Anita Aikara

A sight to behold, Nikkhil Thammpi’s latest muse, Vijay Varma cuts a dapper figure in black. The actor’s draped bandhgala jacket, paired with flared pants makes for a 10/10 look. “It’s a classic bandhgala with a modern twist. We have added a drape on the side to make it look even more appealing,” says Nikkhil who marks 15 years in the Indian fashion industry. 

“Vijay Varma is breaking the classic norms. He’s very experimental with his style, especially the red carpet, and he loves to take that extra risk,” reveals the designer. “In this particular look he is wearing an Amrapali ear cuff which is so modern. It is rare to see a man donning something like this.”

“I wanted my muse for Naia to be someone very new-age; someone who is not scared, and that’s when Vijay Varma happened,” says Nikkhil. “He is the right person to debut the collection because we are known to be rule-breakers and he definitely endorses that.” In the collection Naia, the designer has shown an entire journey from day to night with a colour palette that features white, dusty pink, fiery rust orange, cocoa brown and black, the colour of Nikkhil’s life.

Nikkhil’s story began way back in 2011, when he was around 25. “I always wanted to satisfy my creative itch by doing something in the field of arts. Fashion, interiors, photography, I have dabbled into multiple forays.”

But for him, his first love was fashion and that’s what he stuck with. “All my iconic collections have come from a very strong emotional place,” he admits.

In 2011, Nikkhil applied under the GenNext category at the prestigious Lakme Fashion Week even though he didn’t have a formal training in fashion. “It was a hot-blooded, young decision to do something rebellious and unexpected from what the society would expect a man to do back then,” he explains. “There were 800 applications, and out of that only eight were selected, and we were one of them.”

That’s what took off the career graph for Nikkhil who then set out to becoming the OG red carpet designer for Bollywood and has designed outfits for Bhumi Pednekar, Shilpa Shetty, Sonakshi Sinha, Nimrat Kaur, Shruti Haasan, Kangana Ranaut and Parineeti Chopra, among others.

The designer is extremely proud of what he has achieved - be it the journey, the narration or the garments. But what’s most important is the connection the brand shares with the audience; the community.

Nikkhil is known to take risks and that is what he thinks “people loved, celebrities gravitated towards and fashion critics appreciated”. He came with a modern point of view and realised the amalgamation of fashion and Bollywood is a match made in heaven.

Bhumi Pednekar and Nikkhil have known each other before they started off their individual careers. “Our relationship is extremely close and we are friends. I used to be her butter chicken date when she put on weight for her first film, Dum Laga Ke Haisha. For Bhumi, my workshop is like a second home.”

Nikkhil believes in always supporting his friends and hence when a project like The Royals came to the table, he knew he’d be a part of it.

“That was non-negotiable,” he says. “I was so glad to see that my look, a classic red sheath dress, was so well-received.”

Shilpa Shetty has been his No. 1 muse for many years and the fashion designer has given her 20-25 looks till date. Her midnight blue pant-sari was a conceptual piece from Nikkhil’s fusion collection called Gleam. The designer has already sold 800 pieces of this particular sari.  

“All of Shilpa’s looks translate into this iconic silhouette because she, herself, is such a great personality.”

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