Aneet Padda talks collaborating with Amit Aggarwal for Lakme Fashion Week grand finale, her mom’s beauty secrets | Interview

In this HT interview, Aneet Padda opens up on working with Amit Aggarwal, what she loved about his new AM:IT collection, and more.

Street lamps, ice cream stalls, autorickshaws, a man selling balloons, and more—Amit Aggarwal turned the grand finale of the Lakme Fashion Week X FDCI (Fashion Design Council of India) into a vibrant Indian street full of nostalgia and great designs, with 'Saiyaara' fame Aneet Padda walking the ramp as the showstopper. The designer presented the latest line from his prêt label, AM:IT, in collaboration with Lakmē 9to5, featuring structured silhouettes, expressive colours, rich textures, glamorous designs, and an innovative mix of everyday and industrial materials, including recycled plastics, plastic wire (reminiscent of market shopping bags), traditional chatai (woven Indian mats), crushed shiny polythene, and foil-like textures.

We caught up with Aneet post the fashion showcase, and in an interaction with HT Lifestyle, the actor shared her experience collaborating with Amit Aggarwal, her favourite outfit and makeup details from her finale look, a beauty secret she stole from her mom, her go-to wellness routine, and more.

Glitter, glitter, and more glitter

Glitter seems to be Aneet's favourite look of the season. Dressed in a striped shirt paired with a corset and wide-leg purple trousers, Aneet served a cool, quirky Gen Z vibe to the runway. To match the look, she chose shimmering purple eyeshadow, rouged cheeks, glossy pink lip shade, on-fleek brows, and loose tresses. When asked what her favourite makeup and outfit detail from her look today was, she replied, “The purple glitter eyeshadow.”

All thanks to her makeup artist Shraddha Naik. “She is just the best. She does everything glitter and pink for me, even though sometimes she's like, 'That's a bit much'. Then I just dip my face in the glitter, and she has to wipe it off.” As for the outfit, Aneet revealed that she loved the corset and the belt, adding, “I think Amit just balances the fluidity and structure so well.”

Collaborating with Amit Aggarwal

When asked what the most fun part of collaborating with Amit Aggarwal was, the actor confessed it was ‘obviously the clothes’ because the designer's creations are amazing. She added, “I also think meeting Amit and getting to spend some time with him was incredible because he's just such a fun personality, you know, he's the best. He's somebody who's authentic. And obviously, I just love the colour palette, and once I wore the outfit, I just felt like myself. So, I think that was amazing.”

The designer integrated Lakmē's 9to5 philosophy into his showcase; for Aneet, the shift from day to after-hours means letting loose. She shared, “I just think it's about energy, as soon as 5:30 or 6 PM hits, it's just like a moment in time where you're like, 'Okay, it's time to let loose. It's time to be off work and be in party mode'.”

Walking the runway

Walking the runway can be a very different form of performance from acting. Aneet shared with us how she mentally prepares for it. “Of course, it is very different, but I think the way that an actor would do it is number one not exactly try to be a model. I think that's the first thing. It's more about just kind of owning the moment and feeling like you're okay with yourself, feeling like you're happy with yourself, enjoying your time while you're walking, and, I think that leads to the best things in life in general anyways.”

Go-to wellness routine and a beauty routine she swears by

For Aneet, wellness means staying away from her phone, being completely analogue, and spending a lot of time with her cat. Meanwhile, the beauty secret she swears by is something she borrowed from her mom. The actor confessed, “My mom does really good eyebrows. I think at a very young age I would just kind of borrow her eyebrow pencils and, you know, shape them up and do all kinds of weird things with them. I mean, I would go to school, and everybody would be [shocked]. I was like, I thought I did such a good job with it, but yeah, my mom is pretty good at all of that.”

Aneet Padda's fitness routine

An actor has to stay fit, and a model has to look her best on the runway! When asked if she has a fitness routine that she swears by and also brings backstage before walking the ramp, Aneet shared, “I obviously go to the gym. I have to. And I'm on a diet.”

But does she stick to it? The actor joked, “Probably not. Do I try? Very much so. I do reward myself with, like, a nice waffle, something really indulgent and chocolatey, if I've been good throughout the day, like I've had good food and I've been healthy.”

Lastly, the actor shared her tip for the girls to keep their makeup and hair budge-free throughout the day, “I think a nice palette that everybody can get is the Lakmē Glam one because it's like the perfect combination of all the essentials that you need in one thing. So, I think if you have that with you, you're good to go.”