Gurgaon: In an industry shaped by constant travel, demanding schedules and growing pressure to stay visible, finding time to switch off can be a challenge. Celebrating the importance of slowing down, The Times of India, in association with Starbucks, hosted another edition of its Let’s D-Stress series on Thursday. The session featured supermodel and fashion event consultant Sonalika Sahay in conversation with independent editor and adviser Amin Ali. Sahay reflected on her nearly two-decade journey in fashion, the pressures of social media, balancing motherhood with a demanding career, and the simple ways she finds time to disconnect.The evening began with a coffee experience at Starbucks, DLF Cyberhub, where guests explored cold brews made with high-quality Arabica coffee steeped for an extended period. The Red Peru Kanthari Chilli Cold Brew brought together the fruity sweetness of guava with the heat of Kanthari chilli from south India, while the Kokum Cold Brew combined kokum with ginger ale, finished with lemon and lime for bright acidity and subtle berry, plum and dried-fruit notes.Drawing from her experience of constantly travelling for fashion shows and shoots, Sahay said her best opportunity to de-stress often comes when she is offline. “I realise that once you go into the Instagram world or Facebook or any other app that you’re following, one hour just disappears out of your life, just like in a flash,” she said, adding that she finds it distracting when people reach for their phones mid-conversation: “I would stop my conversation right there and then.”A pertinent question Ali asked was how Sahay, as a mother, struck a balance between giving children access to technology and protecting them from its negative side.“Gadget time has to be very limited, but at the same time, today’s technology requires children to understand and use gadgets, otherwise they can be left behind. So I cannot completely take away the gadgets, but there have to be timings and restrictions around their use. I also think parents today have to be more careful about who their children are making friends with online, just as our parents used to watch out for the friends we were spending time with offline. It’s really about monitoring their usage and finding that balance,” she said.She has tried to limit her own social media use by setting time restrictions on apps and putting her phone away. Among her stress busters, Sahay cited running, walking, the gym and swimming, alongside quieter routines like coffee, a book, and watching people go by.On the industry’s shift toward social media and fast fashion, Sahay said the digital era has opened doors for younger designers without large ad budgets, though she cautioned that outfits appealing online don’t always hold up in person. Speaking of the growing presence of artificial intelligence, she said it would significantly affect fashion but that its impact depends on how people choose to use it: “Technology has always helped people... it is going to be something that is going to benefit everybody massively. It depends on how we harness it.”For Sahay, de-stressing ultimately comes down to creating boundaries around work and technology and making time for experiences that do not demand constant attention. In a profession where the pressure to stay relevant never really stops, sometimes switching off may be the most effective way to recharge.
