Demystifying the Red Carpet: Priyanka Chopra - ELLE

Priyanka Chopra can't easily be summed up in a sentence. The former Miss World (she won the title in 2000) is a Bollywood star, recording artist, model (in December 2013 she became the first Indian GUESS girl), humanitarian (she's a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador), and activist (she promotes the education of girls in India through her namesake charity, The Priyanka Chopra Foundation). All that in one person? Sounds like Chopra, or PC as her friends call her, would have to be superhuman to pull it all off. Only she isn't. Like us, she struggles to get enough sleep, worries too much, and can't resist her junk food cravings.

How do we know? Because she told us. And every month on ELLE.com, in a new column, "Pret-a-Priyanka," Chopra will open up about her life, struggles, and her guilty pleasures. In this month's column, PC demystifies the red carpet.

The red carpet: It's essentially just yards of colored rug, yet it captures the imagination and interest of millions across the world. And I'll be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with it; getting ready for and walking the red carpet both amazes me and scares me.

Given the number of red carpets I have sashayed down in India and the US, one would think that I was vying for an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records! This year alone I walked 15 big "red carpet" events in the span of two months. And you might think that by this point, it's old hat for me. That I'm used to it. I remember my first time on the red carpet as a naive 17-year-old, still in disbelief after being crowned Miss World, and so unsure of myself. I was so gripped with fear it took every ounce of willpower for me to walk down that carpet looking like I was meant to be there (instead of rolling down it). When I look at the pictures now, I shudder to think that they actually allowed me to continue in this glamorous business. But you live and learn... right? Experience has definitely made me smarter, faster, and also more thick-skinned!

Here's how it all breaks down: The planning (usually by my team) takes place weeks in advance. I would describe my style as girly meets edgy, or at least that's what I'm going for. I'm not afraid to take fashion risks, which definitely makes this whole styling thing more fun, if not more challenging for my team. I won't even begin to try to explain the stress my stylists endure. All I know is that I arrive to a room filled with the best gowns and dresses from the best designers and all I need to do is pick and choose! Chanel, Lanvin, Alexander Wang, Zuhair Murad, Zac Posen, Tom Ford, Stella McCartney, Self Portrait, Valentino, Gucci, the list goes on and on and on. And then there are the shoes, the part I love the most. Rows and rows of the most perfect creations silently calling to me: Hello PC...my name is Christian [Louboutin]! Over here Priyanka, I'm Jimmy [Choo]! To your left, it's me Giuseppe [Zanotti]! All I need to do is pick and choose. What more could a girl ask for?

Then the whole process of actually getting ready (the hair and makeup, aka "glam") takes between three and four hours. While my team begins to work their magic, I spend my glam time reading scripts, catching up on my TV shows...basically anything I can do while sitting perfectly still (which is an issue if you know me well). The funny thing is, after all those weeks of prep, a couple of flashbulb moments later... it's all over.

Yet still today, every time I step out before those flashbulbs I feel the pressure: Who is she wearing? Is it fashion forward? Has she accessorized correctly? Is she wearing the best designer? Is anything showing? Will she trip? Is that a belly peeping through the dress? The questions and doubts hit you like Mohammed Ali on a hot streak. It's not just about that moment of stepping onto the carpet, but involves weeks of planning and hours of prep to make sure the "look" is just right. It's that singular moment where every doubt you ever had, including the tiniest one, bubbles to the surface.

Imagine this... you step out of your car, look up and you see a line of gorgeous women and men, looking like they were born to be there. They're smiling, laughing, chatting, and essentially owning that space. On the other side you see members of the press waiting to see, quite literally, how you've put yourself together. It's like walking into a courtroom, waiting to be judged"and that can get very unnerving. In many ways, it's like walking into that important work event, your high school reunion, the job interview or the first date... it's that first moment that you are seen! At the core of it all, we all are connected because we all want the same outcome... to be accepted, to be appreciated, to be loved, and to be admired.

http://www.elle.com/fashion/celebrity-style/a27489/priyanka-chopra-on-the-red-carpet/