Being a celebrity in the digital age is challenging, to say the least. Not only do you have to ensure that the projects you choose have the ability to captivate audiences across the globe but you also have to work hard to maintain a positive online presence that ties in with your brand as an actor.  It requires indulging in what might seem like needless public relation activities but self promotion is important in order to convey who you are as a star.

For female celebrities there is no better way to brand themselves than through personal style. What you wear to the airport, gym and fashion week after-party is unfortunately as important these days as the roles you embody onscreen. In fact, the greater your following in real life as a style star, the more your stock rises on reel. It’s essential to understand who you are as an actor and then cultivate an image that projects that to the audience through your apparel.

Veteran actor Amina Sheikh is well aware of the importance of branding. Since her debut on TV she has always maintained a strong presence in the fashion sphere by lending her considerable skills as a model to different fashion brands, allowing stylists and make-up artists to mould her into various high fashion avatars. It’s a smart strategy; it allows her to inject glamour into her portfolio when her onscreen characters require naturalness and grit.

However, Sheikh disappeared from the scene for a year or so, a considerable amount of time for a celebrity to go underground.  She was busy with motherhood, embracing a new lifelong role. Having resurfaced though in a different landscape from what she had left, Sheikh made the smart move to invest in her image along with getting back on camera. Teaming up with stylist Amar Faiz, the European based consultant who is credited for most of Mahira Khan’s red carpet looks, Sheikh revealed a hot new look to remind everyone that she’s a contender to reckon with.

Instep chats with the dusky beauty about personal style and the importance of image branding. She describes her personal style as comfortable, elegant and adaptable with her only concession after giving birth, being favouring front open attire for nursing purposes. Talking about the idea behind her couture editorial shoot, Sheikh states that the purpose was to create a current and trendy look, hence the sharp bangs cut in the front and straight, single layered length for the rest of the hair. The outfits chosen by Amar Faiz were all from international designers, hot off the runway hence giving the shoot a very contemporary feel.

Her new look departs a little from her regular wardrobe. "My style and looks usually adapt to the occasion as I like to try new and different get- ups. On a daily basis too I will sometimes shake things up and fuse elements together to create a look, but overall am pretty easy going about my daily attire. Its important though for me that whatever I wear complements the weather," she reveals.

How important does Sheikh think style is for an actor? "For an actor, not so much when they are not in character. When on a job, however, it is extremely important for the actor’s style to be created and brought in sync with the character he/she is playing by a specialised creative team.

That said, if an actor is also a brand; an icon in the making so to speak – then their style is usually effortlessly original and ends up being of great significance in creating and sustaining their aura and impact," she opines.

Sheikh does feel strongly about not setting a singular standard when it comes to style. She advocates that a star be judged on their acting on camera, not how well they dress for their airport. If their style is impeccable then it serves as an added bonus but this new obsession of looking like a million dollar each time you step out of the house is needless, superficial pressure. We couldn’t agree more!