LMFAO Rhea Kapoor

Her styling for Sonam Kapoor at Cannes 2015 has won accolades, as always. Producer & stylist to fashionista Sonam, Rhea Kapoor is back from a whirlwind trip to the French Riviera. We catch up with her on the quirks & details of creating a unique look for the red carpet.

Masaba Gupta has complimented your styling at Cannes, asking you to style her for her wedding. Must feel good right? And styling isn't even your day job!

It's not my day job, At All! It's my passion project as such. Masaba is a dear friend of mine, and she is a girl I find very inspiring to have around us. I feel that she has such an individualistic style of her own. And I would love to do anything for my friends.

Tell us about the process of styling for Sonam; she often doesn't repeat her styles and always makes quirky choices. Do you prepare the whole year for these appearances? How do you source for her?

What I wanted to say also, by talking to you, because I wanted to let people know that it's not such a big deal (laughs). For Sonam & me it's very spontaneous. So we went to the Elie Saab show and saw that gown, and I was obsessed with it. We picked that, and we tried a couple of dresses in Cannes. With the Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla, I met Sandeep Khosla on a flight to Goa. He spoke about a few couture pieces that they had created for his book. I thought that was awesome, for I have admired their clothes since I was young. We did the fitting, and we liked it.

For us, since we were 12-13 years old, we have always played dress up. I think the quirks come by enjoying the little risks we take on a daily basis. Say for example, we don't wear red lipstick everyday. One day, you have an urge to feel like a bombshell and you decide to wear it. It's exciting to feel that new version of yourself for a day! And that's what inspires you to do something different every time. No one wants to get bored by repeating the same dresses all the time.

The whole idea for us is to not look perfect. It's not to take ourselves seriously when we prepare for Cannes.

It does become serious business though, with media attention on Sonam's red carpet appearances at Cannes. How do other international celebrities and film folk react to Sonam's wardrobe choices at the festival?

They absolutely love it! I feel like when you are proud of where you come from and you embrace your version, an individual version of it, they pick up on it. I always pick up for Sonam Indian pieces that relate. A beautiful outfit, from anywhere, will always be a beautiful outfit. If I see a gorgeous kimono, I will like it. While I may not know a lot about Japanese culture, I will appreciate the outfit for every girl appreciates a beautiful dress. You see a beautiful Ming vase and you love it.

People appreciate beauty from Indian designers too. Even with the sari gown last year, or the sari this year- the butterfly drape with a bottom like a skirt- is appreciated. If you are expressive in your style, it is admired. I think that Sonam wears Indian designers at Cannes with a sense of pride, because ever since we first began to wear Indian designers, people have always reacted: Oh My god!'Is that a Saree?' They like it because it's different. Cannes is all about the coming together of different cultures and you want to feel like that. We don't want to feel like everyone is made of the same mold.

What do you think of Katrina's appearances at Cannes? And of Aishwarya's Cannes appearances?

I think that Katrina's style is quite minimal. For example, for me, I love seeing her in red. I loved the red lip on her. First of all she is a beautiful girl and she can't look bad. This time she looked even more beautiful. Her body is banging and she has the best legs in the world! For her first time at Cannes, I think she carried herself so well, with such grace and I really like her. I think she is really cool & is not ashamed to be herself and I think that is incredible.

Aishwarya's style has always been classical. This time I think she looked beautiful in the Ralph & Russo couture gown. I just feel like that it's nice to see everyone express themselves individualistically. It was nice to see all these three girls in three different styles. The more you try and look like somebody else, the less exciting it is. I encourage all girls to express their individual styles.

So is self-expression the central concept that will drive Rheson'- the designer line that Sonam & you are creating?

With Rheson', Sonam & I just want to make sure that you are comfortable being yourself. Sonam is an actor and is comfortable putting herself out there. Not every girl is. I am not comfortable on a red carpet, or posing for a photo shoot. That's not my space. But in everyday life, I want to be glamorous and feel cool. And I want to do it in a comfortable way- and not care about my arms and tummy.

Rheson' will allow you to be comfortable with who you are. When a girl opens her wardrobe and sees these clothes, I want her to feel like they are her friends and that she doesn't need to be someone else. And they have a sense of humor. I just want it to be everyday affordable glamour. There is a sense of grounded ness to the collection. The whole point of going with a multi city superstore is that it reaches out to everyone- so that these clothes can make you feel good everyday.

One of Sonam's outfits- the Elie Saab gown with fur- was mocked on Twitter. That was the only one that faced criticism amongst her Cannes appearances. Did you get affected by what people had to say?

Are you crazy? Look, for me, it's one of my favorite dresses ever. I fell for it the moment I saw it in Paris, and loved the lime green color. Sonam had a choice of 2-3 outfits and she immediately picked it. It reminds you of classic Hollywood glamour, like the kinds you see a Judy Garland(God bless her soul ) sport in a black & white film. 🤪 🤣

That was the whole idea. We got all sorts of reactions- funny ones & good ones. We also got good international press and some funny press. At the end of the day, it's a dress. It is not so serious. I just feel blessed that so many people are invested in what we do; that people actually care!(😆 Butthurt much? anything in the name of excuse )

I loved the dress and a lot of people appreciated the individuality. It was bold, striking & fresh- and I want to keep Sonam's looks exciting. It was an out of the box choice. Every time you make an out of the box choice, some people will hate it & some will like it.

Whenever you try to do something different, people will react. When we initially focused on fashion and styling, many said, it's so frivolous. Now everybody has a stylist! Everybody is instagramming details of what they are wearing.

In today's day & age, honestly, people don't understand how boring it is to be perfect. Everyone has a perfect body, diet & look; and you risk becoming a clone of each other.

I remember there was this mould of a heroine; chiffon sari, shows her navel, wears a push up bra. As a heroine, Sonam decided that she doesn't need to be a sex pot of sorts in order to be considered beautiful, 🤣🤣 in order to be acceptable. Slowly, people started understanding that it's valuable it is to express yourself and look & feel good. I don't think Sonam has anything to prove any more about her fashion choices. She likes to have fun with what she is wearing.

The idea behind our styling is that if you want to wear something that maybe considered silly but you like it, and are having fun, you shouldn't worry about what others think. I think that's important.