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FARROKH CHOTHIA
A significant turning point in my life came right after I finished school. My mother wanted me to graduate and so instead of going to a fashion school, I went on to study for a degree in political science from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. While in college I was lucky enough to get random modelling assignments from which I made money and travelled all over the world. This gave me great exposure and became the foundation on which my career would be based.
• A surprisingly large number of children say they’re thinking of a career in the kitchen — though, of course, they’ve got plenty of time to change their minds.
• Chefs are keeping it healthy by encouraging cooking in olive oil and even using ingredients like wholegrain crackers as pizza base or hung curd as a spread.
After college, my first job was production work with filmmaker Mahesh Mathai. But I soon realised that my real interest lay in designing costumes and the sets.
The second turning point came when Elle magazine launched in India around 1996. There were no major fashion magazines here back then and being appointed as its junior fashion editor was a dream job. Also, the concept and role of a stylist did not really exist earlier. So, when photographer Farrokh Chothia insisted that I take up styling for ad campaigns commercially, I agreed. I have been styling some of the biggest ad campaigns ever since.
However, my tryst with costume designing for films happened with Rahul Bose's Everybody Says I'm Fine! (2001). Rahul is a friend and, when his costume designer ditched him at the last minute, he asked me to come onboard and together we pulled it off very well.
After this, I began designing costumes for songs in Karan Johar's films. I styled numbers like It's the Time to Disco and Maahi Ve in Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003). Around this time Aditya Chopra approached me to design costumes for Dhoom (2004) and post this I've never had to look for work — rather work has come to me.
Eight years ago I took over the job of fashion director, Vogue India magazine. This too has been a significant milestone in my career.
