Finalising Looks For Tamannaah, Diana Was Like Speed Dating With Clothes: Leepakshi Ellawadi

You know what was common between Tamannaah Bhatia, Diana Penty, Jaaved Jaffery and Nakuul Mehta in the Amazon Prime series Do You Wanna Partner? Apart from Jugaaro, the series saw them look uber chic in relaxed, contemporary fits that celebrated their onscreen characters with honesty.

All thanks to celebrated costume designer and celebrity fashion stylist, Leepakshi Ellawadi, each look styled and designed for the cast set a creative and fun moodboard for the series.

From creating 25-30 key looks each day for Tamannaah and Diana to capturing every emotion through colour language, Leepakshi Ellawadi tells News18 about her experience working with the cast of Do You Wanna Partner.

How did you approach styling costumes for Do You Wanna Partner?

I approached

it like solving a giant jigsaw puzzle where every character needed their own visual identity but also had to feel like they belonged to the same world. It was about mixing imagination with practicality, making sure everyone looked like their character and not like they had walked out of a fashion editorial.

Did you work closely with the makers while deciding on the costumes, and how was the experience?

Absolutely. The directors and producers were like co-stylists in spirit. They gave me space to play, but also nudged me in the right direction whenever needed. It was such a supportive collaboration that it felt less like ‘work’ and more like creative playtime with grown-ups.

How did the costumes reflect the journey of the characters in the series?

Every arc had a colour and a mood. For instance, we really worked on subtle shifts like someone off starts muted and grounded, and as the character grows, their wardrobe picks up vibrancy. You may not even consciously notice it as a viewer, but you’ll feel it. That’s the beauty of costume design, it sneaks into your subconscious.

How many looks in total did you style for Tamannaah Bhatia and Diana Penty, and how long did it take to finalise them?

If you count everything, including montages, we crossed 80–90 changes across the cast. For Tamannaah [Bhatia] and Diana [Penty] alone, it was easily 25–30 key looks each. Finalising them was like speed-dating with clothes. It involved lots of shortlists, lots of fittings, and then a moment of, ‘Yes! This is the one.’ For Tamannaah, I remember we would almost do fittings every day to make sure it fits and falls the right way for the scene.

How was it working with Tamannaah, Diana, Jaaved Jaffery, and Nakuul Mehta, and did they have any inputs during the process?

They were dream collaborators. Tamannaah and Diana are pros. They know what works for them, but they trusted me to push the envelope. Javed sir brought so much wit even to the fittings. You don’t need coffee when Jaaved Jaffery is around! Nakuul [Mehta] has this easy energy that made experimenting with his looks a breeze. Nakuul and I collaborated after a long time, but the spirit and energy have remained the same to date.

Did the colour palette of the costumes help symbolise every emotion visually onscreen?

Yes, we actually spent a lot of time creating a colour language for the series. Warm tones for intimacy, cool tones for conflict. It was almost like painting moods on fabric. It’s subtle, but it amplifies the emotion without the audience even realising why. A palette plays a huge role in bringing out an emotion. So, for me, it’s always been a key factor, and if you are styling the entire ow, then you are certainly more in control of balancing it.

Fashion and functionality played a key part in Do You Wanna Partner. How did you balance both?

By remembering that actors need to act in these clothes, and not just pose for pictures! Functionality is the silent partner of fashion. So while something looked sharp, I always asked: Can they dance in it? Can they run? Can they emote without being strangled by a collar? If yes, it passed the test.