Tuxedos with a twist

Gone are the days when one wore plain black or white tuxedos. Just when everyone was going gaga over the pantsuit look, printed tuxedos have started making their way into celeb wardrobes.

Ranveer Singh recently turned heads at an awards show when he wore a printed tuxedo with a collage of his favourite Bollywood movies’ posters. “Suit suit karda? (sic),” he captioned the photo of himself looking dapper in the unique outfit on Instagram. On yet another occasion, he sported a grey printed tuxedo. 

And it’s not just Ranveer. Priyanka Chopra, Shahid Kapoor, Gigi Hadid, Zayn Malik, Cyndi Lauper, Vijay Deverakonda and Raashi Khanna among several others have been spotted carrying off printed tuxes with style. Says designer and stylist Nandita Mahtani, who has styled several A-list celebs including Virat Kohli, “Printed tuxedos are basic yet classy silhouettes. One can style them in different ways. Women can sport them with shirts or lacy tops on the inside. They can team it up with a nice pair of long diamond earrings and stilettos while sporting a high ponytail. While women can opt for printed tuxedos in red, black and white, men can go for colours such as blue, burgundy, white and black.”

Designer Nachiket Barve says that it’s definitely one of the hottest trends right now, but one needs to be confident, outgoing and flamboyant to carry off the look. “One also needs to be on the slimmer side. Make sure the prints aren’t too overwhelming as the print is the hero in this look. Men can go for dual tones while women can opt for artistic prints. When it comes to accessories, less is more. Statement shoes and asymmetrical earrings will look classy” he suggests.

Well-known Tollywood stylist Nithisha Sriram says that going subtle on make-up is a safe option. A light lip colour will look classy. “It’s a fresh look, moving away from plain old tuxedos. Try not to accessorise too much. Do not go for neon or other bright colours especially if you are dusky. One can even sport handloom or Banarasi tuxedos. I would definitely work on something like that,” she says.