“Sorry I’m late, the nail tech was trying to get the chrome off my nails!” Mahalia tells Vogue on the Friday before the Fashion Awards. The Leicester-born singer, who worked with Priya Ahluwalia on this year’s look, is more organised than most attendees – preferring to relax the weekend beforehand, “so I can then go into the craziness on Monday with nothing else to think about.”
It makes sense that Mahalia, who has sat front row at several Ahluwalia shows in the past, would turn to the London-based designer for her custom gown, after the pair met via mutual friends several years ago. “It was always a matter of when, not if,” Priya, who also happens to be a music obsessive, says. “I’m such a huge fan of her work; her voice is so beautiful. I adore her and everything that she does.”
It’s a sentiment that’s clearly shared by Mahalia. “I’ve always really loved all of [Ahluwalia’s] collections; I love her use of colour, her use of different materials, and how she can make materials that sometimes don’t look great on bodies like mine look great,” she says. Indeed, it was crucial that the look made her feel confident. “This really feels like a moment for me to stand in my 26-year-old female body, and say, ‘This is who I am,’” she explains. “For quite a few years, I was always really focused on feeling comfortable – a lot of that was about me not being so confident in my body. That has changed quite drastically, particularly in this last year.”
It’s why, when Ahluwalia suggested using end-of-the-roll silk for the dress, Mahalia put her trust in the designer. “Being curvier and having big boobs, I was quite scared because sometimes with silk, if it’s ill-fitting, it looks wrong,” she says. “I was excited about trying to construct a dress out of a material that typically really scares me.”
