Aki Narula (born 1968) is an Indian
fashion designer
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
and
costume designer
A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume ...
and
wardrobe stylist
A wardrobe stylist, also fashion stylist, is a consultant who selects the clothing for published editorial features, print or television advertising campaigns, music videos, concert performances, and any public appearances made by celebrities, mod ...
in
Hindi films
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
, who is most known for films like, ''
Bunty Aur Babli
''Bunty Aur Babli'' () is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy film directed by Shaad Ali and written by Jaideep Sahni, based on a story by Aditya Chopra, who serves as producer under the Yash Raj Films banner. The film stars Abhishek Bac ...
'' (2006), ''
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
''Jhoom Barabar Jhoom'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic comedy film directed by Shaad Ali and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. Based on a story by Ali and a script by Habib Faisal, the film stars Abhishek Bach ...
'' (2007) and ''
Dostana'' (2008). His brand label "AKI" was launched in 1996.
Early life and education
Born and brought up in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, he did his schooling from
La Martiniere Calcutta
''La Martiniere ''(informally known as LMC) is an elite, independent private day school located in Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal. It comprises two single-gender boys and girls schools. It was established in 1836 in accordance with the will of t ...
, and passed out in 1987. He graduated in commerce from
St. Xavier's College, Kolkata
St. Xavier's College is a private, Catholic, autonomous higher education college under Calcutta University run by the Calcutta Province of the Society of Jesus in Kolkata, India. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1860 and named after St. Fra ...
, while at college, he started designing clothes for rock concerts, college plays and ''Xavotsav'', the annual college fest. He worked with the
Lintas
MullenLowe Lintas Group, formerly Lintas, is an Indian advertising marketing communications company. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Interpublic Group (IPG), and is part of the multinational MullenLowe Group. The group is curre ...
Group, as a management trainee, for a period of ten months, before going to
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
, for a communications course.
Aki has had no formal training in fashion designing. "While studying commerce at St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, I was completely taken up by fashion. And despite no formal training in fashion designing, I began to design outfits for my friends," he said.
Career
Upon returning to in 1992, he started a
cost accounting
Cost accounting is defined as "a systematic set of procedures for recording and reporting measurements of the cost of manufacturing goods and performing services in the aggregate and in detail. It includes methods for recognizing, classifying, al ...
programme in Kolkata; he move to fashion happened when in 1994, he took part in the 'Fashion Designer award' of Damania Airlines, held across five Indian Metros cities. He entered the contest from Kolkata, he was chosen the winner. This started his fashion career in Kolkata. Eventually and launched his own brand, ''Aki'', in 1996 and has his first fashion show with "Melange", a designer boutique at
Opera House, Mumbai
Royal Opera House, more commonly known simply as Opera House in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), is India's only surviving opera house.
Situated on Charni Road, near Girgaum Chowpatti beach, the adjective ‘Royal’ was prefixed to ‘Opera House’ ...
. Starting with Melange, he gradually started selling in eleven stores across India. In 2000, he participated in Lakme
India Fashion Week
India Fashion Week is a bi-annual fashion week organized and promoted by the Fashion Design Council of India. It was sponsored by Wills Lifestyle from 2006–2014 before Amazon.in became the sponsor.
The first event in 2000 featured the work ...
and in the following year his entire collection was taken up by
Selfridges
Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge ...
(UK). He was appointed the design director at Sheetal Design Studio Mumbai in 2002.
[ In 2004, he presented at the Grand Finale of ]India Fashion Week
India Fashion Week is a bi-annual fashion week organized and promoted by the Fashion Design Council of India. It was sponsored by Wills Lifestyle from 2006–2014 before Amazon.in became the sponsor.
The first event in 2000 featured the work ...
, a collection themed around the '50s with red and fuchsia being the premier colours.
Though he had previously designed for Mira Nair's ''Monsoon Wedding
''Monsoon Wedding'' is a 2001 Indian comedy-drama film directed by Mira Nair and written by Sabrina Dhawan. The film stars Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shah and Vasundhara Das. The story depicts romantic entanglements during a tradi ...
'' in 2005, his big break into Bollywood came with Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. It mainly produces and distributes Hindi and Punjabi films. The company has grown to be one of the largest film studios ...
’ ''Bunty Aur Babli
''Bunty Aur Babli'' () is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy film directed by Shaad Ali and written by Jaideep Sahni, based on a story by Aditya Chopra, who serves as producer under the Yash Raj Films banner. The film stars Abhishek Bac ...
'' in 2005 directed by Shaad Ali
Shaad Ali is an Indian filmmaker.
Early life and education
Ali was born to Muzaffar Ali and Subhashini Ali (née Sahgal), an Indian politician and member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He is thus the grandson of Azad Hind Fauj co ...
, in which he gave a new look to Patiala salwar
A Patiala salwar (also called a pattian walee salwar) (also pronounced as ''shalwar'' in Urdu) is a type of female trousers which has its roots in Patiala City in the Northern region of Punjab state in India. The King of Patiala in earlier ti ...
s and kurtis. This led to a string of films, which got noticed for clothes designed and styled by him.[ In the subsequent years as he got busy with his film projects, he gradually steered away from mainstream fashion designing, and seldom appeared in Fashion Weeks, though he planned to re-launch his label, and balance between Fashion Week and film projects.][
Over the years, he got acclaim for the looks for ]Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
in ''Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
''Jhoom Barabar Jhoom'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic comedy film directed by Shaad Ali and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. Based on a story by Ali and a script by Habib Faisal, the film stars Abhishek Bach ...
'' (2007), his second film with Shaad Ali, Abhishek Bachchan
Abhishek Bachchan (born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and the grandson of poet Harivansh Rai Bach ...
and John Abraham
John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor, film producer, writer and former model working in Hindi films. He has won a National Film Award and received five Filmfare nominations.
After modelling for advertisements and companies ...
in '' Dostana'' (2008), Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor Khan (; ''née'' Kapoor; born 21 September 1980) is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood, Hindi films. She is the daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and the younger sister of actress Karisma Kapoor. Noted for pl ...
's look in ''Tashan'' (2008) and later her mismatched look, employing the colour-blocking technique in ''Kambakkht Ishq
''Kambakkht Ishq'' () is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language
romantic comedy film directed by Sabbir Khan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. The film is based on the 2002 Tamil film ''Pammal K. Sambandam'' which in turn was based on the 1999 movie ' ...
'' (2009) and Ranbir Kapoor
Ranbir Kapoor (; born 28 September 1982) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi-language films. He is one of the highest-paid actors of Hindi cinema and has featured in ''Forbes India''s Celebrity 100 list since 2012. Kapoor is the rec ...
in ''Bachna Ae Haseeno
''Bachna Ae Haseeno'' () is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Siddharth Anand, whose previous projects included ''Salaam Namaste'' (2005) and ''Ta Ra Rum Pum'' (2007). Produced by Yash Raj Films, the film stars Ranbir ...
'' (2008) and in''Rockstar
Rock Star or Rockstar may refer to:
Films
* ''Rock Star'' (2001 film), an American film starring Mark Wahlberg
* ''Rockstar'' (2011 film), an Indian Hindi-language film by Imtiaz Ali
* ''Rockstar'' (2015 film), an Indian Malayalam-language fi ...
'' (2011)[
In 2009, sports-lifestyle brand '']Puma
Puma or PUMA may refer to:
Animals
* ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae
** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat
Businesses and organisations
* Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company
* Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...
'', which had previously work with Alexander McQueen, Yasuhiro Mihara and Sergio Rossi, signed on Aki to create 'Black Label', a range of apparel, footwear and accessories to hit Puma stores in February 2010. In 2012, he designed the costume for Asin Thottumkal in Housefull 2.
Filmography
* ''Monsoon Wedding
''Monsoon Wedding'' is a 2001 Indian comedy-drama film directed by Mira Nair and written by Sabrina Dhawan. The film stars Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shah and Vasundhara Das. The story depicts romantic entanglements during a tradi ...
'' (2001)
* ''Bunty Aur Babli
''Bunty Aur Babli'' () is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy film directed by Shaad Ali and written by Jaideep Sahni, based on a story by Aditya Chopra, who serves as producer under the Yash Raj Films banner. The film stars Abhishek Bac ...
'' (2005)
* ''Garam Masala
Garam masala Hindustani_language.html"_;"title="rom_Hindustani_language">Hindustani_/_(''garm_masala'',_"hot_spices")is_a_Spice_mix.html" ;"title="Hindustani language">Hindustani / (''garm masala'', "hot spices")">Hindustani_language.html" ;"tit ...
'' (2005)
* ''Bluffmaster!
''Bluffmaster!'' is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy film directed by Rohan Sippy and produced by Ramesh Sippy. The film stars Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Mishra, Boman Irani and Nana Patekar. It is a ...
'' (2005)
* ''Don - The Chase Begins Again
''Don: The Chase Begins Again'', better known simply as ''Don'', is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Farhan Akhtar. The film was produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Akhtar's production company Excel Entertainment. The ...
'' (2006)
* ''Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
''Jhoom Barabar Jhoom'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic comedy film directed by Shaad Ali and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. Based on a story by Ali and a script by Habib Faisal, the film stars Abhishek Bach ...
'' (2007)
* '' Tashan'' (2008)
* ''Bhoothnath
''Bhoothnath'' () is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language supernatural comedy film written and directed by Vivek Sharma, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla, Aman Siddiqui, Priyanshu Chatterjee and Rajpal Yadav and features Shah Rukh Khan in a c ...
'' (2008)
* ''Bachna Ae Haseeno
''Bachna Ae Haseeno'' () is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Siddharth Anand, whose previous projects included ''Salaam Namaste'' (2005) and ''Ta Ra Rum Pum'' (2007). Produced by Yash Raj Films, the film stars Ranbir ...
'' (2008)
* '' Dostana'' (2008)
* ''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'' (), also known as ''RNBDJ'', is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Aditya Chopra and produced by him and his father Yash Chopra under their banner of Yash Raj Films. The film stars ...
'' (2008)
* ''Kambakkht Ishq
''Kambakkht Ishq'' () is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language
romantic comedy film directed by Sabbir Khan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. The film is based on the 2002 Tamil film ''Pammal K. Sambandam'' which in turn was based on the 1999 movie ' ...
'' (2009)
* ''Shortkut
''Shortkut'' (also known as ''Short Kut: The Con Is On'') is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Neeraj Vora and produced by Anil Kapoor under Anil Kapoor Films Company. The film stars Akshaye Khanna, Arshad Warsi and Amrita Rao ...
'' (2009)
* '' Kurbaan'' (2009)
* '' Paa'' (2009)
* '' Housefull'' (2010)
* ''Lamhaa
''Lamhaa'' () is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film written and directed by Rahul Dholakia. It stars Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu, Anupam Kher and Kunal Kapoor in the leading roles. The film follows an Indian Army officer sent underc ...
'' (2010)
* ''I Am
I Am or I'm may refer to:
Language and literature
* "I Am that I Am", a common English translation of the response God used in the Hebrew Bible when Moses asked for His name
** I am (biblical term), a Christian term used in the Bible
* "I Am" (po ...
'' (2010)
* ''Tees Maar Khan Tees Maar Khan () may refer to:
*Mahboob Ali Khan
Asaf Jah VI, also known as, Sir Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi (17 August 1866 – 29 August 1911) was the 6th Nizam of Hyderabad. He ruled Hyderabad state, one of the Princely states in ...
'' (2010)
* ''Chillar Party
''Chillar Party'' () is a 2011 Indian family comedy film jointly written and directed by debutantes Nitesh Tiwari and Vikas Bahl and produced by Ronnie Screwvala under UTV Spotboy and actor Salman Khan in his production debut under the Salman ...
'' (2011)
* '' Rascals'' (2011)
* ''Rockstar
Rock Star or Rockstar may refer to:
Films
* ''Rock Star'' (2001 film), an American film starring Mark Wahlberg
* ''Rockstar'' (2011 film), an Indian Hindi-language film by Imtiaz Ali
* ''Rockstar'' (2015 film), an Indian Malayalam-language fi ...
'' (2011)
* '' Agent Vinod'' (2011)
* ''Housefull 2
''Housefull 2'', sometimes called ''Housefull 2: The Dirty Dozen'', is an 2012 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film written and directed by Sajid Khan. Brothers Sajid Samji and Farhad Samji co-wrote the film under their duo Sajid-Farhad, ba ...
'' (2012)
* ''Highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
'' (2014)
References
External links
*
Aki Narula
at Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000.
The website provides ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Narula, Aki
Indian male fashion designers
1968 births
Living people
Artists from Kolkata
St. Xavier's College, Kolkata alumni
University of Calcutta alumni
Indian costume designers
Fashion stylists
21st-century Indian designers