When you see Apoorva Raikwar ’14 walking down the halls, there’s a good chance she either made or altered what she’s wearing. In fact, the white maxi skirt Raikwar is wearing in these photos is one of her most recent creations. Raikwar’s style is simple yet chic and she has an eye for color, wearing neutrals and adding color through bold accessories.

Interview and photos by Kaitlyn McCurdy

Describe your style.

“I guess classy with an edge. I like kind of out-there things.”

Do you have a fashion icon?

“I really like Carly Cristman. I don’t really have that many icons, I guess. I’m always going on this little blog called lookbook.nu. There’s some people that I really like on that, because it’s just a bunch of people from around the  world sharing pictures of their outfits. So there’s a few people that I really like to follow.”

What kind of alterations do you make to your clothes?

“Sometimes I just sew them from scratch. But a lot of my clothes, I’ll buy thrifted items or just random things from stores and then I’ll kind of alter the hem, or add some embellishments, or do fun stuff like that. It’s a lot easier than starting from scratch. Just buying something simple and then adding stuff, that’s what I like to do. I also like to spray paint things. I really like to spray paint jewelry.”

When did you start making alterations?

“I think in 7th grade I tried making a shirt. It was a weird halter top with beads on it. I just tried it out, I sewed it by hand, and it turned out alright I guess. After that, I didn’t really make anything, and then this summer I started making more clothes and just got more inspiration, especially through Pinterest and stuff. Kind of in the past year or so.”

What got you so into fashion?

“I don’t know. I feel like most people’s parents kind of help them into fashion, like they have a really fashionable mom or something. My mom is not fashionable at all, so I guess the polar opposite made me more into fashion. Also, I started watching YouTube videos a few years ago. These ‘beauty gurus’ do makeup tutorials and fashion lookbooks, so I thought that was really cool.”

What’s your favorite clothing article to work with?

“I really like working with skirts, probably because they are easier. I’m working on four or five skirts right now. I also like doing things with really simple shirts, like cutting off the sleeves and adding leather sleeves, I’m working on that right now, or adding sequins to a collar.”

What’s your go-to piece in your closet?

“I have these two short sleeved neutral blouses. It’s just these really simple tops that are high cut […] and then I add like, a bold necklace. I always wear those or my leopard blouse.”

What are your favorite stores?

“I kind of go to a lot of stores around the mall. I really like Forever 21 and Target. I also like Rue 21. I like to get things there because they have a lot of bright colors and their jewelry is really bold, so I like to get those and make them into my own.”

What’s your favorite trend right now?

“Leather. For sure. I really like leather.”

[fsg_gallery id=”4″]