Style Fix
International fashion advisors Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine will give Indians a makeover in their latest television series
The poster featuring Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine is reminiscent of a Bollywood song and dance routine — clad in a white halter dress with her hair left loose,Woodall is swaying a tricolour dupatta in the air while a blue tie-and-dye dupatta serves as an accoutrement to Constantine’s red dress. But Bollywood isn’t the reason behind their latest trip to India. As the poster reveals,the British duo — who shot to popularity with their international shows What Not To Wear and Trinny & Susannah Undress The Nation — is making a debut on Indian television with TLC’s Trinny & Susannah’s Makeover Mission India.
Having hosted makeover shows in over nine countries,including Sweden,Israel,Poland,Australia and of course,Britain,the duo is keen to explore other countries,especially in Asia — a continent they haven’t explored before. “So when TLC invited us to India,the answer was an emphatic yes,” says Constantine.
The eight-episode debut season of the series will go on air on August 12,where Woodall and Constantine will be seen scanning the streets of Mumbai and Delhi to zero in on people for their makeovers. “We have people from different backgrounds,but it’s mostly young professionals,who are the target audience,” says the 49-year-old Woodall,who was a marketing professional before she met Constantine,who was working in the fashion industry.
While most of their shows have also featured rape victims and even women facing health problems,the Indian edition is more of a “happy place”. So while one participant is a voluptuous woman who doesn’t consider herself attractive anymore,another is a tech-savvy tomboy who underplays her femininity. “We’ve done some ‘under makeover’,asking people who seem to be trying too hard to play it down,” says Constantine.
The duo — penned several fashion advice books and launched their own clothing and lingerie ranges in the 17 years they’ve worked together — views fashion as a means of empowerment. “Women in India are much like everywhere else; for them,dressing is also dictated by emotions. The overjoyed look on the face of a person after the makeover is worth all the effort,” they say,though Woodall adds that Indian men (who also feature on the show) should snap out of their laziness and be “more willing to experiment”.
For the show,the duo has sourced the accessories and clothing from London and India’s local bazaars and malls. The idea was to use the kind of items the participants can afford in the future too. “We found the outfits by leading Indian designers,such as Sabyasachi Mukherjee,too expensive,but we did dress some participants in creations by designers like Nida Mahmood,” says Woodall.
In the India series,Constantine says that they were sensitive towards people’s religious backgrounds and dressing styles. Yet,they remained honest,a trait that has earned them the reputation of being caustic. “We never criticise a person or his/her body; it’s always about the dressing sense,” she clarifies.
Share
