Alizeh will gatekeep the name of her favourite perfume forever

Alizeh wasn’t sure if she was into fashion at all, until very recently. “I knew that the things that I liked were different from what I was seeing other people wearing, so I misunderstood that as not being interested in fashion,” the actor, who prefers to go by her first name, confesses. “But then I realised that fashion is subjective. It’s about your vision and comfort. And that changed the whole game for me.”

As she saunters onto the shoot setup at her home in a black tank top and linen pants, she clarifies that everything currently hanging on the rack is not what makes up her everyday wardrobe. “I’m quite experimental when there’s an event or a shoot, but my day-to-day is the opposite of that. I have this uniform, and I just keep wearing different versions of it.”

Since her debut in Farrey (2023), for which she racked up five awards including a Filmfare, IIFA, and a Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut, the 28-year-old has started taking her public image and her style more seriously. She’s fronted campaigns for Being Human, endorsed brands like Louis Vuitton and Tory Burch on her Instagram, and is making an effort to show up.

But at a time when social media is everything and only the most active are rewarded by the attention economy, Alizeh seldom posts, unless it’s related to work. “I don’t feel comfortable sharing every single detail of my life on Instagram, but I do spend a lot of time on the app because it’s like Pinterest for me,” she says. “Once I cross two hours in a day, the little alarm goes off and tells me to get off. I do feel a little judged by my phone, but it helps.”

Below, Alizeh talks about what informs her personal style, her favourite items, and her reality TV addiction.

My current uniform is a linen shirt and pants with sneakers or flats. I wear a tank inside and usually carry a huge bag. My friend has this really cool brand called Ituvana—I wear a lot of their linen sets. I also get quite a bit of my linen stuff from Zara. It’s accessible, value for money, the fit is great, and it makes for good work wear. A lot of the other pieces I’ve got have been from street shopping in Bangkok and other places.

My day-to-day style is not so feminine. I won’t randomly walk out of the house in a dress. I wear pants a lot. I like my bottoms to be on the loose side and my tops the opposite to balance it out.

I mostly shop online because returning stuff now is so easy. But if I don’t have time for a shipment to be delivered or if I’ve pushed getting something till the last minute, then I’ll go to the mall. I always make a list, but I never follow it as I’m often overwhelmed by all the amazing stuff that’s there. I’m more an impulsive buyer.

Some of the most special pieces in my wardrobe are a Louis Vuitton jacket that was a gift from a friend, a Marc Jacobs-era Louis Vuitton Speedy with Takashi Murakami’s cherry motif. And a Phoebe Philo-era Chloé Paddington bag. It has this giant lock on it and is so heavy—I don’t know how our moms and the It girls back then used to carry those bags!

I borrow a lot from my mom (Alvira Khan Agnihotri). She’s a costume designer and former stylist and she’s bought some really cool pieces over time, like things from Chloé I wouldn’t have bought because I find it a bit too feminine for my personal style. But now, those items have become really cool and valuable. I also borrow many things from my aunt, Arpita. My grandmom has a lot of crazy bags as well. They just had the right eye for buying those one or two things that would last or would be brought back. A lot of times, my mom will pull something out and show it to me, and I go: “Are you crazy? Like, this was lying in your wardrobe this whole time and you never even mentioned it?” Thankfully, she keeps everything really well.

One thing I would never wear is exaggerated shoulder pads. I just don’t think it’s me. I’m also not into the new booty shorts thing. Different pieces are for different people; not everything looks good on everyone.

A piece I’ll keep forever is the Dior dress I’m wearing for this shoot. It’s a classic even though it’s from the new collection. Every time I wear it; I feel like a different person—a feminine alter ego, almost. I have a special place for my jackets, too, because I feel like those are things that just age really well and you can keep styling over time and through seasons. I just don’t get to wear them that often because of the weather in Bombay. My current favourite is a black leather one I got from Gucci recently.

I don’t have a favourite designer or brand because I like to have a little bit of everything. Anything that gives the body a bit more shape. Though I really love 431-88 suits. They fit well and look so flattering.

I find fashion parties very boring. I mean, I like to sit down and have one-on-one conversations. I’m definitely a quality-time person, and huge parties are the opposite of that. But as I’ve been working, I’m getting used to the lay of the land and understanding how to get through these things, what to do to keep myself entertained, and that it’s good for work. That’s what I keep telling myself.

Right now, I’m watching more TV shows than movies. My preferred genre is reality TV. I love coming back home and just watching some crap television and falling asleep to it. I recently watched The Tribe, and I really enjoyed it. My childhood best friend Alanna [Panday] is in the show. I watched Uorfi’s show as well, and I really enjoyed it. Then I binged two seasons of The Mole, which was quite crazy.

My friends and I are really into playlists. I’m not someone who follows specific artists, but I like to give myself a good range. We have five or six shared playlists for different moods, and everyone keeps adding their songs on there.

I travel a lot even if it’s just going to the farmhouse for the weekend. I really like to indulge in my me time and my space. I can get overstimulated when there’s too much going on, so I make it a point to get out and take a break. It’s not necessarily the most productive thing, but I always come back happier, more inspired, and ready to work.

I’m a sentimental hoarder. I have random items that either people have gifted me or I’ve picked up while travelling over the years—proper souvenir shop-level stuff. Little things like concert tickets, metro tickets, boarding passes from special trips, and random memorabilia like badges. Anyone who’s written me a handwritten note since I was young—I have all of them. I have this board in my room and it’s just full of my whole life. If somebody had to know what I did in the last year, they would just have to look at a certain section of that board and they’d find everything. It’s like I’m storing all these memories.

My signature scent is a secret. Someone told me people react differently to the notes in your fragrance. I’m never sharing that. I’m a big gatekeeper and I love it!

Watch Alizeh cook up a few fun looks, below.

Video by By The Gram. Make-up by Karma. Hair by Umang Thapa