Fashion And Star Power: The Curious Case Of The Celebrity Showstopper

As the clock strikes, Lakme Fashion Week marks the time for the pseudo-fashion critics to flood the comment sections of paparazzi footage of fashion shows, where they must inexorably critique the ‘walk’ of the essential celebrity showstopper. But where do the celebrity showstoppers’ origins lie? 

Runway Royalty

There seem to be contrasting narratives about the exact origin of the celebrity showstopper. The most popular one seems to be Manish Malhotra’s 1995 show, when Urmila Matondkar walked the runway as the showstopper. A similar claim was made by the late acclaimed designer Wendell Rodricks, stating that in 2004, he started the trend by putting Malaika Arora as the showstopper.

However, what they both seem to agree on is that they both received a great deal of criticism for doing so, with Rodricks even stating that he received incredibly negative comments through letters. Nevertheless, Wendell Rodricks went on to regret that decision while Manish Malhotra remains to stick to the practice of celebrity showstoppers. 

Designer Shahab Durazi also stated at the 2019 Voices of Fashion Conference that one of the events that enhanced the popularity of celebrity showstoppers was when Shah Rukh Khan walked the Rohit Bal show and when Aishwarya Rai Bachchan walked in Durazi’s show in collaboration with Longines.

Celebrities vs professional models: The debate

Now, of course, the celebrity showstopper takes centre stage at many of the designers' shows, with the spotlight of the media often being placed on the celebrity and their family lineage. Additionally, what is often witnessed is the ignorance of the rest of the collection by mainstream media, while the garment worn by the celebrity is frequently the one most featured. 

However, a celebrity showstopper can often hold sentiment and be an emotional feature. For example, in the first Rohit Bal show after the designer’s passing, Arjun Rampal - a close friend of Rohit Bal- walked the ramp as the showstopper. 

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Nevertheless, while the popularity of the celebrity showstopper is surely not to be questioned, a few popular designers refrain from the practice or rather, hold their own variations.

One of the strongest advocates of this is the respected designer Tarun Tahiliani, who, for his 2019 show, had a model walk down the runway with a badge boldly reading 'showstopper chic' on her chest. 

Tahiliani explained that this signified how the show should focus on the clothes and not on the face, going on to remark, “My models are my stars.”

Some designers have chosen to display variations. For example, in the year 2023, Raw Mango’s designer Sanjay Garg had celebrities such as Karishma Kapoor walk the runway as part of the show instead of as the finale. Meanwhile, other designers have criteria that must be met.

JJ Valaya, Anju Modi, Rohit Gandhi, Rahul Khanna, and Ashish N Soni are some of the designers who believe the celebrity chosen must be one that appears to be in line with the brand values or rather means something synonymous with what the designer wishes to communicate.

So, while the celebrity showstopper remains present in some way or the other in today’s fashion show, it could be argued that the relationship between fashion and Bollywood goes way beyond the runway. In the present era, more than ever before, the fashion industry and the world of the movies in India walk hand in glove.

So is it really possible for the fashion industry to be completely detached from Bollywood when it is quite frequently noticed that a celebrity or a movie star is such a huge part of promoting a brand, and the other way around, whether it is the star wearing the designer a day after the show or a post on social media?

Of course not, and that doesn’t seem to be the intention of most mainstream and renowned designers. However, must there be an interconnection between fashion and Bollywood at all times?

Authored by Jai Shah, freelance fashion writer. | Views expressed by the author are their own.