This is Dhruv Aditya Dave’s second innings in Mumbai. The first time the fashion stylist came here was over a decade ago, fresh out of college, wide-eyed with child-like excitement and dreams of conquering the Bollywood industry. “B**ls, none of that happened!” he says over a phone call. Dave tried, but felt a bit disillusioned—it was too expensive for a young person in his 20s who was trying to find his footing. He returned to the South Delhi neighbourhood of Hauz Khas, where he grew up, assuring himself that he would someday come back to the city of “tiny apartments and steep rents”.

Dave who has styled everyone from Rajkumar Rao and his wife Patralekhaa to Huma Qureshi, Rasika Dugal and Wamiqa Gabbi, has for many years now been shuttling between the two cities for work. “I’d come for an assignment  or shoot to Mumbai, complete it and take the next flight back,” he says. Certain personal commitments made it impossible for him to sever ties with Delhi, he shares.