Friday, December 24, 2010

Guzaarish - Poetry in motion...

I would reserve my opinion on Guzaarish as a film. I don’t think I am qualified to pass judgment on a movie made with such love and passion. But if one thing that the movie’s worst critic cannot refute is that Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film is visual poetry at its dreamiest best. Every frame is surreal and memorable, leaving you in awe of the overall styling and art direction. Sabyasachi Mukherjee created the entire wardrobe ensemble for Guzaarish, giving Hrithik Roshan rose-coloured glasses, and created decadent, floor-sweeping garments for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s character.
A solitary rose in Aishwarya’s long locks and a scarf around her head, create an ethereal old world glamour. Aishwarya Rai's character Sophia D'Souza over-dresses to overcome her bad marriage. Aishwarya’s look consisted of thirty-seven long frocks, four dumpy shoes, maxis, aprons with motifs of cutlery, quirky glasses and jewellery, surreal hairdos and red lips. She even makes her water bottle wear a jacket that she has made herself. Sophia uses her red lips as a weapon and not as an accessory, but as an expression of her grief. She's a woman who has dedicated her entire life to a suffering man. And she wears that red lipstick so that when he faces her, he sees life in all its colour."
Sabyasachi also designed jewellery for Guzaarish, keeping in mind a multicultural element with a nomadic vibe. For the collection, Sabyasachi used precious and semi-precious stones, minakari and filigree and had to work with about 60 skilled workers from West Bengal to complete the line. The attention to detail was extended to other characters as well. Omar Siddique played by Aditya Roy Kapoor was styled like a struggling French musician, with layered clothes, a crumpled tuxedo with flappy trousers and flip-flops. Suhel Seth, who plays Ethan's doctor, is presented in stiff suits and Shernaz Patel, Ethan's lawyer is given cotton saris and three-quarter blouses. The maids are in dumpy dresses. In line with the theatrical mood of the film, the clothes have an inherent spirit of drama, and are an extension of the characters. According to Sabyasachi, “If you remove the characters and hang the clothes, they will tell a story. It’s like Neverland or the reality version of The Magic Faraway Tree!”

I know I would watch Guzaarish again and again... for the performances and for the styling. Try and watch it. It's worth every luscious, sensuous frame.








Tuesday, November 16, 2010

"Thinking of You" - Lenny Kravitz



Last year, on 16th November, my family bid farewell to my mother. Today, I am missing her, thinking of her. She is gone, but I know she is watching over us.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Unforgettable Colors Of Rajasthan...

This weekend, I am headed to Rajasthan. The desert state of India is one of the most beautiful places in the country. The DUNES Festival, where I will be going is going to be celebrating 10 years of Electronica, amidst the breathtaking dunes of Tordi, about 75 kms from Jaipur. Rajasthan has this hauntingly beautiful quality that never ever leaves you. Its colors, textures, music, people, and culture possess you with their vibrancy and uniqueness. Just sharing some of this state’s beauty with you all.





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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Time to look back and celebrate!

This past year has been the most phenomenal and eventful year of my life. And I have grown more as an individual than I did in several years put together. One of my self-enhancing initiatives last year was to learn to live with less. I was a recovering shopaholic and it did nothing at all for my self-esteem. My personal style still lacked a distinct image. I realized that I was trying to live up to others’ image of who I should be. So I gave up on this headless chicken run and set forth to find my own identity. And so started the blog www.lifein2suitcases.com
I did not even know that there were a lot of people following my personal quest. And was pleasantly surprised when Sunday mid-day got in touch with me to write an article on my quest to de-clutter my life and find an emotional and spiritual balance.
So this is what was published.



To read the entire 2 page article, use this link to get to the Sunday epaper. http://epaper2.mid-day.com/epaperhome.aspx?issue=24102010&edd=mumbai
Please scroll down to page 28-29 to read the story.

To read my blog on de-cluttering, visit www.lifein2suitcases.com

Been out of action for a while. Will surely catch up with you all now. Thanks for your support and the positive influences I have found in the blogosphere.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Lakme Fashion Week - Winter Festive 2010 - Rohan Arora

My bad fortunes continue! No sooner had I recovered, my dad was hospitalized with Hypoglycemia. It was a big scare for all of us, as appare4nlty it can get really serious! I am about done with trying times. Today is another day, and it’s bright and sunny outside, and I am not going to let a little bit of stormy weather get in the way of the last traces of summer we have left to enjoy.
The last of day of Lakme Fashion Week Winter Festive had a delightful surprise for the fashion lovers. The accessories show featured the extremely talented Rohan Arora. I met Rohan at his stall at “The Source”. An amicable, unassuming young designer, all smiles and filled with enthusiasm about his new collection. “The shoes are all hand-made, with a mix of printed fabrics, hand-painted khadi, and leather”, he informed the curious crowd naturally attracted to the quirky and colorful collection. Having started his label in 2008, Rohan has been creating high-end fashion footwear for numerous big names in Indian fashion design.
His collection featured at the Lakme Fashion Week was an eclectic mix of colors, with hand-painted posters of old films painted on strikingly edgy footwear. Models walked the ramp sporting ankle and calf length boots in shades of beige, brown, blue, orange and red. Spiral heels, cuffs, side flaps and flat lace-ups had the audience hooked to the trendy designs.


I am going to post the remaining reviews soon, and hope that if life is planning on springing any more surprises at me, they’d at least be pleasant ones. Will soon be visiting my favorite lovely blogs and catching up on all the glorious fashion and lifestyle news from all of you. Till then, take care and wait for some super exciting, life changing news from me!

PHOTO SOURCE

Friday, September 24, 2010

Lakme Fashion Week - Winter Festive - Atithi Gupta

Ughhh! Can you believe this? A bout of unexpected illness kept me off all the action at the Lakme Fashion Week. I even missed two fabulous shows on the final day of the fashion week, and have to now contend with catching up on all the fabulous fashion via the videos uploaded on youtube. Sigh.

But all is not lost. There has been some great fashion that has made its presence felt on the runway this season. So I am going to post the reviews of some collections that left a lasting impression on the fashion scene. First up is “Recherche” (to look ahead) by the young and petite designer Atithi Gupta.

Atithi sent rolling on the ramp sober and impeccable lines with sinuous drapes outlined in the most precious wools and silk.

Using a pleasing palette of avocado green, Golden Glow, an earthy shade of yellow, purple orchid, coral pinks, pewter grey and blacks, Athithi has played with linear, geometrical shapes with minimal, austere appearance.

Adorning her creations with textures and drapes, Atithi gave a retro chic turn to jumpsuits, dresses and jackets. Pleats were aplenty in “Recherche”, with Atithi placing them at the side, back, on shoulders, yoke, centre, stitching them or keeping them loose on the garments.

Sophisticated, stylish, youthful, and flirty… just about sums up Atithi’s collection. Will surely watch out for this young, emerging designer.

Check out some of the looks from the collection...






Photo Courtesy

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Here Comes The Bride! – V J Balhara Winter Festive 2010

I love it when the ramp lights up with drama and talent. I love it when I see Indian inspirations take new flight and touch a global aesthetics. And I love to see young blood infuse new colors, new silhouettes, new lines into old genres of fashion. What a delight fashion week is, when all these happen together. Each year, the Lakme fashion Week throws up some pleasant surprises. And most of them come from the GenNext and Emerging designers categories, where a new vocabulary of fashion is being written.
Today was no exception, as V J Balhara presented his “Bridal Renaissance” collection for the modern day bride. Here is a collection for the bride who captures every heart as she walks down the aisle. With inspirations freely drawn from the royal traditions of Punjab, Cooch Behar and Rajputana, the collection had it all: chogas, Anarkali Ensembles, Dresses, Sherwanis, saris, jackets, Skirts, and tunics. Reviving the ancient “Mashru” silk from the Mughal era, VJ has woven bridal dreams from fabrics as varied as brocade, pure crepe, silk organza, net, lace, silk and satin cotton in vibrant red, green, orange, purple, royal blue and black. VJ’s favorite flower, rose, made its presence felt in the collection through motifs in zardozi, aari work, sequins, Jaipur stones and crystal embroidery. VJ even introduced an innovative way of draping the dupatta in a grand yet comfortable manner.
VJ’s showstopper, an opulent red Mashru silk anarkali creation with zardozi and gotta border teamed with organza choga and crepe churidars, had the audience in awe.

Though titled Bridal Renaissance, the collection is not for the conventional bride looking for a run of the mill trousseau. This is no designer for the faint hearted. The collection that VJ’s models strutted down the runway today is for the feisty, beautiful bride, for whom a wedding is a celebration of eternal love. A bride who revels in her individuality, and is radiant and free-spirited.









All Photographs By The Very Talented Nitesh N Nitesh
Click HERE For More Of Nitesh's work

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Lakme Fashion Week Winter Festive 2010 - Preview Purvi Doshi and Masaba Gupta

As the city celebrates a week of high fashion with shows lined up back to back for the fashion week, some new and some familiar names are vying for buyers’ and media attention. Among them are the emerging designers Purvi Doshi and Masaba Gupta, who will be showing their collections tomorrow at the Lakme Fashion Week Winter Festive 2010. Here is a sneak preview of what these ladies have in store for your next season.


Designs from Purvi's last showing at the Lakme Fashion Week


Purvi Doshi finds her inspiration in the deepest depths of the country, often combining the colors, aptterns, motifs, traditional and folk arts of India with international trends and color palettes, to create collections that cut across boundaries. Her penchant for cutting through clutter is the very basis of her new collection to be presented tomorrow. The collection, titled "Bheed Bhaad", contains a heterogeneous mix of fabrics, textures, designs, combinations and the use of folk-artforms. The term “Bheed-Bhaad” is commonly used colloquial for a Crowd. "Bheed Bhaad" from Purvi Doshi embodies the coming together of different fabrics, colours, and different types of rare Indian art forms. Each garment has been created by assembling different fabrics, cuts, silhouettes, art-forms and cultures in a heterogeneous mix to bring out their unique qualities to the fore-front. The whole concept is to standout even in a bheed in a "Bheed-bhaad", looking ethnically outstanding and fashionably trendy.



A model shows off a "Masaba" design


Masaba Gupta is an SNDT Mumbai 2010 graduate. Under the label ‘Masaba’ she showcased her first collection ‘Kattran’ at Lakme Fashion Week Spring/Summer ’10 under the Gen Next category for which she was awarded ‘Most promising Designer of the Year Award by INIFD. Masaba is primarily a diffusion line catering to women from the age group of 25-50 years. The silhouettes are no fuss, simple and commercially viable, yet of high cut and fashion. Masaba finds her inspiration in Indian embroideries, crafts, weaves and the fearless street women who show it off with attitude!

Both young designers, with vividly different styles will send their designs down the runway tomorrow. Let’s see what the two talented ladies have in store for the fashion world.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Lakme Fashion Week Winter Festive 2010 - Preview - VJ Balhara

Winter Festive 2010. I love the title. It has such a celebratory sound to it.And what is a Fashion Week, if not a celebration of the styles, trends, fabrics and colors of the season! And as the city gears up for the Lakme Fashion Week Winter Festive 2010, it’s time to preview some of my favorite designers’ upcoming collections. And I couldn’t think of anyone better then VJ Balhara to start the Lakme Fashion Week previews with. His last collection, “Borala Nautch” had the fashionistas sit up and take notice of the young and talented designer. No stranger to the glamourous world of fashion, VJ, an ex supermodel, shows an inherent knack for combining the edgy with the traditional. And with his first ever bridal collection ready to set the runway ablaze, this designer is all set to make a transition from “emerging designers” to “established designers”.

On 19th September, VJ will show his collection, “Bridal Renaissance”. Using his signature technique of blending the traditional, rural Indian Chic with opulent urban sensibilities, VJ aims to use his collection to revive “Mashru Silk’ , a centuries old luxury fabric hand woven by weavers of Gujarat. The flamboyant styles of Indian Maharaajas will find common grounds with the relaxed bohemian spirit of the rural Indian women in this intricately embellished collection. Adorned with the semi precious stones from Rajasthan, Zardozi , Cut Daana Work, and Karchobe work, the collection is much-awaited by hordes of VJ fans. Watch this space to see the collection as it unfolds on the runway.


MODELS SPORT DESIGNS FROM "BORALA NAUTCH"

Photo Courtesy

Monday, August 9, 2010

Weekend with Friends and Blog Award!

Saw the new movie AISHA over the weekend. It's the latest Cinematic adaptation of Jane Austen's "Emma", with Sonam Kapoor playing the title character in this slick, glossy movie. Actor Sonam Kapoor is increasingly being known as one of India's leading style icons from Bollywood, and AISHA goes on to reinforce the image.

With great styling and impressive production values, AISHA is visually pleasing, but goes DUH! on story-telling. As a saving grace, Sonam, Abhay Deol, and company look really great on screen, and the lead characters have some decent chemistry going for them. That's about all that can be said for the movie.







And the lovely Rachel of the blog INSPIRATION IN ITALY has given me the Tanti Baci (many kisses award) to mark her 100th Blog post! Thank you SO much, Rachel! Love your gorgeous blog.



I would like to pass on my Tanti Baci to my following friends...

Republic of Chic
In Honor Of Design
Bombchell
Gorgeousglam
Frenchleave
Take Me Out To The Runway

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Back From Leh!

Back from Ladakh, and missing it! It was a journey of a life time. This frozen desert is the one place which time seems to have forgotten. I guess it would be difficult, if not impossible to put my journey into words. I have come back with incredible memories, and a stubborn tan. Ladakh is a region of the Jammu and Kashmir state in India. Leh is the biggest town in Ladakh.
Thee highlights of my trip included a visit to the Pangong lake. Situated at 14,270 ft, Pangong is 134 km (83 mi) long and extends from India to China. 60% of the length of the lake lies in China. The lake is 5 km (3.1 mi) wide at its broadest point. During winter the lake freezes completely, despite being saline water. At Pangong, I stayed at a Ladakhi homestay, run by the most hospitable Ladakhi family, the Nongyals. At night, I felt that I could just grab a handful of stars off the sky.

Leh was a wonderful memory too. I miss having my breakfast sitting next to a gorgeous stream. Or having my dinner in a Ladakhi dining room, sharing stories and experiences with other travellers. This was my first trip, but it definitely won't be the last.






Friday, July 2, 2010

Off to sample a slice of heaven!


Leh is often described as heaven on Earth. For years, it's been my dream to visit this beautiful, pristine spot on the planet. So keen I was on visiting Leh that I even put it on my Bucket list. And now, within hours, I am leaving. For Leh. I know I just came back from a vacation, but now I am off to another one. I will be in Leh for the next two weeks, and hope to see you all after that. There will be no posts from me on shotcouture for the next couple of weeks. But I hope to see you all beautiful people after that. In between, if possible, I will drop in to say hello. I wish you all good health and great summer.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Back from Barca!

It's official! Barcelona is one of my favorite cities on the planet. It's a beautiful, vibrant, culturally alive city and I am in love. The Barcelona vacation was picture perfect, with loads of shopping, late night parties, walk on the beach, gallons of Sangria, and cheese. I loved the weather, loved the food, loved the people, and loved the shopping options.
My favorite, though, was the La Roca Village. Just 35 minutes from the city centre and home to over 100 luxury boutiques with exclusive price reductions, the Village is a dream come true for every shopper. We took a bus to the Village, and were instantly floored by the Catalan-style village, with tax-free shopping, restaurants with outdoor dining areas, and children's play areas. The village had pretty much all my favorite brands, from Burberry, to Desigual, and from Versace to Sita Murt. What a delight! Not surprisingly, my friends and I came back with bulging shopping bags, having exhausted all our Euros. My best bud Roseanne and I later sat down to a relaxed lunch at one of the restaurants, and cooled off with Sangria and some awesome tapas.




Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Off To Barca!!!

I know I haven't been a good blogging friend off late. That's because the countdown to our office trip to Barcelona had started, and there was general chaos in life. This includes tons of pre-vacation shopping and other work. I will be off early tomorrow morning, and we'll be in Barcelona tomorrow by 4 pm. Will be off blogging for a few days, but promise to be back with loads of pictures and stories. Of course, I plan to check out the awesome shopping places suggested by the lovely Hauteworld. So please bear with me, and I promise to be back with you all soon.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

My home, my castle!

Last Saturday, I celebrated my birthday with friends and family. I brought it in with my two best buddies, Roseanne and Elbert, and then spent the rest of the weekend with my Dad and my brother's family. Ate some awesome food, had some really random conversations with my little niece, and ate some more. It was a wonderful weekend. The kind that reminds you of how blessed you really are.

And I feel truly blessed when I step into my house. It's my space and feels like home. And it has evolved a bit since the last time I posted pictures. Here are some of the new pictures of my beautiful little castle.