June 2011 - Page 10 of 18

Someone undeniably said that the only difference between humans and animals is that the latter can’t accessorize. Well, they even don’t have Philip Treacy at their disposal! The run up to be humans, err eccentric humans ends at this milliner, who has been the favourite amongst celebrities and royals for his outlandish hats. In fact hats are one such accessory which can glaringly infuse a lot of substance in one’s look. Ample substance, that it is misinterpreted as snobbery in a culture like India. Thanks to Royal wedding, or call it exotica, infact royal exotica, that the trend is picking up insanely. So in this section we worship the bizarre-quotient the hats have lately come up with.

Move over fedoras and trilbies, they have subdued to let the fascinators, cocktail and bizarre hats land on the heads of the prettiest Rapunzels. Kate Middleton is undoubtedly the proponent of the trend with her feathery and lacy fascinators imbuing the ladies around the world to dabble with the trend. Actually fascinator is a headpiece with a delicate decoration of fanciful materials like lace, beads, flowers, feathers and veils, mostly worn on one side of the head.

The eccentricity is not limited to fascinators and cocktail hats, the recent opening of The Royal Ascot, saw the most dignified ladies appearing in outlandish hats made of fake hair, pearls, flowers and silk cabbage roses to form the flowing edifices. Lady Gaga’s telephone and lobster hats by Philip Treacy rightly stand for the insanity quotient the hats can endow you with. In fact Indian designers now and then have showcased such hats on ramps and the latest in series are Tarun Tahiliani’s Occidental hats, Gaurav Gupta bizarre contorted headgears and Gauri and Nainika’s ultra-feminine headpieces.

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The Tarun Tahiliani Bridal Couture Exposition is a unique concept designed as a novel way to showcase Indian Bridal Couture and Luxury in the finest of setting in each city. This year, expanding the reach of the event beyond Delhi & Mumbai, the TTBCE will also be held in Hyderabad & Kolkata taking the number of cities upto four. The event proposes to exhibit in additional cities across India in the coming years.

In its third season now, the Exposition promises a new benchmark in the showcase of India’s rich heritage styled in a contemporary manner. The theme chosen for this year is ‘Artisanal- Bringing the Artisan to the Fore’- an entirely novel blend of Indian finery with a layered western construct.

Talking about the Exposition, Tarun Tahiliani said, “This exposition is a confluence of two great artisanal traditions in a unique fashion. European designers have always used Indian workmanship and now we will see a new fusion of Indian Couture using international construction with the finest weaves, embroideries, jewels, stones and techniques”.

This first-of-its-kind bridal couture event is scheduled across the four cities starting in New Delhi at India’s premiere luxury destination- The DLF Emporio from July 8-13, 2011 and being followed by Mumbai at the finest hospitality icon – The Four Seasons Hotel from July 22-24, 2011; will then move to Hyderabad at the newly launched luxury hotel The Park Hyderabad from August 6-7, 2011 and will end its four city tour at Kolkata’s iconic hotel-The Park Kolkata from August 20-21, 2011.

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Father’s day Special Menu@ Royal China,Nehru Place Date:19th June to 25th June ’11 Time: 12.30 to 3.30pm Meal for Two:1100+ taxes Address: Royal China, 16th Floor, Eros Corporate Tower, New Delhi

Burger-Binging Monsoon Menu @ Mocha, At all Mocha outlets in Mumbai.

Juice brings you The Moroccan Secret, Come, give your hair a new lease of life with the exotic Moroccan blowout Hair Treatment

Brioni India unveils its Spring Summer 2011 collection of men taking its inspiration from the colours of the paintings of David Hockney.

In Brioni’s latest collection, colors like royal blue, energetic red, ginger and mandarin mix with a range of vegetable tones such as eucalyptus green, lavender, sage, right up to wine must red. The warm tones, burned by the sun, give up their energy and, as if watered down by the sea, become mud brown and marsh green, highlighting the constant search for elegance, the soul of this collection, that predominates in formalwear and also makes skirmishes into the territories of informal wear, outerwear and knitwear.

Outerwear with its new lines that enhance proportions are elegant and more figure- hugging, is proposed in new bright and sophisticated colours that give a new lease of life to next summer’s blazer, no longer just dark blue, but also purple, coral and wood green.

The two-piece suit comes in both a cobalt blue silk/cotton mix and a silk seersucker suit in white and beige, while the three-piece suit is proposed with a new sunny effect in pure cotton.
For the evening, the cocktail jacket is a chessboard of small blue, beige, purple and green squares or a mix of blues to be matched with the celery colour shirt, while the dinner jacket is in silk shantung and lace shirt, all strictly black.

The fabrics are enriched: the wools made following the rules of the classic Biella tradition are joined by cottons and silks spun with nylon or microfibre, using techniques perfected exclusively for Brioni.

The knitwear inlays and jacquards are sophisticated in their use of silk/cashmere and silk/linen, while they become modern with graphical effects in the fibre of the season – mercerized cotton.

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Now in its second edition, I AM She 2011 will see Sushmita Sen as the “Mentor” and Aditi Gowitrikar, Jackky Bhagnani and Joy Datta as judges, who will handpick the twenty finalists to grace the stage at the finale of I AM She 2011, to be held a mere five weeks from now. The selection panel will evaluate the girls on criteria ranging from intelligence, talent, confidence and general knowledge to beauty, grace and charm. Needless to add, it will be the twenty who display that inherent elegance and chutzpah that will catch the panels’ attention.

About the contest, Sushmita says, “I AM She 2011 will be as engaging for the young Indian beauty, as it will be for their families. It will break all language barriers with a format that allows the contestants to express themselves in any language they are comfortable with, aided by interpreters. This was very well received last year, our first year, and the response was indeed very encouraging. Along with this new format, there will be many more additions which we will announce and talk about as we move forward.”

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The 20 finalists of the Ford Models ‘Supermodel of the World’, the most prestigious modeling contest in the world emblazoned the ramp at the pre-finale fashion show. The entourage of the hottest and freshest faces in the fashion industry strut the runway in stunning creations of elegant Indian, Evening and Swim Wear.

The pre-finale fashion show was a preview to the glittering Grand Finale that will be held on June 15, 2011. A synergy of fresh faces, talent and eye-catching creations await culmination of the contest, for which the girls have been groomed and trained by industry experts like Prasad Bidapa – fashion choreographer, Milind Soman, Rahul Dev to augment their fitness regimes and Ambika Pillai for hair and make-up tips amongst others.

Nitya Duella, one of the 20 finalists ecstatically said, “Being a model comes with its own set of perks, but getting to wear ensembles designed by the greats of the Indian fashion industry is a dream come true for all of us. I am extremely excited to don creations of such renowned designers. Their collections bring out the core essence of being a woman, which is what I like best about them.”