Category Archives: nightout

Soiree With A Difference

An evening packed with incredible stage performances by differently-abled children witnessed crying hearts and echoing souls. This time fashion stood up for a cause, the cause to connect to the section where it holds different connotations. The Lilliane Foundation, a non-profit organization working for the children with disability organized an event named, ADVAITA-I AM YOU at Shangri-La’s – Eros Hotel, New Delhi to unleash the creativity and stories of children with difference.

The cultural evening saw 35 participants from the age group of 8-25, from different states of India rendering musical performances, dance and fashion shows while turning their so called disabilities into standing ovation worthy admiration. Model Sonalika Sahay, trained the children to walk the ramp and Designer Kulbhushan Rao designed the clothes. Actor Harman Baweja and Mugdha Godse concluded the show by appearing on the ramp.

Meenu and Namit of Direm Marketing Services who produced and conceptualized the show, said” The inner radiance and love for life with these children meet their life’s challenges, has been an education and opportunity to reflect on our own view of life.”     
 

Lakme party at Olive

Lakmé and IMG celebrate 11 years of their fashion journey, in the city that never sleeps, Mumbai. The party was hosted by Anil Chopra, CEO Lakme Lever, N Rajaram, Vice President – Lakmé, Ravi Krishnan, Managing Director – IMG – South Asia, and Sujal Shah, Vice President and Head of Fashion, IMG–India. 

The extravagant evening at Olive Bar & Kitchen saw a guest list that boasted of the crème de la crème of the fashion fraternity partying in style till wee hours of the morning; it was a night full of glamour.

To name a few crème de la crème from the fashion fraternity present at this grand celebration were AD Singh, Sabina Chopra, Alesia Raut, Anita Dongre, Bikram Saluja, Gautam Singhania, Kailash Surendranath, Lacelles Symons, Lubna Adams, Nachiket Barve, Asmita Marwah, Narendra Kumar, Pradeep Hirani, Rahul Mishra, Swapnil Shinde and many more. 
 

Bridal Finery at Olive

Divya Gurwara celebrated the 12th edition of Bridal Asia over a High Tea Preview in Mumbai hosted at Olive in Bandra. Designers Shane & Falguni Peacock, Malini Agarwalla of “Malaga” and Shaheen Abbas presented a sneak peak of their bridal creations.

Pratima Bhatia and Nisha Jamwval attended, carrying bags and wearing jewellery from Malaga’s new bridal accessories line, Shane & Falguni dressed  Sanea Shaikh and Shamita Singha in their bridal finery and Suchitra Pillai, Manasi Scott, Namrata Shroff made a statement in  dressed in stunning silver jewellery from Shaheen Abbas.

Speaking on the occasion Divya Guruwara said, “Since a large percentage of our participants and visitors come to the show from Mumbai, it’s an apt occasion to celebrate and showcase trends in this fashion forward city”.

Guests seen at this elegant high tea do were Ekta Raheja, Poonam Mahajan, Nayantara Thacker Jaya Raheja Anisha Chaturvedi Poonam & Kriti Soni Meenakshi Kuwadekar Teena Ahuja Falguni Jhaveri Alisha Chauhan Shonali Shroff Azmeena Rahimtoola Roshan Abbas Mamta Anand Ina Arora Mansi Joshi Delna & Simone Poonawala Kavita Chougule Shibani Suri, Kunika Singh amongst many others.
 

Fashion Tour in Mumbai

The Blenders Pride Fashion tour lands in Mumbai, bringing an opulent fashion extravaganza near to its consumers.  A special afternoon was hosted high on fashion quotient through a preview of the designer’s exquisite BPFT Tour ’10 collection. The fashion shows will be held from 3rd to 5th September and post Mumbai the tour travels to Kolkata. 

The stars of this edition are twelve exceptionally gifted designers that include Ashish N.Soni, Asmita Marwah, Gavin Miguel, Gunjan & Rahul, Mandira Wirk, Nandita Mahtani, Neeta Lulla, Raghvendra Rathore, Shantanu and Nikhil, Vikram Phadnis, Surily Goel and Wendell Rodricks. 

At the preview model turned actress Lisa Hayden looked stunning in an outfit created by Wendell Rodricks. The charming Sushma Reddy graced the afternoon for Neeta Lulla while the hot and happening Maliaka Arora Khan sizzled in a Surily Goel outfit.  Asmita Marwah’s creation glistened on Bruna Abdullah and the ravishing Mugdha Godse looked her very best in Gavin Miguel’s ensemble. Vikram Phadnis had Perizaad Zorabian as his muse and Shehzaan Padmasee adorned Nandita Mahtani’s outfit. 
 

Shagunn Exhibition

The biggest wedding exhibition Shagunn commences at The Ashok, New Delhi. It brings together all ingredients to make your wedding special and memorable. From Designer bridal wear, Jewellery, Stylish bags, Footwears to Mehandi artists, Make-up artists to Match-makers and Image consultants and much more. 

Speaking on the occasion, Bollywood diva, Jacqueline Fernandez said, “It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to witness the beauty of Indian weddings through Shagunn. It is a memorable experience for me and I am glad that I have got a chance to associate with one of the biggest wedding saga in the country” 

A one of its kind wedding exposition, Shagunn touches all the five senses. The show puts together the finest names in the bridal business making it a dream venue for anyone getting married this end of the planet. Visitors to the show can fulfill their every wedding needs including: Picking their wedding ensemble and their complete trousseau; selecting from a wide array of the finest bridal jewelry and accessories, choosing   wedding gifts and finding packers who can package them. 

Some of the prominent names present at the exposition are: Adarsh Gill, Shaina NC, Charu Parashar, Varija Bajaj, Frazer & Haws, Adamas, Naina Balsavar, Amrapali, Meera Mahadevia, Asma Hussain, Taniya Khanuja, Abdul Halder, Archana Kocchar etc.

Gold of Narlai

Designer Raghavendra Rathore brings out his second collection of jewellery, ‘Gold of Narlai’ for Zoya, chain of luxury diamond boutiques from Tanishq.

A Special Preview was hosted at the flagship Zoya store at Warden Road, Mumbai on Monday 23rd August 2010 wherein Meenakshi Kuwadekar and Teena Ahuja played the gracious co-hosts with Sandeep Kulhali of Zoya. The store wore a festive look with drapes and flowers in red, green and gold and mocktails and finger foods to match the Indian theme of the evening.

Raghavendra Rathore brings alive in this collection, his fascination for the ornaments worn by the tribal women of the quaint hamlet of Narlai, which manifests itself into a combination of beaten gold with kundan polki (uncut diamonds), recreating the magic of Narlai. 

With a blend of ancient charms, mysticism and modern aesthetics the collection takes history fast forward to a here and now appeal. Commenting on this collection designer Raghavendra Rathore said, “Gold of Narlai’ has been designed keeping Indian heritage in mind. The value of Brand India has been preserved in these beautifully crafted designs and Zoya from Tanishq is the ideal vehicle to introduce this collection to the discerning jewellery consumer of today.”

Models Dipti Gujral, Natasha Suri, Deepa Chari and Romil beautifully showcased some of the signature pieces from the Gold of Narlai collection, dressed in specially designed outfits by Raghuvendra Rathore. Some of the guests present at the launch of Gold of Narlai were Tanaz Doshi, Roopa Fabiani, Palak Sheth, Rasna Behl, Vipul Gupta and his wife, Monaz Pochkhanwala, Kriti Soni and many more. Jim Vimadalal from Zoya was also present
 

The New Ogaan store

Kavita Bhartia presents the first flagship store of Ogaan in Mumbai in the fashion forward yet arty, discerning yet experimental precinct of Colaba. Ogaan opens a 1,600 sq feet space at Grants Building in Colaba. “The vision behind this flagship store is to give a platform to Indian design, textiles and craft skills besides a surreal architectural experience” says Kavita Bhartia.

With the new Colaba store, Kavita Bhartia has created a space that allows her to bring Ogaan’s original aesthetic, and its range of designers, to Mumbai. Ogaan at Colaba will house collections by Ogaan’s bestselling designers over the years – Kavita Bhartia, Anamika Khanna, Kiran Uttam Ghosh, Pankaj and Nidhi Ahuja, Studio Petticoat, Nidhi Tholia and more. It will show fusion and western lines by Sonam Dubal, Rahul Mishra, Gauri & Nanika, Sanchita Ajjampur, and more, with accessories by jewelry designer Ritika Sachdeva.

A Special Opening Preview was hosted by Kavita Bhartia with daughter Aashti Bhartia and Nonita Kalra. As guests walked in they were pleasantly surprised with the layout of the store as if it were a walk through your own closet with round about display racks and chest of drawers to display the garments and jewellery. Present were Adi & Prameshwar Godrej with son Pirojsha, Mandira Bedi, Ira Dubey, Simran Lall, AD Singh, Kadambari Lakhani, Nayantara Thakkar, Nayana Kanodia, Devita Saraf, Kiran Uttam Ghosh (who presented a new vibrant bridal line at the store), Nachiket Barve, Anish & Vineeta Trivedi, Tasneem Mehta, Anil Chopra, Vikram Raizada, Deveika Bhojwani, Bansri & Rajesh Shah, Sunaina Wahi, Durva Gandhi, Deepika & Bharat Kewalramani, Pravina Mecklai, Divya Thakur, Sumeet & Apeksha Chopra, Kriti Soni, Remo & Naaz Zaveri  amongst many other friends and well wishers who enjoyed browsing and shopping for the festive season.
 

Best of the Best

There could not have been a bigger and more glamorous show to finally end Asia’s first jewellery expo. The Best of Best shows presented by P C Jeweller were two in number to accommodate the hundreds of invitees who were longing to see the gorgeous jewellery from the top Indian designers in the country.

The Grand Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Hotel was transformed into a giant ice cave with shimmering white thermacol icicles which hung from the ceiling also raised from the edges of the ramp. 

The first part of the show opened with the magnificent collection by P C Jeweller who presented a magnum opus for the final Grand Finale. Necklaces with multi strands and gems spread over shoulders, while firm kundan chokers ended with twinkling pendants. The show stopper was the very sensuous Mugda Godse in a diya shaped motif diamond necklace and earrings wearing a white satin draped gown from the An Ode to the Ice Diva collection by Archana Kochhar.

For the next part of the show one creation which was the crème de la crème of the participating brands and designers was selected to enthrall the audience in alphabetical order at The Best of the Best show that followed. For the finale of the Best of the Best show it was Ayesha Takia Azmi the pretty Bollywood star with the cheerful smile who walked the ramp in a deep pink lehanga and choli ensemble by Archana Kochhar and a P C Jeweller diamond and ruby broad necklace which ended in an inverted triangle.
 

 

A.Jaffe in India

One of New York’s most well known brand of designer rings, A.JAFFE, launched its flagship store in India, on Hughes Road in Mumbai. Securing its position as the first and only diamond ring-specialty store in the entire country, it’s the entrepreneurial venture of Priyanka Choksi, bringing to India, the finest collection of rings.

Signifying love, beauty, commitment, eternity, romance and timeless elegance, A.JAFFE takes great pride in its craftsmanship that follows old world traditions that have been handed down since its 1892  founding in New York and executed today, by the world’s finest jewelers.

The company uses state of the art technology, the finest metals and meticulous polishing to maximize brilliance of its diamonds. Each ring is hand polished in three steps – hand lapping, soft lapping and bright wheeling. Diamonds used are of VVS Clarity and G Colour.  The mountings are also sold as semi-set (without the center stone) and the styles are available in different millimeter widths, finishes, metals & total carat weights.

Priyanka Choksi, Business Head, India A.JAFFE said,” The most important decision of your life deserves a celebration with only the finest in beauty, quality and craftsmanship.  Selecting the perfect diamond ring – be it an engagement or wedding ring ensures that the ring will stay glittering and sparkling  evidence of this memorable day, for a lifetime. The A.JAFFE rings symbolize all that is beautiful and unique that can be cherished forever.  Your A.JAFFE ring will tell its own story and will be a treasure symbolizing your undeniable statement of true and everlasting love and commitment.”
 

Princess Darbar and Siuli

It was a cocktail evening at TK’s at the Hyatt Regency for a select gathering to jointly present the bridal collection of young designers Arpan Vohra & Nikasha Tawdey. Emphasizing that Bridal Asia has been consistent as a platform for designers to showcase, unveil and launch their bridal line, Divya Gurwara, CEO of Bridal Asia said “It is always a pleasure to bring designers from different cities together and showcase their talent to the Delhi audience”.

Arpan’s Bridal Asia collection ‘Princess Durbar’ stood out for fine detailing and exquisite craftsmanship. The Royal look in the ensembles is created through rich texturing on fabrics and surface ornamentation. Intricate vintage lace inspired jail embroideries adorn saris and jeweled lehangas on unusual colour combinations giving a very ornate feel to this collection. The Royal legacy in the entire collection is rich, styled and distinctive in terms of vibrant colours, silhouettes and design.

Nikasha Tawadey’s collection at Bridal Asia is named after a fragrant flower. Siuli is a small, pretty flower, and woven around this is a romantic story with relaxed resort weddings. The collection is predominantly pinks, coral and orange coupled with pitambari yellows, haldi, and rusty reds. Fabric consists of woven benarasi silks, chanderi, mul mul, silk chiffon and georgette and net. An interesting resurrection is of the Patiala salwar coupled with swirly kurta with printed stole, and starched benarasi dupatta’s with chikankari work.

Ramola Bachchan, Kajal Aiyaz, Binita Rowley, designer duo Pankaj & Nidhi, Preeti Chandra, Shalini Gupta of Bottega Venetta, Payal Sen and Ammu Saidi  were some of the prominent names who were spotted having a good time at the event.