Girl with the blue scarf

Supermodel Ujjwala Raut was in Mumbai recently visiting her parents. With daughter Ksha, 5, the proud momma says she has moved on from her nightmarish marriage to New York-based model Craig Maxwell Sterry . "I am single and happy. I've learned from my mistakes and put my past behind. I am still open to love though. Just like anybody else, I aspire for happiness too," she says. She wants to fiercely protect her daughter who lives with her in New York. "Why wouldn't I? I am a mother, and I will never let any harm come to my child. I can face any hardship but my daughter needs a normal upbringing. Thankfully, I am able to give her that in NY," she says with a sigh of relief. Some time ago, Ujjwala endured a lot of media bashing, "Thanks to Maxwell. He even emailed those articles to me. Everywhere I went, be it US, UK or Italy, the media kept asking for details about my marriage. I finally decided to put an end to this. Why should anyone know what...

When it's Mumbai-based designer Manish Malhotra's ramp show, the anticipation in the air is thick. This time around at the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2011 last day in Mumbai, everyone knew actress Kareena Kapoor would walk the ramp for him as his muse. And so, the crowds started to get restless when the show time neared. So much so, that the photographers got into a muddle and fist fights when they couldn't notch a good spot to shoot the ramp show. Finally the doors to enter the main show area opened and celebrities came in. Manish's special guests including Karisma Kapur, Neha Dhupia, Amrita Arora and Karan Johar got seated. With him came the cast of his forthcoming film Mere Bother Ki Dulhan including Katrina Kaif, Imran Khan, his wife Avantika, Deepika Padukone and director Punit Malhotra . This grand finale show launched Lakme Absolute, a longwear makeup range and Kareena wore it while walking the ramp. Gosh, she looked so gorgeous that people gaped in...

The GenNext show at the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2011 was absolutely rocking Over the years, one of the most anticipated shows at LFW, held in Mumbai, is the GenNext show. This season too, presenting 8 designers (many of them duos presenting a label), mentor Aki Narula brought forth a fabulous collection forward on the ramp. Apart from the design students, interestingly, a non-design student Nikhil Thampi debuted on the ramp. Shall I say, this young lad had a commendable effort to display. Aki Narula says, "I understood Nikhil's sensibilities because I myself am from a non-design background. Nikhil put in hard work and I am happy with his collection." Menswear and womenwear celebrated inspirations from punk rock, Himalayan terrains, sequined beads, flowy drapes and winterwear, all aptly labelled, with various lines. Bright bold colours to the fore, many designs were also understated. In short, the entire show was worth every moment in the F-Row. T...

An interesting observation I made was that the prestigious 9.30 pm sponsored slots at Lakme Fashion Week have gone to only male designers . Some of the most established names in the design fraternity are participating in the LFW Winter/Festive 2011 season this Aug 16 - 21 . With Delhi-based designer Rohit Bal aka Gudda (from Kashmir and based in Delhi) opening the Week at the off-site show in Tote, Mahalaxmi Race course, Mumbai, a male-centric trend will set in. JJ Valaya (Delhi) will present his Aircel sponsored collection on Wednesday. Followed by Narendra Kumar Ahmed (Mumbai) on Thursday, Sabyasachi Mukherjee (Kolkata) on Friday, Wendell Rodricks (Goa) for Himalayan on Saturday and Manish Malhotra (Mumbai ) as the Lakme grand finale. Girl with the blue scarf says: Actress Kareena Kapoor will be unveiled as the face of Lakme Absolute range this time. Every reason, you don't miss the finale. To check out what's happening at the LFW, log on to: www.la...

DELHI EMBRACES MANISH Designer Manish Malhotra takes Delhi by storm with muse Sonam Kapoor at SynergyOne Delhi Couture Week . The capital city celebrated classic bridal grandeur on the Delhi Couture Week ramp in a slick, stylish and contemporary avatar on Sunday night (July 24, 2011). Moving away from the showstopper concept, the designer introduced the muse of this collection, Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor, who opened the show in a beautifully embroidered cherry red outfit (bright brick red is back in the bride's wardrobe) With smoky eyes and hair pulled back in an avant-garde style, Sonam's grace brought forth the new contemporary bride of India, one who knows exactly what she wants. Make-up expert Mickey Contractor conceptualised the look for Manish's models. The collection had 25 uniquely stylised looks for women and five looks for men, which were inspired from the old world charm and majestic opulence of royalty that prevailed in India during the 1920s to 40s. Four m...

Bollywood actresses will walk the ramp for leading couturiers at the SynergyOne Delhi Couture Week (July 22 till 25, 2011) In India, no one can skip noticing Bollywood stars. And with good reason: They look great, act and speak well and love to wear their fave designer's clothes (they charge for wearing them on ramp and often pick it free-of-cost for casual outings). That's also the reason why even Delhiites wait for this time of the year so they can get a sneak peek into how the actresses would look in couture designs in the capital city. Sunil Sethi, President FDCI is hosting the entire 5 day show at the Taj Palace Hotel. "It's going to be uber grand," he promises. STARS ON THE RUNWAY: Actress Madhuri Dixit will come to India, take a break from doing dance shows on television and sit pretty in the Front-Row for designer Varun Bahl . Karisma Kapur walked out the last minute. She was to walk for designer Anju Modi . That couturier's team is now looking at so...

Styling Amitabh can be fun yet tough Everyone loved superstar Amitabh Bachchan's impeccably stylish looks in the film Bbuddha Hoga Terra Baap . Stylist Leepakshi Ellawadi , 28, London School of Fashion graduate, is the girl behind this star's makeover. And now that the film's looks have been appreciated, she's really happy girl, who's busy receiving compliments for styling Amitabh Bachchan in Bbuddha Hoga Terra Baap . On meeting Abhishek Bachchan (Amitabh aka Big B's son), who was excited about his father's new look, she said, "Kaash yeh buddha hota mera baap." And the two shared a hearty laugh. Having styled Salman Khan's look in Wanted film, Leepakshi is not new to the idea of film styling. In fact, the latest uniform by Jet Airways employees is her design idea. Working on director Puri Jagannadh's next untitled project, Leepakshi has her hands full. People are complimenting her for her work and the girl's got a spring in her feet. ...