Half-finished sets? Last-minute overhauls? It’s all in a day’s work for fashion week stylists

I’ve managed to catch fashion stylists Daniel Franklin and Gautam Kalra just a few days before Lakmé Fashion Week X FDCI kicks off in Mumbai. The two are neck-deep in prep for their respective shows, so we’re chatting at 9.30 on a Sunday night over Zoom. Franklin is working on seven shows this season, while Kalra, a veteran, is focussing all his attentions on the grand finale gala, which he’s careful not to reveal too much about. (“You know, it might be the big daddy of them all.”)

While decades apart in experience, the two are well-known for their ability to bring a designer’s vision to life on the runway. Franklin, 35, has been styling shows since 2021, after climbing the ranks at fashion magazines such as Elle, Grazia, and Vogue. Kalra, 54, began his career in advertising, working in the client servicing department at agencies like Mudra and Lowe Lintas till 2000 and dabbling in fashion on the side. A chance project with the photographer Prabuddha Dasgupta kickstarted his career as a stylist.

We caught up with the two to discuss all the drama that unfolds backstage at a show, life after fashion (if there is one at all), and the shows that live rent-free in their heads.

Gautam Kalra: By the way, I just want you to know that if anyone tells me they’re looking for a stylist I always recommend Daniel. I say he’s the only one I know and, like, take his number.

Daniel Franklin: I’m very grateful. I’ve met some very good people because of that. Meanwhile, right now I hope you know that the grapevine is buzzing about this show you’re styling for Lakmé [Fashion Week].

GK: It’s going to be huge. I’ve been working on this since December.

Butool Jamal: What’s the day before a big show like for you?

GK: It’s not really about the day before [the show]. It’s the week before that’s critical, when everyone is waking up, changing things, demanding things.

DF: For me, it’s the fittings that are really nerve-racking because in many cases that’s when you’re actually seeing the clothes for the first time. So, you’re trying to conceptualise what this garment can mean, but at the same time you have a choreographer in one ear, the designer in the other, maybe a model with their own opinion. It’s a lot. When I first started, I would get very overwhelmed to the point where I just wanted to get out of the room. Of course, I’ve gotten better at dealing with that. I’ve also been a fly on the wall seeing Gautam manage his fittings, so I’ve learnt that you have to walk into the room with a certain level of command. At least act like you know what you’re doing, even if you’re still figuring it out.

GK: This reminded me of Pratap’s couture show [Rajesh Pratap Singh, 2023]. I saw the clothes the night before, and three garments I only saw when it was time for the second change during the show. I had a hundred things to layer, and I’m a perfectionist, so I don’t know how we did it, but we did.

DF: I loved that show so much.

GK: He [Pratap] is someone for whom you can visualise a little bit more, because he’s ready to go that extra mile.

BJ: That leads into my next question. Which designer really pushes you to do better?

GK: Manish Arora and Rajesh Pratap Singh. Although, I could name more if I had time.

DF: I’ve also seen some really beautiful Little Shilpa shows by you. I was an intern [at Elle] then, and Little Shilpa used to be a little earlier in the day, so I could get in to see those shows, which was such a treat.

GK: Of course! How could I forget them! What about you, Daniel?

DF: From the roster of designers I have worked with, I think the first thing that comes to mind is a show I did for Outhouse in 2022. It was all jewellery and, basically, I just bought a lot of old denim from Sarojini Nagar, hacked them up and remade them into clothes. The girls [brand founders Kaabia and Sasha Grewal] gave me complete freedom to play, and it was super sexy, very minimal; the jewellery was the focus. I think the girls were also feeling their fantasy.

GK: Did you do Amit Aggarwal’s last couture week show [FDCI India Couture Week 2024]? That was such a great one.

DF: One hundred per cent. Working with Amit feels like a bigger collaboration, because I’m in that studio quite often. I feel so much a part of his team, their meetings and explorations.

GK: I know what you’re saying. If you have a designer who trusts you and is creative, then everything can just fall into place. Especially back when I started out, when there was no internet or Google, so much of it was instinctive.

BJ: At its best, what is the feeling that a show should inspire in an audience?

DF: I’m always trying to find some sort of narrative. Whether it’s a fictional story or a combination of a couple of movies that I’ve seen, I want to build a world over that series of 40 looks.

This season I’m doing a really cool artisanal show with Somaiya Kala Vidya and five artisan designers from Kutch, and it’s been such a learning curve to see these talented kids in their natural setting. I met this girl called Mubbasirah [Khatri], whose dad has built her this little studio next to their house, where she sits, does freehand ajrakh in the traditional way and then puts on her veil and goes back out into the village.

BJ: Where do you start when you’re building a look?

DF: I start with the girl. Who is she? Where is she going? What’s her vibe? I like to place her in my head. She could be human, or non-human. It’s nice to have a character or muse and take it from there.

GK: I think the shoe is very important. It kind of defines a look—is she a flat or a heel? What kind of heel? What kind of boot? The accessories are also where you can get in a nice luxury brand.

BJ: Your thoughts on styling bridalwear?

GK: Actually, one of my strengths is that if there are 25 lehenga designers, I will think about how each red bridal look can be different. It’s about sticking to the brand voice, pushing them within their space.

DF: Honestly, I struggle. I don’t do a lot of lehenga-choli looks because I don’t think I understand the cultural connotations. Also, visually they look very similar to me, so I try to avoid it.

BJ: What’s your advice for that, Gautam?

GK: Well, one thing is that over my career I’ve been forced to be versatile. I’ve done everything from commercial brands to maximal bridal, workwear to boho. I think stylists now have more freedom to choose what they want to do.

BJ: What has been the most challenging show that you’ve done?

GK: This finale show that I’m working on right now, probably. But there was also an Anamika Khanna finale [Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2015] where until three hours before the show we didn’t even know if we had a set because there were no permissions. It was crazy. Till the last minute I was styling Kareena [Kapoor Khan] and the models but also doing the flowers and setting up the runway almost.

DF: Any show where you’re not vibing with the designer is hard. There was a time when I was forced to do a lot of shows that didn’t always align with my ethos. I’m a little envious of Gautam because he can really separate what he personally might feel about something but still make it look good. Sometimes, if I don’t like what I’m seeing, the designer will see it on my face, so that gets hard. And at some level you are executing another person’s vision, so you have to manage that.

GK: I’ll tell you what Prabuddha [Dasgupta] taught me years ago. He was a mentor to a bunch of us. We were maybe at a shoot for Van Heusen or Louis Phillipe. I was probably ironing shirts and feeling like I’m useless. In the lunch break he said that it’s very easy to take something beautiful and make it more beautiful. But it’s more challenging to work with something that’s not aesthetic and make it your own. But that’s our job. He said, “I have a wife, two kids, a home. These are my reasons to do what I do. Think of your own.”

BJ: Did you have any mentors, Daniel?

DF: Magazines were my education. Working with stylists like Malini Banerjee, Anaita [Shroff Adajania], and Ekta [Rajani]. A lot of bosses really taught me discipline.

BJ: Is there a model on the runway who scares you, who inspires you?

GK: No one scares me, although I might scare them. I’m sorry, I’m going to sound boring but back then there were models like Carol [Gracias], Bhawna [Sharma], Diandra [Soarres], Indrani [Dasgupta]… They had personality. I used to say, cover their faces and we can tell you whose walk it is. Unfortunately, today’s models aren’t allowed that.

DF: I love all the models. When I started out, Tamara Moss was everything. Also Lisa Haydon, Kanishtha Dhankhar, Archana Akhil Kumar, and Anjali [Lama]. To be honest, in terms of the young ones, there are very few, like Gautam said.

GK: It’s budget cuts, I’m telling you. You want a hundred garments, but you don’t want to spend on the models.

BJ: Will you always work in fashion?

DF: I’m really trying to take each day as it comes. Sometimes I just think about the fact that I work in fashion and I want to pinch myself. Sure, I might want to start a commune or a farm, but I know in some capacity I will always work in fashion.

GK: I’ve done it all over the years—worked in advertising, opened my own restaurant, fashion store, then styling. And now I’ve recently agreed to join a magazine, so you’re going to see more of my work soon.