Fashion faux pass: Rani copies Deepika?

Rani Mukerji made a public appearance dressed in an outfit identical to actor Deepika Padukone’s at a party held just a few weeks ago. PIC INSIDE

Actor Rani Mukerji may be trying real hard to up her fashion quotient, but her recent outing turned out to be a fashionista’s worst nightmare. Rani, 33, made a public appearance dressed in an outfit identical to actor Deepika Padukone’s at a party held just a few weeks ago.

Rani wore a white Robert Rodriguez drape top and black mini skirt to ring the bell at NASDAQ in New York on Thursday, perhaps unaware that the same outfit was sported by Padukone at the birthday party of Salman Khan’s sister Arpita Khan in Mumbai towards the end of July. The only difference to the strikingly similar look was that Rani chose to add a belt with her version.

Style experts blame Rani’s stylist for the faux pas. Designer Raakesh Agarvwal says, “It’s the stylist who decides the look and chooses the outfits. A stylist should keep a close eye on what the other celebs are wearing and do his/her research properly. Rani cannot be blamed.”

Stylist Manjaree Jindal agrees. “It is completely a stylist’s fault for messing up this way.” Another celebrity stylist, Rishi Raj says, “Internationally, each time a celebrity steps out, the stylist makes sure no repetition occurs. This means staying up to date and being aware.” Both Rani nor Deepika remained unavailable for comment on the matter.