A microbiologist by education Aparna Badlani started her career in fashion with a Boutique brand called Barcode, educated herself in Apparel Marketing and Merchandising from NIFT, Mumbai. She then worked with retail giants Future Group and Raymond India, did merchandising and curating for brands like Sepia by Priyadarshini Rao, Multi-designer stores like Amara, to finally open her store Atosa in 2011.
GOALS: This year has been about looking inwards finding my calm and happy place, realising that we do not need as much as we are consuming. A sustainable lifestyle can be achieved when you consume just what you need and not for 5 people. My goals also include taking up different courses in fashion, spiritualism, exercise, cooking, baking, or something new, so I can work on bettering my skills. I have been able to work on a lot of this during the lockdown and the feeling is unmatched.
FEMINISM TO ME: Is not a point of discussion! In my view, men and women are human, hence equal. If I believed in the concept of feminism, it means that I am succumbing to admitting that men are higher power and hence women have to fight for their right to be considered equal. This is the very root of the problem. We have to stop this chant about feminism and instead focus on teaching and propagating equal rights.
Anu Ahuja has a 360 degree perspective of the Indian fashion scene for nearly 25 years. Multi-talented Anu was a top model, for prestigious campaigns, she has walked the Ramp for top designers globally, TV personality, and a Brand Ambassador for a leading Indian designer brand. She is a leading Show Director and Creative Consultant and Event Director for Femina Miss India Pageant since 2014.
FEMINISM TO ME: On a personal level, feminism to me means to be able to live free, take decisions by myself, not be dependent on anyone for my sustenance and not feel the need to compete with men to prove any point. It also means being friends with other women and seeing them as fellow travellers on this journey we call life.
CULT PRODUCTS: I’ve been using products handmade by Dr. Dinyaar Workingboxwalla for a long time. In these Covid-19 times when getting these products have not been easy I have turned to natural cleansers and moisturisers from my kitchen!
BEAUTY TO ME: In these unprecedented times my idea of beauty has changed so much. Beauty is kindness, humaneness, empathy, all that we held dear and perceived as success, and beauty has changed. Putting on makeup, beautiful clothes, and high heels and nowhere to go. Beauty today is health, nature, and peace; having been Covid-19 positive and come out of it, has changed my entire perspective on life!
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