Alia Bhatt casually strolled into the Vigyan Bhavan building in New Delhi yesterday to pick up her National Award, with a very Ken-coded Ranbir Kapoor in tow and made headlines for all the right reasons.
While her big win for Gangubai Kathiawadi was headline-worthy on its own, the actress’ choice of outfit was what grabbed the nation’s interest.
Alia Bhatt wore a sari which any human being with a passing interest in Bollywood celebrity culture would recognise instantly. The actress brought out her gorgeous wedding sari by Sabyasachi from storage and wore it again to mark the special occasion, quietly making a powerful statement for sustainable fashion.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise as Alia Bhatt is a known champion of eco-conscious fashion. The actress’ kidswear label Ed-A-Mamma is one of the pioneering sustainable brands in the country and she is known to highlight designers working with eco-luxury, like Bloni, through her red carpet appearances. Even for one of her well-documented pre-wedding ceremonies, the actress wore a Manish Malhotra lehenga that was crafted from upcycled patchwork and scraps of fabrics from his studio.
Celebrities Who Have Repeated Iconic Outfits
Alia Bhatt joins the ranks of celebrities like Deepika Padukone, Jennifer Lopez, Tiffany Hadish, Kim Kardashian, Malaika Arora, Janhvi Kapoor, and Kate Middleton with her statement-making outfit repeat.
For the 2017 Vanity Fair Oscars party, Deepika Padukone wore the same shimmery Dolce and Gabbana number that she picked for a 2012 event in Mumbai.
Kate Middleton is another celebrity who doesn’t hesitate to repeat her looks. The royal has done this on multiple occasions, including the 2023 BAFTAs where she wore a white Alexander McQueen gown that she had worn for the same award ceremony in 2019.
Kim Kardashian also became a part of the club when she repeated her 2011 Glamour Awards outfit, a black Dolce and Gabbana gown, for Kourtney Kardashian’s Italian wedding.
The reality show superstar tweaked the look to make it fit the gothic glamour theme of the wedding.
Slow fashion has been a practice that is ingrained in our culture. However, the rise of fast fashion and social media has created a chasm between our natural tendency to look for high quality and expensive outfits that are durable and our need to keep up with fast-evolving trends. With style influencers and celebrities normalising the practice, and many fashion labels encouraging it through their trend-agnostic approach to fashion, we’re slowly bridging the gap. So take cue from these iconic celebrities and shed the stigma that’s unfortunately attached to repeating outfits in public!
