The Tiger’s New Stripes

The camaraderie the two share is no secret when Rebello,dressed in a well-fitted white shirt,a jacket and denims,remarks,“Salman’s always giving me tips to get in shape. It’s rubbed off.”

The stylist is looking forward to the release of Ek Tha Tiger,directed by Kabir Khan. The film stars Salman Khan,as a RAW agent,paired with Katrina Kaif. Working on the “look” for Khan’s character took Rebello six months which he spent researching since the film is set in Turkey,mostly,along with Cuba,Dublin,Delhi and Phuket. “It had to be different from his casual chic look seen in the last couple of films. I shopped a lot for him in London but gave the garments a worn out look with acid washes and other techniques,” explains Rebello. He says it’s for the first time he’s got Khan to sport cargos. “Salman’s not too fussy but loves his jeans. Also he never compromises on comfort,” says Rebello.

Given the rugged setting of the film,Rebello got Khan to sport the chequered Arab scarf,the keffiyeh (traditionally worn as a headdress; trademark attire of the former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat) extensively. Traditional keffiyehs are black and white or red and white but nowadays come in mutiple colours. Offscreen,actors Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar have been seen with keffiyehs. With Ek Tha Tiger,Rebello’s hoping to kick-start a trend. “Bollywood dictates street fashion and just like Chulbul Pandey rocked the aviators,I am hoping the same with keffiyeh,” says Rebello.