Neeta Lulla On Kangana Ranaut's Manikarnika Look And Summer Trends

Fashion designer Neeta Lulla has been a name to reckon with in the Indian fashion industry. With a career spanning over three decades, she has styled many Bollywood A-listers and designed costumes for over 300 films. She has four National Awards to her credit, and even after all these years has no plans of slowing down. She says that it's her undying passion for her work that keeps her inspired and at the top of her game. Neeta Lulla has costumed Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in films like Devdas, Jodhaa Akbar and Taal and she's now designing Kangana Ranaut's wardrobe for upcoming film Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi, with Kangana playing the lead role of Rani Laxmi Bai.

Neeta Lulla was in Delhi - with Kangana - this week to launch her flagship store in DLF Emporio Mall in Vasant Kunj, and we caught up with her for a quick tete-a-tete.

Q: Tell us about your new store and the collection

Neeta Lulla: "This is my first ever store in Delhi in DLF Emporio Mall, and I am very happy to have got this location. The look and feel of the store transcends my philosophy of style. There's a lot of vintage Edwardian sensuality, romance and play of colours and styles. You will find flowers, muted colours, copper tones and vintage fabrics for upholstery. These are looks that I love and therefore they reflect in my store. My sense of style is generally inspired from the Edwardian era, yet my collection is still Indian at heart. My clothes predominantly include laces, pearls, florals, etc."

^{Neeta Lulla's range of lehengas}

Q: How different is planning costumes for movies from dressing someone in real life?

Neeta Lulla: "When you have to plan costumes for movies it's a very meticulous process. You need to read the script and understand characterisation as well as the director's point of view. You hope that maybe in the process you will create a genius outfit that will become a style statement. On the other side, when you design clothes for mainstream or bespoke clients, you need to know your consumer very well. You need to have a sense of what are the styles and colours that are going to come into fashion and use that to create your own fashion pieces that will be liked by them. It's almost like a film, where in the first three days itself you get to know whether your new collection is a hit or a flop."

Q: Tell us about Kangana Ranaut's Manikarnika look

Neeta Lulla: "It took me six months to prepare Kangana's look for Manikarnika because a lot of research was needed. There are different moods of Manikarnika and we had to project her character accordingly. I think Kangana plays it beautifully. She alludes the power, the rage, the stance, the elegance and the mannerism of Manikarnika in her own kind of way. Knowing that Kangana was playing the protagonist, I wanted her look to stand out. I thought to myself how do I make it different? Here was an actor who I couldn't dress in lehenga or the usual styles. It was challenging but I was able to create that quirk and a little edge that you see in Kangana in her own personal style."

^{Kangana at Neeta Lulla's store launch}

Q: What are some of the trends we will see this summer?

Neeta Lulla: "I would say a lot of vintage and subdued colours such as ice blue, aqua, mint green, old rose, peach and beige. Beige, I think, is the eternal black that never goes out of fashion. We will also see some vibrant tones such as bright pinks and turquoise."

Q: Which celebrity do you think rocks the airport look every time?

Neeta Lulla: "Kangana Ranaut and Ranveer Singh."

Q: What's your fashion mantra?

Neeta Lulla: "Power dressing. I am generally in black and most comfortable in power dressing."

^{Vibrant tones in trend}

Q: Things you have to do before you step out of home?

Neeta Lulla: "I just brush my hair and wear my black shoes and I am good to go."

Q: Three style tips for this season?

Neeta Lulla: "An important point to remember is that whatever you wear, carry it with a lot of style. Even something as basic as blue jeans and white shirt can never go out of style. Dress it up or dress it down.

"Red could be the new black this season. Wear a lovely red dress and you have that perfect attire for anytime wear.

"Carry the right bag with the right size because you never know where you might have to land up. As it is we girls tend to put in a lot of stuff in our bag. So make sure it is comfortable, lightweight and something that you feel good carrying."

Watch: In conversation with Neeta Lulla

Neeta Lulla has won the National Award for Best Costumes for the films Lamhe, Devdas, Jodhaa Akbar and Balgandharva. Her award haul also includes Filmfare and IIFA trophies