IIFA 2017: Here are the designers most often sported on the green carpet

Since it kicked off at the Millennium Dome in London in the year 2000, the  International Indian Film Academy Awards — better known as the IIFA Award — has been among the splashiest extravaganzas organised in honour of the film industry. Beginning with just the awards ceremony itself, to live performances that are a spectacle in themselves, and the entire IIFA weekend itself where you see stars let down their hair in foreign locales, everything about the event is grandiose. And the green carpet is very much a part of what makes IIFA special. Celebrities love to save their best red carpet looks for their IIFA appearances, and even though you’l often see a star making an edgier statement here than most other awards shows, there are a few designers you’ll see repeated time and again on the IIFA green carpet. Whether it’s their structured silhouettes or striking aesthetics, it seems stars (and their stylists) can’t get enough of these designers when it comes to putting together their look for the big night. Here are the labels you’ll find most often on the IIFA green carpet: Sabyasachi From Kalki Koechlin to Aditi Rao Hydari, Bipasha Basu and Dia Mirza — every actress who attends IIFA is sure to have a Sabya outfit in her trunk. It’s a sign of the designer’s versatility that none of these ladies have looked the same on the red green carpet when they stepped out wearing one of his creations. Deepika Padukone especially has made a habit of wearing Sabyasachi’s designs for her IIFA outings, and while the shimmery red sari she sported in 2015 wasn’t one of our favourites, the delicate caped outfit she chose for her 2016 appearance more than made up for it. Another favourite: Aditi Rao Hydari’s flowing patterned skirt and crop top, also from Sabya, at IIFA 2015. [caption id=“attachment_3809949” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  (L-R) Deepika Padukone in Sabyasachi, Aditi rao Hydari in Shantanu and Nikhil, Divya Khosla in Manish Malhotra, Anushka Sharma in Gauri and Nainika, Sonakshi Sinha in Abu-Sandeep on the IIFA green carpet. Images via Getty, Twitter[/caption] Abu-Sandeep Where there’s an Indian red carpet event, and the Bachchan family in attendance, there’s bound to be a design by Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla. Abu-Sandeep are the Bollywood set’s couturiers of choice, and at IIFA too, you’ll find more than a fair sprinkling of creations from the duo’s label. And while you’ll find the regular Abu-Sandeep looks (we’re talking about this lemon yellow sari sported by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), there are also the more unconventional choices of Sonakshi Sinha (whose white, embellished cocktail dress from IIFA 2016 was like something out of a fairytale) and Bipasha Basu’s deep cobalt ruffled gown, also from the 2016 green carpet that have caught fashion-watchers’ eye. Manish Malhotra Manish Malhotra is among those rare designers who is seen on both sides of the green carpet — he’s a celebrity presence on it himself, but then his designs are also sported by a plethora of stars, and he’s also had a dedicated IIFA Fashion Extravaganza show in 2010. Malhotra’s uber-feminine saris, anarkalis are bound to be on the top of the list for fashionistas walking down the green carpet, while the male stars who decide to eschew tuxedos for something a little more desi, could also go the Manish way. Priyanka Chopra, Madhuri Dixit, Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Shriya Saran, Sridevi are just a few of the ladies who have all sported Manish Malhotra’s creations on the IIFA green carpet. Gauri and Nainika When we think of the Gauri and Nainika label, the first thing that comes to mind is their western evening wear, which draws inspiration from modern trends to throwback influences such as Audrey Hepburn’s outfits in My Fair Lady. So the sisters always come up with a look that’s elegant, ladylike, and dainty for their red carpet creations. The Gauri and Nainika label has had its staunch fans over the years among the female attendees at IIFA, although in more recent years, the focus has shifted to international labels and other Indian designers. Still, a couple of creations by the sisters do make it to IIFA — like this sleek black dress Sonakshi Sinha wore for a pre-awards ceremony event at IIFA in 2016, or this black and white number Kajal Aggarwal slipped into for the 2015 ceremony. And if there was this drab ‘prom dress’ Yami Gautam once wore to IIFA, the label also had this attention-grabbing, fiery red figure-hugger that Anushka Sharma rocked in 2015. Shantanu and Nikhil Designer duo Shantanu and Nikhil have long been popular with the glitterati, and the IIFA green carpet sees both male and female celebrities sport the label. From the draped bandhgala worn by Riteish Deshmukh at IIFA Rocks 2016 to Shilpa Shetty’s cutaway gown, also from the same year’s green carpet, the voluminous forest-green concoction preferred by Aditi Rao Hydari and Bhumi Pednekar’s lavender dream — the variety of looks that the label affords its starry clientele is perhaps one of the reasons why it’s so popular. No fear of showing up looking exactly like one of your peers, we suppose! Anamika Khanna Anamika Khanna may be among Sonam Kapoor’s favourite designers, but the Neerja actress isn’t the only one to don her designs at IIFA. Khanna’s unique sartorial statements have many a celebrity taker, and while those can often be a hit-or-miss affair (like this black outfit Sonakshi Sinha wore for IIFA Rocks in 2015), others can be categorised as so-so ( Neha Dhupia), and gorgeous ( Jacqueline Fernandez). Sonam of course, manages to find the Anamika Khanna design that no one else would be able to quite pull off. If the actress does make it to the awards show this year, will she go with Anamika, or opt for a Ralph and Russo?