March 2012 - Page 8 of 19

A little secret tucked inside the Olive at one style mile, the Greenhouse on the Ridge is a small, exclusive and an intimate space, where British chef Alice with her partner cook live right before your eyes in a rustic kitchen producing some delicious food.

Pioneering for natural, organic and ethical produce, Greenhouse on the Ridge follows a strict philosophy of sourcing the best produce and takes extra care and thought which is been put into each morsel. The tasting menu brings forth carefully devised entrées, mains and desserts, with a hands-on approach chef will take you through each dish and offer advice on wine pairing.

The caramelized garlic and goat cheese tart was filled with unusual flavours, and their bittersweet salad of fig, feta & pine nuts though they were rarely found complemented each other. Their grilled Artichoke of cherry tomato and slow roasted pork belly were quite fulfilling as starters.

Chef Alice prepared some fabulous seafood in the main course of Salmon Steak paired with steamed asparagus, beurre blanc and new potatoes. While Rosemary spiked leg of lamb & Beetroot Risotto were subtle, but delicious dishes that include many aspects of Indian produce.

For dessert we got tiramisu and upside down pear cake served with vanilla ice cream and wild berry coquille. As we ended our delightful discovery we noted there is variety of other puddings at offer to satisfy every pallet.

It was a ‘Cool Japan’ theme party which marked the opening of first ever ‘Cool Japan’ festival in Mumbai bringing Japan closer than ever before. The evening was hosted by Japanese Ministry with designer Narendra Kumar at Canvas, Palladium in Mumbai.

The performance-packed Japanese soiree saw a Wadaiko Drums show with Japanese performance by 12 drummers, along with the Rakugo Comedy Storyteller show giving a glimpse of Japanese humor and a Dragon Show. The performances were followed by a fashion show by Narendra Kumar seeing models walking in edgy Japan inspired outfits donning Geisha-like makeup.

About his Japan connect Narendra said, “I visited Japan on two occasions in the last two years and absolutely loved it. We also launched the Cool Japan calendar earlier this year with Bollywood actress Giselli Monterio and with the 3 day Cool Japan festival here in my hometown, it is the first time that Indians will be treated to Japanese entertainment and I encourage all Mumbaikars to come to High Street Phoenix during 16 to 18 March 2012.”

The event witnessed the glam brigade of the tinsel town enjoying Japanese hospitality and culture. The attendees included Pooja Bedi, Akashdeep, Akanksha Nanda, Kadambari Lakhani, Rajeev Samant, Sameer Sheth and Sarabjit Singh Chaddha amongst others.

One of the world’s premiere makeup brands, Lancome launches its latest foundation, Teint Idole Ultra 24H guaranteeing 24 hours of flawlessness with comfort.

Perfect for every kind of complexion, the latest product by Lancome ensures of supple and shine-free skin with high coverage and matte look. The foundation prepared with a new Eternal Soft technology boasts of an exceptional active ingredient rendering an immaculate velvety complexion lasting for 24 hours.

Lancome has launched the product in 8 new shades for every skin, from fairest to darkest, formulated after observing 15,000 complexion color points on around 1,000 women. The shades viz; 10 Praline, 11 Muscade, 12 Ambre, 13 Sienne and 14 Brownie; from sandy to more intense tones have been developed for mixed race complexions. 005 Beige Ivories, the lightest shade is well suited to transparent blush prone Scandinavian skin whereas 15 Acajou, the darkest shade is designed for ebony toned skin. For Middle Eastern skin tone is 007 Beige Rose, enriched with a hint of pink.

Moreover, Teint Idole Ultra 24H is showcased in a new bottle with a graphic modern design, crowned with a black lacquer cap.

Identity and Beauty between Art and Science
It is for the first time in Italy, an exhibition that brings art and science together over the subject of the skin. Through a rich array of works of art – antique, modern, and contemporary – documents, and antique objects, the visitor explores a fascinating itinerary that leads to a science laboratory.

Much space is dedicated to modern and contemporary artists who use the most varied languages, from painting to sculpture, from the conceptual to the new technologies, and on through to experimental filmmaking, with site specific events as well. Among the artists on show are: Giacomo Balla, Franz von Bayros, Vanessa Beecroft, Adriana Bisi Fabbri, Andrea Chisesi, Giuliana Cuneaz, Gillo Dorfles, Marcel Duchamp, Lucio Fontana, Grazia Gabbini, Robert Gligorov, Abel Herrero, , Roy Lichtenstein, Luigi Maio, Lazhar Mansouri, Piero Manzoni, Alberto Martini, Bruno Munari, Giuseppe Penone, Marinella Pirelli, Pietro Pirelli, Karl Prantl, Man Ray, Odilon Redon, Auguste Rodin, Omar Ronda, Mimmo Rotella, Maia Sambonet, Alberto Savinio, Andreas Serrano, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Andy Warhol, and Tom Wesselmann.

The exhibition unfolds along an itinerary of six sections that examine in trans-disciplinary terms the subject of the skin, beauty, and the female identity, accompanied throughout by contemporary art installations. Throughout, there is a fascinating interplay between the macro- and the micro- cosmos, between images of the surface of stars and planets and images of the epidermis seen under the microscope.

The first section is entitled The Discovery of the Skin, and it shows very rare waxworks by the eighteenth-century sculptress and anatomist Anna Morandi, “Woman’s Face” and “Sensitive Hands”, and Ettore Sobrero’s extraordinary miniatures of antique apothecaries, one of the first places dedicated also to skincare. In line with this approach, the itinerary continues with Paradise of Hygiene set in contrast with Hell of Modesty: the modern-day boom of the concept of hygiene is illustrated by bathrooms and “hygiene gadgets” from yesterday and today, contributed to the show by corporate museums. Works by Sam Shaw, Mel Ramos e John Kacere may be seen all along the way.

From a classical vision of beauty in Canova’s plaster cast and in the woman shown in Alfons Mucha’s large paravent entitled The Four Seasons, in perfect Art Nouveau style, the visitor is catapulted into oneiric, metaphorical visions made concrete in the portraits by the French painter Odilon Redon, Alberto Martini, and Adriana Bisi Fabbri.

In this lingering gaze at the female identity, much space is also dedicated to the skin, with the aim of highlighting its peculiarities in its various manifestations. The show offers a range of significant examples, from the complexions and the icy beauty of the female icons immortalized by Man Ray, by whom the show can boast an extraordinary and choice group of black and white photographs dating from the Twenties to the Thirties, including Noir et blanche (1926), Natasha (1931), and the Juliet portraits (1945), to the skin and the iconic beauty of Andy Warhol’s Marilyn (1967), Portrait of Daniela Morera (1981) and Ladies and Gentlemen (DATA??), as well as Tom Wesselmann’s Maquette for Monica in the Bedroom (1986). Among the most recent examples of the phenomenon, outstanding are the works of Giuliana Cuneaz, with her imposing Corpus in Fabula (1996), Robert Gligorov, Abel Herrero, Andreas Serrano, Yoshie Nishikawa.

Metamorphosis of women’s skin, instead, is a suggestive lighting installation, made expressly for the exhibition that presents the transformation of the same woman madeup and dressed according to the “style” of the time.

Moreover, during the four weeks that the show will be open, Boots Laboratories has invited a group of cosmetologists from Rome’s Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore to explore together with the public various themes related to the skin. The event will profit from the valuable support of a committee of experts from various sectors, which counts among its members: Chiara Cappelletto, Leonardo Celleno, Rosa Chiesa, Luisa Gnecchi Ruscone, Marco Montemaggi, Massimo Papi, Loretta Secchi, Fulvio Simoni, and Beba Restelli.

Posted by : Amal Kiran Jana from Milan,at 06:01PM

The recently concluded India Fashion Forum 2012 saw the fashion industry stalwarts coming together presented the skinny on Indian fashion; the current trends of the market, challenges being faced and the growth prospects.

The sessions explored the factors driving the growth, learning and challenges along the way, and future predictions. It came to the fore that that the mediums like online retailing, tapping tier II & III cities, merging affordability with consumer needs and segments like kids wear and sportswear will drive the growth in near future in India.

It highlighted the fact that the Indian fashion segment is growing at a healthy rate of 12-15% annualy and this growth is expected to continue over the next few years. The proportion of organized to unorganized sector is 30 to 70 per cent respectively, and this provides huge opportunity for the organized sector to grow phenomenally. The Indian fashion market collectively with apparels, jewellery, shoes and accessories is pegged at 3.7 lakh crore and women’s, kids wear and sportswear within this segment of the market is expected to grow anywhere between 40 -50% where the heavy demand will rise from tier II and III cities.

The sessions also revealed that that e commerce is the next big thing due to the changing shopping trends and escalating rentals over the past few years. It highlighted the need of the unique services and products to capture the pool of the rapidly growing online consumer base. It accentuated that the average time spent on a fashion website is 7-8 minutes whereas its 3-4minutes on a normal retail website.

Unraveling the facts about lingerie business in India the team of panelists concluded that the Indian lingerie market is growing with the rate of 12% annually and is expected to touch Rs 67,00 crore by the end of 2012. It brought to the fore that point-of-purchase’ is the problem in lingerie retailing since the shopping environment is extremely intimidating for the women who are confronted with male sales personnel and lack of fitting rooms.

Fashioning Sustainability The times when ethics and profits are no more on loggerheads necessitates fashion, like every other industry, to merge the two with creativity. And attaining sustainability while retaining glamour and promoting creativity turned out to be the pith of the recently organized conference ‘Sustainable Fashion: an industry r-evolution’ in Milan.

The joint effort by National Chamber of Italian Fashion and the British Consulate General Milan, the conference accentuated on the study and updates on the various aspects of social and environmental sustainability that are changing the fashion industry and affecting the entire population chain, strummed by Industry stalwarts comprising of fashion designers, stylists and fashion writers.

The whole discussion revolved around searching for more innovative manufacturing solutions reducing the environmental Fashioning Sustainability impact of fashion products while also ensuring that organizations follow conventions of ethics and their social responsibility. It highlighted few classic cases like of Gucci and Haikure, taking some interesting steps to promote sustainability while intensifying their creative endeavors. Also came to the fore, the pictures of famous English Fashion Designer Katharine Hamnett known for her political t-shirts and ethical business philosophy. It focused on the fact that t-shirts are a strong social communication tool and effective in raising a cause.

The conference also presented a first-of-its-kind survey conducted among the member of the Chamber of Fashion, on environmental and social responsibility in the sector, with the aim of understanding their actions, expectations and needs. The results highlighted the fact that in time of rapidly changing global market luxury brands will increasingly focus on product quality, quality of work and the quality of the environment to continue to create value and be competitive.

To celebrate the launch of Womens Designer Galleries, Selfridges of late invited sevenof our favourite designers to create bespoke short film collection to be presented in a special exhibition open till 25th March.

Womens Designer Galleries

The Film Project sees fashion houses A.F Vandevorst, Alexander McQueen, Comme des Garcons, Dries Van Noten, Rick Owens, Ann Demeulemeester and Gareth Puh interpreting the essence of today’s modern women by rendering a strong female character at the centre of each film.

For the screening of the films award winning set designer Simon Costin created special installations highlighting the largely grey palette and white curtains modifying the bland settings of Selfridges department store.

Party like The Irish at St.Patricks Day Celebration at The Irish House Where: The Irish House, Phoenix Mills Compound, 462, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai, India 400013

Cricket Mania @ Sura Vie Join the party now! Address: Sura Vie, 1- Scindia House, Janpath, Connaught place, New Delhi.

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Fashion Conditioned

Monthly Archives: March 2012

Green House on the Ridge

The Flavours of Japan

Teint Idole Ultra 24H

Women’s skin

India Fashion Forum

Fashioning Sustainability

Womens Designer Galleries

Irish House celebrates St.Patricks Day

Cricket Mania @ Sura Vie