GLITZ & GLAMOUR
Dilli’s fashion passion growing
Smriti Kak

The year gone by saw the fashion fraternity eulogise creativity and individual style. They spoke endlessly about the necessity of creating a "different look" and "following your own dictates". Yet the "dressed up like sheep" look continued to remain. For every truly creative line (few and far between) there was the usual overdose of one particular style being produced and reproduced (cloning is not limited to genetic labs alone).

A section claimed to have worked out the details, they had rustled up just what the discerning eyes of Mr and Ms Money bags were looking for. So while designers went ‘phoren’ with their cuts and colours, the ramps became the platforms where creativity met the prospective clients.

The Lakme India Fashion week held in the Capital chose to focus more on business than fashion itself. With a new man at the top, the LIFW claimed to mean serious business. So there were big buyers like Selfridges from across the seas. The black and white of the business is another story.

While the season played truant, the designers continued to dazzle us with one line after the other. The monsoon that eluded Dilli, was not a damper for the creative geniuses. In spite of a no-monsoon we had monsoon collections pouring in. What followed was a storm of wedding wear. Bridal Asia (remember?) and the Brides and Grooms and almost every other designer had something to offer.

Blondes with black eyes and copper skin tones, hair cuts and styles that spoke of liberation, men who flaunt manicured hands and shapely eyebrows, but still like to secretly pick their nose and teeth, over weight and over age aunties trying to get into pants and short kurtis also walked the terra firma.

The Capital also witnessed the launch of new eating joints and pubs, (one almost every week). This should probably pacify the ones who nursed a grudge that the Capital had very little to offer to the Bacchus worshippers. Needless to say where the p3p chose to be seen.

Celebrities on a ribbon-cutting spree were also the highlight of the year. Their blink and you miss them appearances left the onlookers more dazzled than the Swarovski crystals that peered from even under the arms. Raveena Tandon, Pooja Batra, Ameesha Patel and even the one song wonder Koena Mitra zipped into the city to, "cut ribbons for friends" not to mention the moolah.

Metamorphosis in subtle measures was evident in celebrities turning authors, candle makes, social activists and even jewellery designers. Authors of celebrities too had their fair share in the sun. First it was journalist Kanika Gahlaut who with her book, "Among the Chatterati" had the glitterati chattering and recently ad man Anand Kurien who played smart, the invite was the jacket of his book with Milind Soman on the cover and praises from the who’s who at the back. We are told there is a book in the offing, by a lady who claims to, "know just everything that is to know about the city and its people."

The city has finally got serious, this time about the business of fashion, food and fun.

Andaz gave Delhi’s select few a collection in western wear and accessories for men and women especially sourced from the Fashion houses of Europe. Mumbai-based apparel store, ‘Body Basics’ that boasts of a clientele list that includes Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Preity Zinta has picked these ensembles for those who can afford them.

The Christmas collection by ‘Body Basics’ for women includes fur-lined coats, jackets and shirts, denims that include jackets, jeans, shirts, skirts and accessories, an exclusive leather line with accessories - bags, shoes, belts, co-ordinates and a range of party wear.

For men there are jeans, pants, shirts, jackets and pullovers. Clients are being assured of exclusivity, we have been told that the collection is so select that you won’t find a repeat piece of what is also the best of Europe.

Director of Body Basic Raja believes that the European palette is a more suited for Indian seasons, complexion and tastes, given the exquisite styling and cut of their ateliers. The clothes are sourced directly from the designer houses, their prices are a lot more reasonable than what one would pay for the same garment anywhere in Europe or Britain, claims Raja.

For film buffs in the city, the Israeli cinema has culled the best from the country to be screened in the country from January 2 to 9. The film festival will include movies on social, political and moral issues.

You can catch, sensitive portrayal of an ordinary man trying to make it big, in Julie Shles’s ‘Pick A Card’ or, director, Igal Bursztyn’s ‘Everlasting Joy’. The invitations can be collected from the Israeli Embassy and India Habitat Centre.