HELLO! India Exclusive: Shalini Passi spills the beans on the art of being fabulous

HELLO! India: The Art of Being Fabulous feels deeply personal. What moment in your life made you realise this book needed to exist now?

Shalini Passi: There wasn't one big moment. It was gradual. I kept noticing that people were asking me less about what I wear or collect, and more about how I actually live. How do you set boundaries? How do you stay centered? How do you know what's worth your energy? And I thought, okay, maybe there's something here that's actually useful to share. Not because I've got it all figured out, but because I've made enough mistakes to know what works for me. The book happened when I stopped caring about having perfect answers and just decided to be real about the journey.

HELLO! India: You redefine "fabulous" beyond glamour. What does being fabulous truly mean to you today?

Shalini Passi:  It's funny because fabulous sounds so external, doesn't it? But for me now, it's completely internal. It's knowing what matters to you and what doesn't. It's being able to say no without feeling guilty about it. Of course there's beauty and style in my life - I love that - but if you don't have clarity and peace inside, the external stuff means nothing. Being fabulous is staying calm when life gets messy, and being okay with choosing yourself.

HELLO! India: If readers take away just one mindset shift from the book, what would you want it to be?

Shalini Passi: That you don't need to add more to yourself. We're all so obsessed with becoming more - more successful, more interesting, more everything. But actually, the work is in removing things. What's not really you? What are you doing for other people's approval? When you start stripping that away and just trusting who you actually are, life gets so much lighter. It sounds simple, but it changes everything.

HELLO! India: Your personal style is unmistakable - bold yet thoughtful. How has your relationship with fashion evolved over the years?

Shalini Passi: Oh, it's completely different now. When I was younger, fashion was just fun - I loved the drama, the attention, the whole spectacle of it. And I still love it, don't get me wrong. But now I think more about intention. Like, how does this make me feel? What am I saying when I wear this? I'm drawn to pieces that feel like art—something with emotion, real craftsmanship. Trends don't really interest me anymore. I want things with presence, with meaning.

HELLO! India: Art plays a central role in your life. How does living with art influence your everyday mindset? What makes a home feel truly alive to you?

Shalini Passi: Living with art keeps me awake, if that makes sense. It changes how I experience everything - how I notice light, how I sit with silence, how I feel space around me. A home feels alive when there's a story in every corner. When nothing is just there to fill a gap. Everything should have memory, intention. Art reminds me every day that life isn't meant to be perfect or neat - it's layered and messy and beautiful because of that.

HELLO! India: Are there daily rituals - however small - that help you stay creatively charged?

Shalini Passi:  Oh, absolutely. But nothing fancy. I protect my mornings - that's my sacred time. I walk a lot, usually without my phone, just observing. That's when ideas come, not when I'm forcing them. I'm careful about what I consume too - the people, the conversations, what I'm looking at. Energy is contagious. And honestly? Real rest. Switching off completely. That's probably the most underrated creative habit there is.