Make it double, please

Manpriya Singh

In the celeb kingdom, if any two people turned up at the same event, wearing similar (let alone same) outfit, it didn’t just end with a fired stylist or a reprimanded designer. The onlookers would snigger, the media said ‘same pinch’ and the blogs would debate ‘Who wore it better’ and only then it was the end of the matter. Till of course, long time pals Shea Marie and Caroline Vreeland went about town launching the twinning trend with the matching ‘best friends’ leather jacket. Tommy Hilfiger followed it up at New York Fashion Week last September by sending pairs and pairs of models dressed in the same outfit. Earlier this year in Paris, all inspired by the collection, Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik were sported twinning in preppy Tommy Hilfiger sweat shirts. Even the brand’s official instagram handle read ‘Twinning, the Tommy Hilfiger way.’

Turn awkward into awesome

At the same fashion week held last year (NYFW), two twin models paraded the runway in matching off shoulder dresses while showcasing for label Monse; popular designer Rebecca Minkoff further re-inforced the seasonal preference for two. The finale saw the designer herself walk with the showstopper, while wearing matching black leather jacket with inscriptions at the back. That was it. Identical wardrobe is no more the awkward it used to be. It’s the ‘it thing’. It’s on. Givenchy’s duplicate space cadets were yet another big twinning moment on the streets during the fashion week.

Comparison, new form of flattery

Similarly dressed celebrities only invite spotlight. While at it, some more attention on their individuality? “It’s a trend which somewhere borrows from the need of the hour also. Handful of big designers come up with signature collections and in each outfit that is a part of one collection, the designers use matching elements, similar hues, same print or something like that,” opines Neha Bhalla, fashion designer, having passed-out from INIFD Chandigarh, who also loves to read the ‘Who Wore It Better’ blog. “When any two celebrities end up wearing similar outfits, it’s absolute fun to compare. It’s a lesson in stylizing. I’d love to wear one matching element with my best pals while stepping out if it’s not a very important family occasion,” she adds.

Twinning & Bollywood

Karisma Kapoor made it a point to share with all her Instagram followers when her bestie and sister Kareena Kapoor and she sported matching white sneakers. #twinning??#whitesneakers??#sistersquadgoals#girlsdayout, she’d captioned the picture. Much earlier, Alia Bhatt, while similarly dressed at the airport with her sister, had instagrammed, ‘And on a separate note twinning with the sister wearing two major emotions that dominate our lives!’

Pretend to befriend the other woman, slink out of the nearest door or happily get instagrammed with a caption #twinning# with a stranger#. Either which ways, there is yet another option, make it work!

manpriya@tribunemail.com