for Raindrops
Foundation
Raglan sleeves NGO
Tshirt
Teena Singh – Nikki
Niki is a college rebel and someone who is upto something all the time. She is Sonakshi‘s rival
in the film. Her character is meant to be rebellious and dark, so the colours that work for her are
naturally blacks, greys, maroons and blues. We have added onto her look by adding tattoos. She
will be seen wearing a lot cut out tops, ripped jeans, studded jackets etc.
Shatrugan Sinha – Akira Father
Akira‘s father hails from Rajasthan. He plays a man who is thirty years old and hence his styling
requires aging him down. His schedule in the movie begins from June, thus we haven‘t made his
costumes yet. But the fabrics used for him will be authentic Rajasthani and will have colour and
texture to make him look younger.
He is a school teacher teaching the deaf and the dumb, thus his costume is simple and his look is
neat and well kept.
References for Father
Konkana Sen Sharma - Inspector Rabia
Konkana plays the role of an inspector who is honest and grounded. She is also the one
investigating the case that leads to the climax of the film. She is someone who is confident,
fearless yet within her limits.
The colour palette for her was very muted with mostly beiges, creams, off whites and softer
colours. Fabrics used for her were mostly cotton based.
Management & Costumes
This field is considered to be more creative compared to the retail planning and
merchandising. However, film making and costumes require application of certain
management skills which enhance the process of costuming.
The following are the areas where proper planning and management is required:

Sourcing:
Just like retail sourcing for a company, costuming requires getting the best suppliers
and vendors at the lowest possible prices. It involves having and maintaining a steady
and reliable database of vendors and their details. Sourcing also requires developing
and maintaining good relations. It also requires a lot of negotiations among stylists
and vendors.

Peti segregation and maintaining inventory:
Stylists buy costumes in bulk and later on pass it on to the dress dadas at the
godowns. This costume needs to be put in proper petis of the character in order to
avoid hassle on the set. Also, each costume entered into the peti needs to be audited
and coded for inventory management. After every film, the costume department
needs to present a file which has every costume entered along with the peti name and
costume name. The peti name is usually a code name for the character and the peti
number. For example if AnuragKashyap‘s character has two petis, then the first peti
name will be AK-GR-1 (artist initials, character initials, peti number). The inventory
will be entered in the similar fashion in the inventory book. At the end of the film this
inventory manual will be tallied and stocked into the godown for future projects.
The inventory manual consists of the following:
Serial number

Peti Number
Inventory
Numner
Brand
Networking with artists, brands and designers:
Styling requires networking with artists, brands and designers and getting them on
board to share their merchandise and garments for styling the actors. This can be done
only when there is collaboration or branding in the film. Though the process is taken
up by the marketing team, the styling team is responsible to search and shortlist
brands for collaborations when it comes to costumes. Many a times a brand might be
asked to personalize something new entirely for the film. In such a case the stylist
needs to monitor and process the request of the actor or director and also add her
creative input into the making of the garment or accessory. This involves having
amicable relationships with national and international brands and the mutual feeling
of trust.
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Budgeting:
Every production house has a budget and every stylist needs to stick to that budget. A
stylist needs to see how much of money is being processed by the production at the
time and what is the immediate requirement given by the direction team. The stylist
needs to prioritize between what is more important at the moment in the given
resources and go forward with her purchasing accordingly. The amount of cash
released by the production at a given cycle is of great value, hence keeping a track of
where how much money is being spent is extremely important.

Accounting:
Every month, the stylist needs to submit accounts and bills for all the purchases,
conveyance and food expenses incurred while shopping. The closing balance of
accounting at the end has to match the opening balance and if any balance in hand is
shown, that money should be present with the stylist at the end of the month and
carried forward to the next. Accounting is very important as it tells the production
where the money is going. Accounting top sheet is supported by original bills and
also their copies. The top sheet has a certain format that needs to be followed:
Suggestions For Costuming& Styling:

Creation of a portal for stylists, designers, brands:
When it comes to sourcing, every stylist requires getting in touch with brands or
designers and asking for lookbooks, images of recent collections. The brand or
designer then forwards these images by email which then the stylist shortlists and
emails back again to the designers with the details of the requirements. Then the
designer or brand processes the request and sourcing begins. An official sourcing
email needs to be written by the stylist to get permission for sourcing. This entire
process can be minimized by having all the three elements aligned together. A system
can be developed where all the brands and designers can register and display their
garments and accessories to source. The stylists can enter the website, view and
choose the merchandise and place sourcing requests. This entire process will reduce
the time for sourcing as there will not be any correspondent back and forth. The
designers and brands can verify the stylists by glancing through their profiles on the
system and vice versa. This would definitely reduce the time lags and fasten the
process of sourcing.
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Full time stylists in production houses:
The production house hires stylists on a contractual basis. These stylists are under
contract till the film is being produced. The stylists then move on to newer production
houses. Every stylist has a certain way of working which is different from the
production house she works with. Having an in house stylist can be very helpful for
the production house in terms of various aspects. The stylist and production house
could be in sink for every project and adapt to each other‘s‘ way of working.
CHAPTER 4
OTHER PROJECTS
Alia Bhatt for Awards 2015
In January 2015, the season of Bollywood awards, I assisted stylist RadhikaMehra in styling Alia
Bhatt for Star Guild Awards and Life Ok Screen Awards. This assignment was ongoing for about
two weeks which involved two days of the awards night. For these awards we sourced from
designers based in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. Designers
Star Guild Awards
The Star Guild Awards (previously known as the Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild
Award) is an accolade given by the Apsara Producers Guild to recognize excellence
in Indian film and television. The 22-karat gold statuette was sculpted and designed by
the jewellery brand Tanishq and was "inspired by the rich heritage of one of India's most
treasured possessions - the Ajanta and Ellora Caves. The 10th Star Guild Awards was held on
18th January.
Alia wore an indigo blue cutout PrabalGurung gown. She was also wearing Christian Loubutin
heels and Ishariya Jewellery. She was seen in a different and fresh hairdo where she went
complete poker straight adding a dramatic element to her look. Alia also won the Most Stylish
Youth Icon award that night.
Life Ok Screen Awards
The Screen Awards, (previously named Star Screen Awards), is an annual awards ceremony held
in India honoring professional excellence in the Bollywood Film Industry. Several editions of the
awards such as the "Screen Weekly Awards", "Screen Videocon Awards", "Star Screen
Awards", "Colors Screen Awards" and "Life OK Screen Awards" have thus far been presented.
The 21st Life OK Screen Awards awards were hosted by Shah Rukh Khan.
Alia wore a PrabalGurung slit gown yet again with Jimmy Choo sandals and wreath from
Ishariya. Alia won the award for Best Hero Female and performed an act with Shah Rukh Khan.
The responsibility for styling a celebrity for an Award Function was an experience in itself.
There are number of things happening on the awards night. The celebrity goes through red carpet
appearances, presents or collects awards on stage and also has a completely new performance on
stage.
Managing a celebrity wardrobe for awards is often considered a task the reason being, all the
clothes that need to be handled are in fact designer. Designer clothing is extremely difficult to
handle and manage. It takes a lot of time and precision to get a garment fitted to the celebrity‘s
body and it is often a challenge for onset tailors to do the same. There is also the added pressure
if the celebrity can carry of the couture gowns comfortably and look effortless in them. The red
carpet is awaiting the celebrity‘s entry and the paparazzi today are heartless. Any wrong move or
twist and turn and completely destroy the outfit and the celebrity‘s picture. The stylist thus needs
to ensure that the garment is properly singed and ensure that there is no malfunction.
LEARNING OUTCOME
Through this project, I was exposed to the industry in ways I had never been before. Every
day was a unique learning experience. Over the period of four months, I also was able to
identify my strengths and weaknesses. This project also exposed me to various new
designers, some of whom I was not aware. It also taught me negotiations, networking,
working with deadlines and team work.
Under the mentorship of Natascha, I was able to understand how important professionalism
is in any field. She gave me the opportunity to assist her in styling for Akira which opened
new avenues for me. They say it is not easy getting into the industry. I was lucky to have
gotthis opportunity and to work with such brilliant people through whom I have learnt so
much.
The importance of proper communication was also something that I learnt over the course of
time. Besides finesse in shopping, I learnt how to character dress multiple people at a time,
handle stress, plan out future tasks and work with budgets,
I also had the privilege of working with a dedicated team of the crewand working together as
a family on the film.
My learning outcome can be summarized as follows:
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Working with deadlines
Clear and personal communications with actors, director, designers, brand prpersonnels
etc.
Sourcing – requests, style selections, returns
Costume making
Networking with Public relations houses, designers, brands, users
Handling pressure
Character dressing multiple people at a time
Expanding my horizons of style
Through this project I have thus come closer to my goal and career aspirations about costume
styling. It has helped me understand what I want to do for life. I have learnt and groomed
myself in techniques of fashion styling which I will always value.
BIBLIOGRAPHY & WEBLIOGRAPHY
One of the most valuable lessons I learned during the course of this internship was the art and
importance of referencing. Books, fashion magazines, journals, designer lookbooks,
websites, blogs all come extremely handy when researching about new styles in fashion. To
be a successful fashion stylist, it is essential to be a willing reader.
Bibliography:
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Monthly Issues of Vogue India
Designer Lookbooks
Webliography:
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www.stylecracker.com
Pinterest – www.pinterest.com
High Heel Confidential – www.highheelconfidential.com
Pink Villa – www.pinkvilla.com
Miss Malini – www.missmalini.com
Designer websites
www.style.com