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Have you ever wondered how fashion shows seem effortless? How the music and lights are synchronized while teams of male and female models seamlessly walk the ramp with various outfit changes without anyone visibly controlling the show? 
"The day of the show is always intense and one has to have presence of mind coordinating with all agencies,” states Vahbiz Mehta, who as choreographer/show director is responsible for the entire show, working with music, lights, backstage, graphics, etc. The job requires immense creativity, organizational skills and dedication. Over the past 24 years Mehta has worked on shows for leading designers and brands in India and abroad. The list includes Anita Dongre, Manish Malhotra, Van Heusen, Hermes, Neeta Lulla, Rocky S, Wendell Rodericks, Vikram Phadnis, Anushree Reddy, Satya Paul, Arjun Khanna, Nachiket Barve, Arjun Saluja, The Woolmark Company, Tommy Hilfiger, Antony Morato, Nikhil Thampi, Adidas, Westside, etc. She is also a show director at Lakme Fashion Week where she says she has created "experimental and conceptual presentations which have transformed the conventional runway.” 
However, life wasn’t always glamorous for Mehta who grew up in Bombay with her parents Zarine and Kersey Mehta, and younger brother Cyrus. Her life changed when her parents decided to move to Dubai seeking greener pastures. As Arabic was compulsory for students in Dubai at that time, rather than uproot the teenager, Vahbiz was left in the care of her grandparents.
Through a series of unfortunate incidents, Kersey, a company secretary, lost his job at a law firm and then suffered a stroke that paralyzed the right side of his body which in turn affected all bodily functions. Zarine who became the primary bread winner found a job at a bank in Dubai and left her husband in the care of 17-year-old Vahbiz who was then studying at Bombay’s St Xavier’s College. "I struggled initially but then our family doctor taught me how to take care of my father.  With no money for a nurse, my domestic help Neema and I looked after my father and I learnt to be his primary caregiver,” she recalls.
Lack of funds made her willingly consent when a friend asked her to help out as a backstage helper for a fashion show to earn Rs 200. Vahbiz continued to work hard at this job and was noticed by the show choreographers. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in English literature, she wrote for a magazine in addition to moonlighting as a backstage helper to earn extra money. By then she had progressed to the position of assistant backstage manager. When the backstage manager in charge of a Suneet Varma/Ravi Bajaj fashion show fell sick, Vahbiz got her big break and was asked by choreographers Asha Kochhar and Vidhyun Singh to step in.  The job earned her a whopping Rs 3,000. She never looked back. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She quit her job as a writer and took on a new career course. The naive south Bombay girl was thrown into a new realm of glamor, fashion and Bollywood. The financial boom of the 2000s propelled the fashion industry, and the part time job blossomed into a full time career for her. After working as a backstage manager she made the progression to choreographer/show director where she brings the designers’ and brands’ vision to life.
Vahbiz had married her childhood sweetheart Jamsheed Vachha in 1999. Two months after their wedding, her father passed away. Her mother, now retired, also lives in Bombay and her brother Cyrus works in event management. Mother to two teenaged children, Farhaan and Shanayah, Vahbiz mentions, "I have always been a working mother. With the support of my family and sharing of daily tasks, I have the flexibility to work and travel.” When not preoccupied with shows, she is busy with her children, helping them with their studies, volunteering at their school and has even organized a fashion show for Shanayah’s school to raise money for a charity. "My children have access to me at all times as I am only a phone call away, but as a result of having a working mother they have become independent and resourceful,” she asserts. She has taught her children the value of a strong work ethic, believing in oneself and one’s faith. A devout Zoroastrian she finds peace in her faith and is always grateful. 
Glamorous but unassuming, she is humble and gracious and has ‘paid it forward’ by inducting various family, friends and community members in her profession. Always encouraging people to take risks, her children’s navjote was a platform for a new venture by her sister-in-law Kamal Mehta and cousin Delnaz Daruwala whom she commissioned to decorate and organize the event. Her faith in them paid off and they started The Wedding Chicks, an event management company.
The choreographer’s advice for achieving success is simple and sincere, "To be the best person you can, keep your head down and work hard regardless of the task; do it as there may be an opportunity that may unfold.”