Heaven Is For Real

Her earliest memory is of meeting Italian guru Gianfranco Ferre when she was just four years old, with her father Sajid Khan, who has been presiding over an embroidery empire for the last forty years. But it is Elie Saab, the Lebanese guru, whom she puts at par with the home-grown Manish Malhotra, who knew exactly want women want and dressed them in his fabulist doctrine that went down in the annals of history. A large part of Shehlaa Khan’s childhood was spent at her father’s factory where she saw embroideries being deftly executed for brands ranging from Armani to Valentino. Khan tells us smiling, “Whenever I start a line, I always take my dad’s blessings and he has been my guiding light.”

Armed with a master’s degree from Instituto Marangoni, Milan, and a degree from the London College of Fashion, Khan worked with designer Manish Malhotra for a year to discover what she was really good at. “I have always been able to amalgamate Western aesthetics with a vintage appeal in the looks I create, as I know that women today are looking at experimenting with Indian clothes,” she says. “This prompted me to launch my label in 2012.” Celebrating Brides Brides and their trousseaus these days are a separate fashion segment on its own. Brides today don’t really dig a zardosi lehenga, as there is so much more on offer. Each designer has his own USP—Tarun Tahiliani with his magical drapes, Sabyasachi Mukherjee presenting scintillating patchwork and Anamika Khanna giving the sari an international flavour with a cape, which Sonam Kapoor showcased at Cannes 2014. Brides know what they want and choose designers accordingly. “My biggest weakness and strength remains vintage lace, so I combine it with embroidery which is not typically ethnic. Even the dabka, pitta work, kasab, mokaish or sequins that I use are mostly given interesting shapes or forms to make unconventional motifs,” explains Khan. She adds, “Brides have become cosmopolitan. Even girls from conservative families wear skimpy blouses, want to abandon the duppatta and insist on an off-shoulder blouse with a lehenga. My designs are conceptualised keeping these culture changes in mind.” Brides are gradually moving to pastels and whites, softer hues, even though they are not traditionally considered the colours that one would wear at ceremonious occasions. But what has also emerged is their need for concept-based clothing. Not surprising then, Sonam’s 2013 charcoal black lehenga, which was broken into three parts—a high-waisted skirt worn with an off shoulder blouse and a scarf—went down well with those who are always looking for incandescence. “My shadow-work pre-stitched saris also do well, as they offer an iridescent shimmer, with femininity holding forth in my design doctrine,” she adds. Elegance all the way Being an ardent admirer of Valentino and Hubert Givenchy, who metamorphosed Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Khan follows the directive of elegance rather than over-the-top glimmer. She keeps shine down to small doses and lets lace do most of the talking. That’s why colours are employed to make a subtle affirmation. “Pink is my hue of the season. I felt it works on all skin types and has a universal appeal. So I dipped into my dad’s burgeoning archives to revive vintage embroideries that jazzed up the otherwise minimalistic ensembles,” she confides. Sonam on Shehlaa Shehlaa’s clothes make me feel beautiful. They cater to my innate passion for ‘old world’ with some of her vintage techniques of embroidery and the saris she has custom made for me, that, among other things, recall old Bollywood from the 50s. I sometimes request her to make me something and she always executes it beautifully with her own original aesthetic. We make a dream team! Bollywood Bug Khan feels that the new entrants in the design-o-sphere are jumping on the bandwagon of dressing Bollywood stars because of the pressure built up by the digital landscape that controls the ascent of designers with blogs playing a defining role. “That’s why there is this rush to dress actresses, as the younger generation views this as inspiration and aspirational,” she confirms.

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The bright wishlist With a store in Paris in the next five years, and participating in the London and New York fashion weeks on her wish list, Khan believes that it will be a dream come true if she succeeds. “I’ve seen the scope Western markets offer for the kind of work that my dad used to do,” she says. “This will be an extension of that very ideology with which he started the company. Life will then truly come a full circle,” she signs off.

On Sonam Khan has known Sonam Kapoor since she was 14 years old. They grew up together and she does believe that the Bollywood dreamboat has been a benchmark for setting the style bar high in films and on the red carpet, at a time when actresses were unaware of fashion’s wavelet effect. “Fifteen years ago, few actresses dressed in Gucci, Dior or Armani. Sonam brought in this idea of occasion-wear dressing and brands capitalised on her style. No matter what she wears—a lehenga or a couture gown, Sonam adds her own bit to it, ushering in individuality to a staid ensemble,” she admits.

Every time Khan conceptual is es a line, she always keeps aside a few ‘larger-than-life’ pieces which exude a strong character for Sonam, knowing well that being the face of her brand, she will never be a slave to fashion. “Sonam is versatile, she believes in what she wears and that’s when an outfit becomes powerful,” she confesses. Zadie calfskin bag, crocodile detail and gold metal chain, all Jimmy Choo, `98,000 approximately.

Metal and leather neckpiece and calfskin boots, both Louis Vuitton, `1,30,000 approximately and price on request, respectively.