December 2006
Fashion collection in Goa, Lebanese dance troupe in
Jaipur,
different ways to welcome 2007
Candolim(Goa)/Jaipur
(Rajasthan): One of India's top fashion designer has chosen
to usher in the New Year by launching a fashion collection
in the carnival ambience of Goa. Malini Ramani, whose clothes
ooze glamour, lent the ilan to the carnival atmosphere with
her new collection, which saw a great opening with fun, food
and frolic. Top Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan lent support
to the show. The clothes, which had a touch of nostalgia,
reminded one the fashion of the 1970s. "The event started
with my fashion show, then it went to the carnival, and then
the sunset. It was all fun, full of stars and bright colours,
what an eve is essentially all about," said Malani Ramani.
Goa was the place from where Malini drew her inspiration for
this Tropical designer collection. The place and time of Malini's
launch was also deliberate, as an estimated 400,000 tourists
flock the resort state during Christmas-New Year time. If
it was fashion that ruled the roost for welcoming 2007 in
Goa, in Rajasthan, a Lebanese dance troop invited year-end
partygoers to savour the flavour of authentic Middle Eastern
food and culture. The people saw the show as a head turner
and relished the Arabic food along with an ambience that was
straight out from the Arabian Nights. The dance-troop said
their performance in Jaipur was one of the best ever, with
a huge turn out of party buffs during the Christmas holidays,
which they expected to continue till the New Year celebrations.
"We know that the difference and space between the people
of India and Arab is too big. This is a big thing for our
troop to have Christmas and New Year celebrations in India,"
said Hussain, a Lebanese Artist. To add to the ambience, the
partygoers also had a choice of Lebanese food. Tourist arrivals
in India during November rose to 11.4 per cent from a year
earlier, with four million visitors registering in the month.
This is expected to go up with the New Year celebrations.
-Dec 31, 2006
Punjabi fashion comes of age
Chandigarh:
Non Resident Punjabis (NRPs) are often considered closer
to their traditions and culture than those who remain behind
in the State. They are not just fond of listening to folk
music and savouring authentic Punjabi food, but also are fond
of wearing traditional clothes. The new breed of fashion designers
in Punjab is cashing in on this by catering to their specific.
Metalled embroidery called Zardozi is a particular favourite
with the NRPs. Intricate patterns in gold and silver, studded
with pearls and precious stones are now back with a bang.
It is a must for any Indian wedding trousseau. Meetu Kohli,
a fashion designer here, has tapped the market abroad for
her Zardozi suits and lehngas. She has NRI clients like Komal
Verma, who not only places orders for herself, but also for
her friends and other family members living abroad. "Basically,
there are two kinds of clients - one, who are still very traditional.
They don't visit India very often so what they still have
the concept is what they left ages back. So, that will be
your typical Zardozi stuff, which is being done on your not
very exciting fabrics. Then there is another kind of client
who are very much in touch with the fashion and they are going
in for the fusion look, they visit India every year, probably
twice a year, so they like the blend of it, they would probably
want flowing fabrics, but they want the touch of the traditional
and the modern stuff to give it a look that they can even
wear it for the American parties over there, whether they
are moving around in a white crowd or moving in an Indian
crowd," says Kohli. A majority of the fashion designers in
Chandigarh are enjoying the booming demand for traditional
clothes from abroad. Pretty Sandhu and her daughter Kiran,
though not mainstream designers in India, are very much in
demand among the NRIs, who frequently order trousseaus from
them. "They want to identify themselves as Punjabis, especially
when they are abroad. They want to be known, `that's a Punjabi
dress'. So, they like my dresses because I try to give them
the perfect ethnic Punjabi style there is no mixture of western
influence in my designs. They all give me their demands. They
ring me up to tell that this is an occasion - Be it a party,
a wedding or festivals like Teej, said Pretty Sandhu.
Designer Neeta
Lulla, hopes for a good breakthrough with the opening of the
Fashion Technology Park. "The Fashion Technology Park (FTP)
is moving forward with an aim and a goal, that they are planning
to achieve is something that would bridge this gap between
the consumer and the designer and also international buyers
to sauce designers and their talent from India. I think bridging
the gap between India and the world is something that is required
in the fashion industry and this is what FTP is moving towards,"
said Neeta Lula, a Mumbai-based fashion designer. Indian designers
today are creating a kind of buzz, which was the domain of
only the fashion gurus in the West in the past. While previously
a master weaver was recognized for his skill, today a fashion
designer is celebrated for his or her creativity. Young urban
Indians can choose from the best of East and West as Indian
fashion designers are inspired by both Indian and western
styles. This fusion of fashion can be seen on the streets
and ramps of the fashionable cities of India. Fashion in India
is also beginning to make its mark on the international scene
as accessories such as bindis (red dots worn on the forehead),
mehendi (designs made by applying henna to the palms of the
hands and other parts of the body) and bangles, have gained
international popularity, after being worn by fashion icons
like the pop singers Madonna and Gwen Stephani. Fashion in
India has become a growing industry with international events
such as the India Fashion Week and annual shows by fashion
designers in the major cities of India. The victories of a
number of Indian beauty queens in International events such
as the Miss World and Miss Universe contests have also made
Indian models recognized worldwide. Fashion designers such
as Ritu Kumar, Ritu Beri, Rohit Bal, Rina Dhaka, Muzaffar
Ali, Satya Paul, Abraham and Thakore, Tarun Tahiliani, JJ
Valaya and Manish Malhotra are some of the well known fashion
designers in India.
-Dec 29, 2006
Traditional burqas go trendy in Mumbai
Mumbai: The
burqa, the traditional dress of the Muslim women is becoming
trendy with better quality of fabric and fashion accessories
being used increasingly to wear a modern look. Studded with
crystals and small stones, Muslim women in Mumbai can be easily
found wearing Burqas made of chiffon, georgette or crepe with
a touch of fashion from the Middle East, the Saudi Arabian
in particular. The price of a crystal-studded burqa ranges
from rupees 3,000 and above as compared to a traditional readymade
burqa which costs between rupees 1500 and 6,000. A bridal
burqa designed in crystals costs rupees 15,000 and upwards.
The fabric for most of these designer-burqas is imported from
Dubai and Malaysia since Indian black cloth material fades
in due course of time. Despite the cost factor, there is a
good demand for crystal studded burqas, mostly among college
going girls and also those from affluent families. "This burqa
is studded with stones and I like to wear this," said Sara,
a customer. Manufacturers say with new designer-ware burqas,
the demand has increased among the young girls because it
has ushered a fashion statement which was missing in the bulky
cloaks of yore, usually stitched from thick cotton or an ordinary
silky fabric. "Earlier, the burqas looked the same and there
were no designs. But now we have introduced crystal work into
burqas. Now with the crystal designs in vogue, girls are comfortable
with the burqas," said Mohammad Israr Ansari, owner of G N
Collection, Mumbai. Customers place orders after they see
the samples of crystal studded burqas. Crystal burqas are
also known as Swarovski Burqa. Keeping in tune with the times,
these burqas are CAD (computer aided design) products. The
designs and patterns are visualised in computers. A Burqa
is an outer cloak worn over the normal clothing by Muslim
women to cover the face. It is worn over the usual daily clothing
(often a long dress or a salwar kameez) and removed when the
woman returns to the sanctuary of the household.
-Dec 25, 2006
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