Priyadarshini Rao, Krishna Mehta, Anita Dongre, Rohit Bal, Narendra Kumar and Swapnil Shinde

I attended the L.F.W. press conference yesterday, where Anjana Sharma and the whole panel discussed what is to be expected from L.F.W. S/R 2012. Here is what we are looking forward to and what you should be thrilled to know.

First off, super star Nina Manuel, will be the host for the ever popular Lakmé Fashion Week T.V., so be sure to tune in for all the gossip, fashion, trends and interesting people, on and off the runway.

Psst! Can’t get enough of Nina Manuel? Then be sure to check out MissMalini.com, for a look at her personal style and her closet treasures in our ‘Girl about Town‘ series.

Rohit Bal, Narendra Kumar and Swapnil Shinde

Rohit Bal will be the designer, showcasing the finale for this season; can’t wait to see his collection and the entire set up/ background/ runway etc. he has planned. Also highly anticipated, is Narendra Kumar, who will showcase in the DHL show. Designer Bibhu Mohapatra, will be showcasing his collection for the very first time in India (if you don’t know about this designer, then go Google him now, his lady-like collections are exquisite).

Manoj Kumar & Vinod Bhardwaj

What I’m most proud of, is the spotlight on talent from unexpected cities, as Mr. Anil Khosla (C.E.O., I.N.I.F.D.) rightly said  ”We’re bringing light to the artisans that look to fashion weeks to sustain their ancient craft”.  He said this in direct relation to his two students Manoj Kumar and Vinod Bhardwaj (GenNext designers), who are from smaller cities in India. We can’t wait to see and support budding talent, no matter where it come from.

And the designers showcasing are:

Participating Designers for L.F.W.

The line-up

Sula Fest 2012

Video coming soon

We know how much you love these type of posts, and that’s why we were extra observant at Sula Fest 2012. There were many interesting things to look at, from how the wine was made, to a tub in the middle of the lawn filled with rose petals! Not to forget the hot guys on stage; yes we have it all right here. Thank you Rajeev Samant for all the Sula Fun! Hope you like our recollection from our weekend at Sula Fest 2012.

Psst! What do you think the term ‘Angel Share’ means? Read on to find out!

Grape Girls

Grape Girls

These 3 best friends were very excited to go grape stomping, and decided they wanted to wear all white. The reason being, they wanted to get the grape colour all over their outfits, similar to why folks wear white at Holi. Unfortunately all they got was purple feet, sorry girls but save these outfits for Holi – you’ll have better luck then!

B.T.W., if you’ve never worn matching outfits with your girl friends, you must take inspiration from these three and try it. It’s so much fun, plus if you’re in a club you can spot each other easily!

Angel’s Share

Angel's Share

While we were going through our wine tasting session, our teacher Mr. Ajoy, used the most adorable term for (and I quote) ‘the quantity of an alcoholic liquor, lost to evaporation during the distilling process’ – this is called Angel’s Share. You learn something new everyday. Alcohol going up to the heavens…so that’s how angel’s party!

Eye Candy!! Woo Hoo!

Eye candy

Now you know we’re all about fashion spotting and being serious at an event, but with so many good looking men on stage, we just had to do a collage of some of these hotties. Leading the pack is Sahej Bakshi from Dualist Inquiry, followed by the violinist from Etienne Mbappe’s band, who we tried very hard to get a good picture of, but epically failed (sorry!). Following them, are the boys from Reggae Rajahs who are so immensely cool, you can’t help but like them (or dance to their beats). Finally there is the indie chic Ankur Tewari, Nikhil D’souza and Nitin Sawhney (Google them now ladies!); what makes them so appealing, more than just their looks, is their talent. So glad I got to see so many of them perform.

Say Cheese!

Say cheese

I always love to see girls go crazy with their cameras – they can get quite creative sometimes. These two girlies, who were playing around with this funky frame, were having so much fun, that I’m sure it’s going to be their next profile picture! I love to capture candid moments like these, don’t you?

Break me a Piece of that!

Break dancing

I wish I could command my body to move like that, but my muscles have a mind of their own. It’s great that Sula brought some of these talented young men to perform. They really kept the crowd enthralled with their head swirling, hand stands, flips and other stuff I can’t even name!

Rose petals in the tub darling?

Hendricks

Talk about a very public bath; this installation was part of Hendrick’s bar. The whole lawn was covered in rose petals, and smack in the middle was this very prominent tub. Although I don’t quite understand why it was there, it was fun to see so many people take pictures with it. It became an attraction of it’s own by the end of day 2.

Spotted at the event: Santino Morea, Reggae Rajahs, Rajeev Samant, Yash Birla, Etienne Mbappe, Saiyami Kher, Ankur Tewari, Nikhil D’Souza and Nitin Sawhney & Sahej Bakshi

Fashion Spotting at Sula Fest

This weekend over 8,000 (give or take a few) people turned up for the two-day Sula Fest. Nashik was brimming with folks who wanted to soak up the sun with a glass of vino and listen to some good music. Where there is a music festival, there is some interesting fashion, and I wanted to document it all!

It really is the era of travel and adventure, everyone we spotted was wearing something from one of their trips. Their looks were so global and trendy in an eclectic way. Here are some of their gems from their wardrobe!

Juhi

Her Style: Urban Bohemia
What We Love: Her ring she got from an exhibition in town (such a Mumbai-kar!) 

This girl was our last but most trendy fashion spotting victim, she is the one you should be thanking for all your fashionable high street clothes. She recently joined the design team for Vero Moda, Zara and Mango etc (I believe). Her style is easily accessible and definitely something we recommend!

Lady in H&M and Caché

Her Style: Feminine Ladylike
What We Love: Her Caché cuff

I’m all for ladylike dressing, I think it’s so chic and  polished, just like this lady above. I spotted the H&M dress from afar (as I have a similar one in fuchsia pink) and then my attention was drawn to her cuff. Don’t have a statement neck piece? Well here is another option you must have, a statement cuff. She got hers from Caché in the U.S, but do a little search and you too can find something just as bold as this right here.

Elisha

Her Style: Contemporary Boheme
What We Love: Curio Cottage statement turquoise necklace

Elisha Saigal is always on the run, and needs her clothes to be easy and comfortable, especially for those whole day events. She loves to keep things simple and make her accessories the focus of her outfit. Simplicity is key for a working girl, we second that!

Manisha Prakash

Her Style: Fashion Forward
What We Love: Her Swedish ring and pendant

Manisha Prakash is a stylist at heart and strives to change up her look everyday. She is an avid collector of interesting accessories and believes in the power of unique separates. Her wardrobe is interchangeable and can be worn many times, in different ways, truly a stylish lady. FYI: Day 2 brown blouse is from Monkey See Monkey Want.

Dr Marten Dude

His Style: Mod Rugged 
What We Love: His maroon Dr Martens.

Who says you need to have a full blown beard to appear rugged? This gentlemen teams up his rugged Dr Martens with mod elements such as his slim fit ankle length pants and plaid shirt. Mixing styles make up his look. We’re totally digging the boots btw!

Girl in Aldo

Her Style: Zen Pop
What We Love: Aldo tie up flats 

We spotted this girl sitting with her friends and being completely at ease, which I’m sure comes from her comfy, anti fit clothing. Her pants are from Si Branché in Bandra, in case you wanted to go out there and get them. She adds a fun shoe to make the outfit interesting and a little pop of colour to her beige clothing.

Kareena Aggarwal

Her Style: Experimental Girl Next Door
What We Love: Her bold choice of colour

We couldn’t miss this pretty little thing in her bright orange dress, she loves to experiment with colour and picks up accessories where ever she travels. Orange is a great colours for our skin tone, so whether you wear it head to toe or a small flash, have fun with this colour.

Divyak D’Souza and Zahra Khan

Their Style: Funky Fresh
What We Love: Their colour palette

It was hard to miss these front row-ers, I’m normally chatting with Divyak D’Souza at fashion weeks, so it was great to catch up on a social level. Both of them clearly love their fashion, mixing and matching their colours and accessories to make this amazing collage of personal expression.

Now for Some Trend Spotting!

Teertha Shetty and Tara D'Souza

I saw a lot of ladies wearing these fedora hats with their maxi dresses. Both items are a great addition to your wardrobe, so if you haven’t got one, go get one now, especially since the weather is warming up! Another great summer trend is the side swept braid and bun (yes it’s back!), perfect for those sultry days where you want your hair off your neck!

Gobal tribe

Commit to the global tribe trend with bold embroidery day dresses. The girl in yellow got hers from street shopping in Colaba and the girl in black got hers from Global Desi. Both these ladies finished their look with bags from a different country, the skull bag is from Thailand and the tribal figures bag is from Brazil, what a great mix of global style!

Madonna performs at the Superbowl 2012

It’s official! Madonna is back! If you saw her performance at the Superbowl half-time last night, you would have been sitting on the edge of your seat, watching the original Material Girl prance and gyrate on stage, dressed as a cross between an Egyptian goddess and a Roman gladiator.

Madonna wears a Philip Treacy headgear

The costumes for her performance were entirely designed by Ricardo Tisci for Givenchy Haute Couture, while her headgear was fashioned by Philip Treacy. Her dancers, were a little less couture and more high-street, as they wore tracksuits by Jeremy Scott for Adidas.

Madonna looks quite the Egyptian goddess

Here are sketches of the outfits, courtesy Givenchy and Getty Images.

Givenchy's sketches of the outfits Madonna wore

Madonna performed a number of her more famous numbers like Vogue, Like A Prayer, Music and Express Yourself, and even teamed up with M.I.A and Nikki Minaj to sing her latest number, Gimme All Your Loving!

Ash Chandler, Junelia Chandler and Ketan Kadam

A sunny, wintry afternoon saw Ketan Kadam play the gracious host to newlyweds, Ash and Junelia Chandler, at the swanky Two One Two Bar and Grill. Enjoying the tasteful Sunday Brunch were some of the city’s hottest folk.

Ketan Kadam with Reshma Bombaywala & friends

Nikhil and Natasha Chib

Ex-model Reshma Bombaywala, Fahad Samar and Simone Singh, Poonam Soni, Tejasvini Kolhapure, AD and Sabina Singh, Devika and Suresh Bhojwan, Zeba and Raj Kohli, Henry and Ashitta Tham, Queenie Singh, Anil and Sabina Chopra, Nikhil and Natasha Chib, Ravi Krishnan, Gabrielle and Rashmi Uday Singh were among those, who clinked their Wasabi Bloody Marys and they raised a toast to the happy couple.

Anil and Sabina Chopra

Tejasvini Kolhapure

AD and Sabina Singh

New mummies, Reshma Bombaywala and Sabina Singh, tagged their tiny tots along, and were glowing with pride. Rohit Roy, made the most of Mumbai’s short-lived winter afternoons, by choosing to ride in on his classy Honda Rune.

Rajesh and Zeba Kohli

The beautifully laid out patio and the spotless Sunday sky, allowed the pretty guests to indulge in slices of freshly baked pizza. One could sense contentment in the air, as guests were served a scrumptious three-course meal, that included a delightful mushroom cappuccino soup, chicken shawarmas, felafels, and cumin and sesame chicken skewers.

Brunch was followed by light dancing, as the DJ churned out the right beats, at this, the perfect setting for a perfect start to Ash and Junelia’s wedded life.

Sidhartha Mallya receives the Best Dressed Gentleman award at the Derby

Yesterday afternoon, Sidhartha Mallya won the prize for being the Best Dressed Gentleman, at The McDowell’s Signature Premiere Indian Derby, in Mumbai.

Togged out in white pants, and a shirt with a navy jacket, and accessorized with a red tie, kerchief and Tod’s shoes, Siddhartha cut quite the dashing figure!

Sidhartha Mallya with Abhay Deol at the Derby

What do you think? Dashing? Or not?

Madhuri Dixit with Cancer afflicted children

Yesterday afternoon, Bollywood star Madhuri Dixit-Nene was found reveling in the company of a number of young children. She was spotted at the Pawan Hans Helicopter airstrip in Juhu where the company offered free rides to children afflicted with cancer on the occasion of  World Cancer Day.

Madhuri's tweet

The event was organised by the Cancer Patient’s Aid Association.

Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'souza at their wedding party at Bungalow 9

After their low-key Catholic Wedding Ceremony at St. Anne’s Church in Bandra, Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’souza headed for Bungalow 9 in Bandra to celebrate the nuptials with her close family and friends.

Riteish’s parents were not in attendance and most of the guests were from Genelia’s side, this time around! There didn’t seem to be any major Bollywood personalities either!

Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'souza are surrounded by her family and close friends

A traditional Catholic-style celebration for Riteish and Genelia

Apparently, the outfits for the couple – a white, sleeveless bridal gown for her and a black tuxedo for him – were designed by Delhi’s Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra! 

Genelia D'Souza and Riteish Deshmukh

@riteishd

The newlyweds held their reception in Mumbai last night, which was attended by the who’s who in the industry, like Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, and more.

Genelia D'Souza and Riteish Deshmukh

The couple looks smashing, and how cute is this picture? *Aww* Love the way he’s looking at her! Congratulations to the lovely couple!

Anushka Arora with Kareena Kapoor and Imran Khan

So I was just recovering from hosting London’s biggest Indian fashion show. I was pretty much sleep walking and sleep talking during the day when *boom* all of a sudden I hear Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor are in London promoting Ek Main Aur Ek Tu! *GASP* Neend khul gayi and off I went to talk to the pair about what they were up to!
I got there and as usual… wait karni padi *rolls eyes* But kya karun, the big Kareena lover I am, I waited without complaining :D

I was taken upstairs and walked into a small room full of assitants, make up artists and, um, lots of fruit bowls! I looked amongst them all and to my surprise I found Pompy – Bebo’s make up artist! As I was waiting, I saw a girl with long silky hair, HUGE glasses and someone who had drowned her face in her BB. I walked over to put my bag down, I looked up and unexpectedly it was Karisma Kapoor!

Karisma Kapoor and Anushka Arora

After potting around for another five minutes, I was finally taken into the interview room with Kareena and Imran. Below is a teaser of what happened:

Whole event coverage coming at you very soon! Overall the interview was awesome… Kareena was tired by this time with all her interviews but managed to keep it together really well! After a full day of press interviews they went to Cineworld Feltham to do a meet and greet with fans too!

Imran Khan and his bearded look for his next movie – I am just not too sure about it!! But Imran you are just soooooo cuuuuute!

Thanks for dazzling London with your glitterati Imran and Bebo! All the best for EMAET – releasing on the 10th Feb!