Vijay Deverakonda's Style File: How Rowdy Became a Brand

Most film stars dress to fit in. Vijay Deverakonda built a career on doing the opposite, and his wardrobe is the clearest evidence of it. He has walked event carpets barefoot, paired a crisp shirt with a humble lungi, and then turned up days later in a sharply embroidered bandhgala that would not look out of place at a royal durbar. That swing — from deliberately ordinary to fully maximal — is the whole point of his style.

This is a man who took his own nickname and turned it into a fashion business. Understanding Vijay Deverakonda's fashion means understanding that the clothes are never just clothes; they are an argument about not taking the rules too seriously.

The 'Rowdy' idea became an actual label

After the storm around Arjun Reddy and the release of NOTA, Vijay did something few Telugu stars had attempted. In 2018 he launched Rowdy Wear, widely described as the first celebrity-owned fashion brand to come out of the Telugu states. The collection arrived on Myntra in 2020, putting tees, hoodies, joggers, kurtas, jackets, sneakers and caps within reach of fans who wanted a piece of the attitude.

The pitch was simple and a little cheeky: dress like the rebel you secretly are. The brand aimed squarely at students and younger buyers, selling a mood more than a garment. He has since extended the universe into a more premium RWDY line positioned around Indian street culture, signalling that the project is a serious business rather than a one-season novelty.

What makes this work is consistency. The screen Vijay, the airport Vijay and the Rowdy catalogue all speak the same language — relaxed, a bit defiant, never trying too hard. That coherence is rare among actors who outsource their entire public image.

Everyday style: studied carelessness

Strip away the stylists and Vijay's default mode is disarmingly plain. Plain tees, loose shirts, joggers, sliders, sunglasses. He is regularly grouped with the South's understated dressers because he can make a basic outfit read as confidence rather than laziness.

The trick is in the details he refuses to fuss over. A few signatures recur:

• The man bun, pulled back tight, which instantly sharpens an otherwise casual fit
• The Arjun Reddy beard, kept rugged rather than barbershop-neat
• A habit of going barefoot or slipping into Kolhapuris at events where everyone else is in polished formals
• Bold, oversized sunglasses that do a lot of the talking

He has been spotted in combinations as offbeat as a structured shirt worn with a lungi and statement shades — the kind of styling that should not work and somehow becomes a talking point. That willingness to look slightly absurd on purpose is exactly what separates a personality from a clotheshorse.

The designers in his ethnic rotation

When Vijay goes traditional, he goes to India's most distinctive ateliers. His ethnic wardrobe is not generic festive-wear; it is curated, and a handful of names appear again and again.

Anamika Khanna is a clear favourite, her signature drape-and-layering instinct suiting his taste for the unconventional. Anita Dongre's menswear has been singled out as something he genuinely loves, often a kurta set finished with a contrasting Nehru jacket. Abhinav Mishra, known for mirror-work and pastel craft, supplies the lighter, celebratory looks, while Karan Torani brings the heritage-soaked drama.

A few of his standout ethnic outings show the range: a blush kurta set styled with Kolhapuris and a slick man bun, an Abhinav Mishra kurta paired with brown juttis, and Anita Dongre layering for a more formal evening. He likes asymmetric hemlines, draped dhoti-style trousers, and jackets thrown over kurtas — modern spins that keep traditional wear from feeling stiff.

Behind much of this sit two key stylists. Harmann Kaur has shaped many of his retro, dapper looks, and costume designer Shravya Varma has been credited with a large share of his most memorable on- and off-screen outfits.

The wedding that doubled as a style masterclass

Vijay and Rashmika Mandanna married in Udaipur on 26 February 2026, followed by a Hyderabad reception on 4 March 2026, according to widely reported coverage of the event. The wardrobe became its own news cycle, and for good reason.

For the main ceremony, Anamika Khanna dressed the couple, drawing on Hyderabad's architectural heritage. Vijay reportedly wore an ivory dhoti with a red angavastram, while Rashmika was in a rust-orange Anamika Khanna saree, the two looks designed to echo each other. Stylist Ami Patel coordinated the pairing so they read as a single visual story rather than two separate red-carpet moments.

The mehendi was the showstopper. Designed by Karan Torani as a tribute to Deccan culture, Vijay's look centred on a richly embroidered, full-sleeved bandhgala in rust, gold and green, worn over a forest-green kurta with draped blue silk dhoti trousers. A jewelled kamarbandh and a layered Polki necklace pushed it into 'warrior-prince' territory — ornamental, regional and unmistakably his.

For grooms-to-be, the takeaway was immediate: you can honour South Indian tradition without playing it safe, and a dhoti can be the boldest thing in the room.

Why he reads as a style icon, not just a well-dressed actor

Plenty of stars wear expensive clothes. Far fewer build an identity you can recognise from across a room. Vijay manages the second because his fashion choices match his public character — informal, a little provocative, and allergic to pretension.

Three things make the persona stick:

1. Contrast as a strategy. He swings between bare-minimum casual and full maximal ethnic, so each extreme lands harder.
2. Ownership. With Rowdy, he is not just wearing fashion; he is selling his version of it, which gives every outfit a marketing logic.
3. Risk tolerance. The lungi-and-shades stunts, the barefoot carpets, the asymmetric silhouettes — these are calculated gambles that keep him in the conversation.

There is a clear regional pride running through all of it too. The Deccan motifs at his wedding, the Telugu roots of his brand, the comfort with dhotis and Kolhapuris — Vijay's fashion is unusually rooted in where he comes from, even when the cut is contemporary.

What to borrow from his wardrobe

The useful thing about his style is how copyable the principles are, even if the price tags are not. Start with fit over flash: a well-cut plain tee and clean trousers, then one strong accessory. Let an ethnic outfit carry a single twist — an off-kilter hemline, a contrasting jacket, an unexpected drape — instead of piling on every element at once.

Most of all, treat your clothes as an extension of your personality rather than a costume. That is the real Rowdy lesson, and it is the reason a small-town rebel turned himself into one of Indian cinema's most watched dressers.