There is no short cut

Jasmine Singh

One wonders when does one of the busiest fashion designers of Bollywood, Ashley Rebello, get time to shop for himself? “Well, I am often asked this question, so I tell everyone, the time when I am shopping for others while working, that’s the time, I shop for myself too.”

In Chandigarh to interact with the students of INIFD, Ashley Rebello is recognised for his designs and also his association with Salman Khan. “I have been designing clothes for Salman Khan for almost 10 years now. Looking at this long association, I can assume I must be doing something right,” adds Ashley. 

What makes this association special and long lasting is just one small word, ‘trust’. “Exactly, it is the trust that I share with Salman Khan which keeps us going.”

Is this what’s missing in the young crop of actors? “Well, here, with them it is totally different. We don’t tell them, it is they who tell us. I am okay if someone gives suggestions, but if you have hired me for my designs, then go by it as well,” Ashley puts his point across strongly. 

With more than 25 years of working with the best actors of Bollywood, Ashley has earned the right to take his call. Otherwise cool and calm, the designer sometimes fails to understand why certain things in fashion go a certain way- like the copy-paste trend. “I often tell everyone, including the students here at INIFD, that they shouldn’t lose their individuality. Designers who get into this copy-paste do not survive for long,” Ashley stresses of everyone finding their own USP. 

And what would he say to all the Greek actors of the industry? “Pull up yourself. There is no point in aimlessly telling me what to do, and what is the point in working together without trust.”

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Break quotes 

• I moved to Mumbai to become a singer. By singing English songs, I couldn’t have made money. Here I am doing something I am totally passionate about, and love doing too. 
• I too de-stress- by taking a vacation, which I do pretty often.
• Fashion online-one should know how to filter all the fashion. 
• I have just finished Tubelight, then there is Tom, Dick and Harry and an untitled film.