Girl with the blue scarf

My maiden visit to the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week 2011 in Delhi was buzzing in more ways than one. At Jantar-Mantar, social activist Anna Hazare broke his fast on Friday April 8 and many socialites and actors made a beeline to serve him nimbu paani . And right next to it at The Park Hotel, models including Hemangi Parte, Minu Verghese and Bhawna Sharma and designers like Anamika Khanna , lined up sans make-up to make their way to Pragati Maidan where the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Autumn Winter 2011 was taking place. I was put up there too, so all the action was delighting me to no end. For starters, I was immediately consumed by the humongous size of the venue where two show areas kept switching fashion shows in gaps of 30 minutes. The buyers area was thick with transactional activity with designers. Yes, I witnessed some real buying and selling there. Pradeep Hirani of Kimaya was placing orders for horse hair handbags. Alka Nishar of Aza , was happy to do her buying...

In-your-face sexy silhouettes are out, longer hemlines, sheer kurtas and clothes that give hint of suggestion, is the 'new sexy' Bare legs and plunging necklines are passe. Internationally, sheer blouses, longer hemlines are making a comeback on the ramp. The entire perception is now - sexiness is in the suggestion. Indian designers too feel that wearing your attitude is what is considered sexy. And it's no longer about just revealing clothes that make you stand out. Firing the imagination is the new buzz word for the modern-day fashionista. So, dig into your wardrobe and rediscover clothes that are not in-your-face sexy. What remains covered and yet gives a hint of what's inside (read fit bod) is what’s making news these days. Manish Malhotra who's LFW show recently had sheer kurtas for men and sheer blousons for women, says, "Everyone's fit and aware now. Being comfortable in your skin is integral thus sheer is in. But it's a niche trend and not every...

India's loss to South Africa not withstanding, Manish Malhotra brought in much cheer with his resortwear show on Saturday night All roads on 12 March, Saturday night led to celebrated designer Manish Malhotra's Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2011 show in Mumbai, quite literally though, for Indian cricket team was on its losing leg with South Africa at that hour and select invitees desperately needed for cheer. Inside the LFW venue, as the lights dimmed from the beautiful Istanbul lamps hung from the ceiling, for the show to start, there was immense anticipation in the air. Well, that's something, that Manish always manages to offer, fairly effortlessly. Choreographer Lubna Adam gave the cue for the show to start and male models came strutting in kurtas with rich textures of jute, Tussar silk and brocades in beiges, greys and navy blues, wearing Jodhpuris, Bandhgalas and slim pants (guys, take note). A firm believer of giving a twist to the traditional with the contemporar...

Promising young designers in Mumbai and Delhi are being offered slots in New York Fashion Week but are being duped and taken elsewhere In the past few months, many young and upcoming designers have received a phone call from a heavily accented voice that promises them a slot at the coveted New York Fashion Week. Needless to say, they all jumped at the offer. Television actress Neena Gupta's talented daughter Masaba Gupta , recently did too, and soon realized she’d been duped. At 500 US Dollars, the designer was told that a select set of buyers, media and audiences will attend her 'Talent from India' fashion shows 'during' the New York Fashion Week. Says Masaba, "I was told that I would get to participate at the 'high profile' New York Fashion Week because they found my work good and of international quality.” She now knows that these calls are not international but are from an agency in Delhi. They’d had approached her last season too. “Now they have ap...

From March 11 till 15, 2011, an online step for Mumbai will be a fashionably tech-savvy leap for India Now, who wouldn't want to catch up on wardrobe malfunctions, cat fights, model gossip, trendy designer parties and serious fashion trends, all of this, without physically having to sit on the front row of the fashion week? Good news for fashionistas is that Mumbai's going the Big Apple way, technologically that is. In just the way London and New York Fashion Week stream their coveted ramp shows online, Lakme Fashion Week will also go live with LFW TV , that too, real time, from this season onwards. Mid-March, right from Day 1 of the fashion week, every designer fashion show will be just a click away. This real-time streaming of the shows will enable an all-access virtual pass for the common janta. Interestingly, Mumbai is the very first city in India to go online, real time and stay ahead of the technological curve, beating other cities like Delhi and Bengaluru. Spreading acce...

Sultry 'no bikini' supermodel will make a ramp appearance after a year in Mumbai Remember the dusky fresh face, who acted opposite actor Arjun Rampal in the film I See You ? Chances are you wouldn't recollect her for the acting skills but supermodel Vipasha Agarwal was one helluva live wire as a ramp model, who had the guts to refuse doing bikini shots because she wasn't too comfortable in it. Today, post-marriage to photographer Vishesh Verma , as she makes a comeback of sorts on the ramp, she's says, "I've opened up a bit now. But bikini shots are still a no-no. It was amazing to have been selected for the supermodel title two years ago, but I chose to move on with real life, got married and now I'm happy doing selective modelling work." Admiring Padma Lakshmi, Kate Moss and Monikangana Dutta alike, Vips is very excited to be back on the runway this March for Lakme grand finale designer duo Gauri and Nainika in the maximum city. Incidentally, M...

Money can't buy you love but it can sure give you an unfair edge . Now, how true is that...Valentine's Day is here, and to most of us, it's so much about love and lust that separating the two is almost impossible. But then who cares, just as long as it gives you happiness, however, short term or long term. And so, like many others, to me, Valentine's is much about beautiful lingerie. It makes you feel desirable and spending on lingerie can always work in your favour, however, unexpected the encounter. Another good thing about this day is it falls in the month of February. And that's the time, most brands are offering goodies at slashed prices. Stores have decorated their racks with cute hearts and are busy wooing customers with combos. It's a great way to indulge and pamper yourself, and also your partner. So, if intimacy is something you look forward to, there's every reason you must think about body basic wear. And if women can have so much fun with it. Am...