Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2010

Arjun Rampal

My second day at Lakme Fashion Week was even more colorful and celebrity-studded than the first and I think on that front I’ll just let the videos do the talking! Clearly everyone thought it was just priceless that MissMalini is taking video bytes about Malini Ramani’s show :) but curiously enough the two people I least expected to give me the once-over, Koel Puri and Carol Gracias both seemed fairly wary once I introduced myself and reacted with a slightly icey, “oh yoouuu’rrrreee MissMalini, you’re a naughty girl.” Really? Me, naughty? Never. Read more…

MissMalini and Shahin Badar

Everyone once in a while you’ll come across someone who’s super famous for something they did 10 years ago and before you “oh-so-last-decade them them you have to stop and respect the fact that people haven’t forgotten, that’s gotta be worth something yes? So here’s who I had on my show a few weeks ago (yes backlog backlog I’m trying!) singer-songwriter Shahin Badar known the world over for her haunting alap on The Prodigy epic hit techno tune “Smack My Bitch Up.” (I love that the original title was nothing at all like that, watch and learn!) Read more…

Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2010

Manish Malhotra's front benchers

Did I tell you how psyched I was that MissMalini was officially invited to blog about Lakme Fashion Week? Holla I have arrived! Ok so I could pretend to know all about fashion but really I’d feel like a bit of a con job. So how about I take you through my first day at Fashion Week my way? That means you get the uncut, random thought, trigger-happy version just the way I saw it! Deal?

Ok so let me tell you straight up that I don’t go to Fashion Week to look at the clothes. I go to Fashion Week to look at the people look at the clothes :) the highlight of my evening is finding a vantage point from which to snap the celebrities (like that one time with Bipasha Basu) this time I was mortally disappointed that Manish Malhotra had no show-stopper. I mean don’t get me wrong the show was super fun and happy and the music was hopping but considering I was actually IN my seat this time (unlike last year) what a bummer! His front bench consisted of Urmila Matondkar, Raveena Tandon, Dino Morea and Celina Jaitley, not too shabby!

The cool thing about being “press” is that you have a pre-assigned seat and can troop in all business-like instead of doing the excuse-me-pardon-me squeeze through the aisles. For some reason though the good peeps over at Lakme think my name is Malini Sharma. Er.. not so much. My friends thought that was hilarious and the perhaps there was a “Mr. Sharma” tucked away that I had somehow failed to mention! Anyhoo, here’s the lo down (as I remember it) from Fashion Week. Read more…

Sabyashachi Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2010

Sabyashachi Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2010

Picture this: tiny fairy light streamers highlighting Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s jaunt through Africa, onto the American underground of the 70s and a last stop in 1920s Paris; Sabyasachi took the audience on a grand global fashion journey at Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2010. The colour palette ranged from muted shades of ivory, brown, teal, rust, and indigo, with touches of orange, gold and silver embroidery. Separates like trench coats, wrap jackets, loose pants, tight churidars, sexy Charleston dresses over printed trousers, shimmering long tubes, printed tunics, asymmetric waistcoats, sheer skirts lavishly embellished with beads and glitter, blouses with multi prints all over; were cleverly assembled in signature Sabyasachi style.

For more blogs on Lakme Fashion Week check out:  blog.lakmefashionweek.co.in Read more…

MissMalini (photo courtesy: Mikhil Saluja)

LBD? That would Little Black Dress! I had SO much fun doing this shoot. Playing dress up never gets old (especially when you have the professional crew at your service.) My darling make up artist Binny was a delight to talk to and we coasted through an hour of hair and makeup randomly talking about past life regression (bizarrely enough) and Brian Weiss books (I’m a huge fan and a believer FYI.) My shoot was on the same day as Anushka Manchanda and Sophie Choudry’s so I got a chance to get trigger happy with them too! I have to say I’m pretty flattered to be included this list of  “10 real stylish women” :) find out who the rest are in this months issue of Grazia and tell me what you think of my retro-chic styling in a strapless pleated Narendra Kumar Ahmed for Cleo dress and necklace from Aquamarine! I unabashedly love it :)
P.S. I heart you Grazia and Mikhil Saluja for making magic! You wanna see more pictures?  Read more…

Grey Goose post show party

This looks inviting! To be honest the post show parties is where all the really fun stuff happens :) Oh and by the way I got the skinny on why they call it “Grey Goose” courtesy Reshma Bombaywala & Dimi Lezinska!
The name GREY GOOSE was created by US entrepreneur Sidney Frank as a label for a German semi-sweet white wine that he distributed in the US in the early days of the Sidney Frank Importing Co. The name clearly held a strong personal attraction for him, since he retained the rights to it even after he stopped selling the wine. In 1996 when he wanted to launch a Super Premium vodka he traveled to Cognac where he discovered the connection of the region to Geese. He had no hesitation in transferring the GREY GOOSE brand to the new spirit and decided to use the distinctive goose imagery on the bottle and packaging. Aha! Mystery solved. My work here is done :)

For more blogs on Lakme Fashion Week check out:  blog.lakmefashionweek.co.in

Fashion

I’ve been trying to get to the bottom of this for some time now. What’s it really like behind-the-scenes in the fashion world? I plan to find out at Lakme Fashion Week but I figured I’d also do a little Bollywood research! So you remember the movie “Fashion” right? I thought it would only be fitting to get Ashwin Mushran (who plays Priyanka Chopra’s gay best friend/designer in the film) to spill the beans on what he learnt on set!

“Things I learnt while making Fashion”
by Ashwin Mushran

And that my friends is… FASHION!

LOL :) Brilliant! I love it, thank you Ashwin!

Sunburn 2009

Sultan

Sure you’ve heard of the Sultan’s of Swing but make way now for the Sultan of Sound – the EDM sound. In the highly challenging world of DJs and producers, Sultan launched his international career in 2003 with the release of four of his original productions on “Global Underground 25, Toronto mixed by Deep Dish”, Sultan has continued to impress not only as a producer but also as a DJ. And impress he did at Sunburn 2009. So if you’re really bummed that you missed it I have excellent news! You can get Sun-burnt right here in Mumbai as the tour kicks off in Delhi today and hits Blue Frog tomorrow and Pebble on Sunday.
Psst! It’s the first time they’re doing LEDS on a Sunburn Tour. I don’t actually know what that means but it sounds pretty cool :) Anyway, I got the Sultan to give me some quick picks and here they are. Read more…

Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor

Sorry Deepika looks like Kat’s got the cream again! Bollywood’s latest buzz is that, Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor will be seen together, once again in Ashtvinayak’s next untitled film to be directed by Imtiaz Ali. Their chemistry in ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahini’ was evident (plus there is more than enough curiosity among the masses to want to see Kat and Kapoor up close and personal!) In this movie Katrina will play a Punjabi girl. (Oh joy, whatever will they do with her accent?!) At the moment however Katrina is looking forward to her next release, Prakash Jha’s ‘Rajneeti’. My gut feel is that a sex-less role is career suicide for her. I mean really does every Bollywood belle need to try and prove her supposed “acting skills”? I mean who are they kidding? Lol. Read more…