In the world of high-profile and star-studded mega events, where red carpets glitter with haute couture and fashion statements, the reality behind the glamour often goes unnoticed. The meticulously curated looks that celebrities flaunt are the result of a complex and fascinating business of celebrity styling, involving borrowed designer outfits and expertly edited images posted by them on their social media accounts.
Soon after the three-day wedding festivities of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant ended on July 14, an Instagram fashion watchdog Diet Sabya revealed the truth behind the 'business of celebrity styling'.
If you are an avid social media user, you must have come across of hundreds of photos and videos of Bollywood and international celebrities from the Ambani bash, putting their best fashion foot forward, recently. Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) are flooded with visuals of the celebs flaunting their best looks on the red carpet.
However, without mentioning anything about the Ambani event, Diet Sabya shared some insights about how the celebs work with the stylists for mega events and everything that goes behind that one perfect look!
Borrowed outfits!
According to the fashion watchdog, the celebs do not buy the outfits from designers and they only borrow them for the event. Post the function, they are supposed to return the outfits to their respective designers.
The outfits that are labeled 'custom' or 'archival', only mean an alteration, a completely fresh piece, a new blouse to an existing outfit, a tweaked version of a style the designer has showcased before.
"Stylists flex their muscles and borrow clothes. This is known as sourcing. It works primarily because these stylists have pre-existing relationships with a designer/brand combined with the star power of the celebrity. A good stylist is a game changer for several reasons we can't get into this module," Diet Sabya wrote.
Photoshoot of celebs as well as social media uploads
As per the fashion Instagram influencer, managers of the celebs book photographers as part of the crew for each event. "Sometimes a photographer will shoot as many as three-or-four celebs per event. They usually set up a background. All photos are then selected (by celebs mostly after pre-selection by photogs/stylists), edited and processed as quickly as real time," Diet Sabya mentioned.
A post on the page further read, "Sometimes photos will be shot before an event. This happens for outstation events (say a Cruise) or they'll be shot after clubbed with a free shoot day depending on the celeb schedule. Unless it is shot on location. Photos never go to waste because it is just social content."
