September 2012 - Page 3 of 16

The versatile author Vikram Seth came to reveal his bent towards paints and brushes when he showcased a set of three paintings he created for Absolut Vodka at Cheri, One Qutab in New Delhi, recently.

A polyglot, poet, calligrapher, musician, sculptor, and now a painter, Vikram Seth showed his genius by painting the motif of Absolut bottle with colors, poetry and soul on the canvas. Three different colours, three different languages, three different rasas, and three different thought processes came together in perfect rhythm to create the paintings.

An artwork with red background features Chinese calligraphy meaning, “Vikram Seth Wrote this in Delhi” while the other painting in Green is done in Devanagari. The third one features “Na Main Na Mai” written in Urdu in gold color on blue background.

Speaking about the association, Vikram Seth said, “In the last few years I have spent much more time doing art in one form or the other than writing; for some reason, I have had a visual obsession. So when I was approached to do something with this iconic shape, I wondered whether I would find it constraining to use it. In fact I found it neither constraining nor liberating as such, but quite inspiring.”

The unveiling of the paintings was attended by few of the illustrious names in the city including Nida Mahmood, Shweta Nanda, Ramola Bachchan, Paresh Maiti, Vikram Baidyanath and Siddharth Sanghvi amongst others.

After Mumbai and London, couturier duo Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla now look to the Capital of Haute Couture to launch their recently released book, India Fantastique.

The book which is a beautiful insight into the world of the duo will be launched at the Galerie du Passage in Paris on October 4, 2012. Designed to literally bring the volumes of the book to the life, the exhibition will be a 3-D showcase of their 25-year careers, featuring masterworks of couture, craft, textiles and art, juxtaposed with sumptuous photographic highlights from the books.

About the book Sandeep Khosla of the duo says, “Abu and I thought long and hard about how we wanted to celebrate our milestone, and also about how we would use this celebration to set the vision for our creativity and ourselves in the next twenty-five years. It soon became clear that a book, or rather two as it turned out to be, was the ideal vehicle.”

The Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla Exhibit will run for an entire month after it opens on October 4.

Glam, sexy, chic this is what it you feel in the Just Cavalli SS13 show. From the white wooden floor and blue background curtain appeared the Cavalli girls, first with a white jacket in studded sleeves, then typical cavalla animal printed skirt with flora and fauna printed top with animal printed leather bags, sleeveless denim jackets with printed pant. Then you focus to the classy environment with royal blue and white mix, some satin printed dresses, linear pant and shirt without prints, deep shawl collar navy jacket with shirt, then a shift to some vibrant digital bougainvillea prints on dresses and top.

The predict was always obvious but still there comes certain newness which creates the vibes and trend for the season.

A mix of retro, modern and sporty look is seen in this season’s collection. Paolo had tried to give an overall adventure by using knit, woven and denim. Though to me denim has some special touch this season you have already seen it in N21. Mini to long dresses, shirts with open buttons showing a glimpse of sporty lingerie. Thick belts and cross as a neck wear accessories to black clean short dress; giving a feeling of party mood to aristocratic look. It seems bit too experimental as the connection to a clear theme is missing according to me.

The signature of the 1960’s brand Etro is continued, you see again an atmosphere of flowers and paisley. The inspiration is drawn off course from the nature garden which is translated to the collection in form of prints. Though this time an old age technique of hand painted prints is widely used against the modern digital era, I always feel the modern society is still missing the link with nature and it’s versatile.

In Veronica’s collection you see a lot of long tunic dresses with flower prints, knotted shirts, and one shouldered dress very much Asian inspired, stripes and kaftan styles. The colors play around white, blue, maroon and floral atmosphere. Small and big leather printed clutch bags add to the perfection of the whole collection.

The iconic Italian brand Tod’s has once again proved that when it comes to creating timeless contemporary style no one does it better than Tod’s. The luxury brand presented its women’s collection of accessories for Spring Summer 2013 which depicted the perfect balance between tradition, innovation, craftsmanship and modernity. The very essence of Tod’s DNA resonated throughout its collection which was colorful and rich in refined details that emphasized both iconic and innovative new styles.

The iconic D Bag was unveiled in new models and precious day options with sophisticated soft structure in a variety of luxurious degrade python. A special couture edition in precious skins brought forth the pure art of craftsmanship elevating the D Bag to an object of sheer desire. Another piece that stood out in the collection was the Ballerina, with its artisanal fine wedge oozing refinement and feminity yet retaining its innate style. A selection of fun summer colors enveloped with the highest quality leather made the cut at Tod’s women’s collection for Spring/Summer 13.

Lately, the designer duo Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna of Cue collaborated with multi-designer boutique Evolv to launch an exclusive limited edition pret collection called, “The theatre of illusions” at Evolv’s store at DLF Promenade, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.

The collection drawing inspiration from linear structures and geometrical lines is a blend of colors like berry, coral, and indigo with darker hues like black and grey, reflecting the design sensibilities of the designer duo. The silhouettes are mostly fitted and structured while the garments are finished with hand-crafted metal detailing like sheer fabrics and layering.

About their tie-up with the store, the designer duo said, “The concept and ideology of the store really excited us. Weather it was the focus to the youth or the mix of different designers. We fell for it immediately. The eclectic and edgy store has thumbs up from our end. Rightly called “V love””.

The womenswear is priced between Rs 3850 – Rs 14500 whereas men’s collection is available in the range of Rs 2450 – Rs 3450. The collection is in the stores till October 31, 2012.

The collection is a very first of the offerings of Evolv’s work in progress which will see the store collaborating with some of India’s leading and upcoming designers to present the fashion and designs that are affordable yet stylish.

The launch saw a host of luminaries and glitterati gracing the event. The attendees included Varun Bahl, Gaurav Gupta, Malini Ramani, Gauri Karan, Gautam Seth, Prateek Jain, Aparna Chandra, Nandita Basu, Himanshu & Dhruti Dogra, Sanjeev Bijli, Rina Dhaka and Radhika Chanana amongst others.