Fall of the frill
Plain venues and minimalistic looks at fashion shows denote that the industry has entered the era of restraint...
Jigyasa Kapoor Chimra

Down sizing Italy's textile and clothing sector is already seeking government help as the crisis sweeps into the demand for clothes and accessories. Marc Jacobs, who has his own brand and also designs for Louis Vuitton, halved invitations to 1,000 for his New York show. Roberto Cavalli pulled his Just Cavalli show due to financial problems at its distributor, which went into special administration last month. Chanel did not renew contracts for 200 temporary staff at the end of the year and held its January Haute Couture show at a private pavilion close to its office.

a fashion choreographer from the city says, "Yes, a lot of cost cutting is there. When it comes to fashion shows, we are seeing poor quality of lights, garments that models get to wear are not that great, and, above all, brands are not ready to spend money on costly models. In North India, they are doing fashion shows just for the sake of it and the quality is definitely affected."

Frills have given way to subtlety, champagne have become rarer, guest lists squeezed. From New York to London, Paris to Milan, many top-notch fashion houses have pulled strings altogether as the luxury sector feels the growing pain of recession. Well, to elaborate it a little further, the Milan Women's Wear Fashion Week, which ended on March 4, the number of shows slipped to 79 against 99 last year. And, it is said that several international fashion shows had empty seats, the usual gift bags were minimal or missing altogether, and several familiar faces in the fashion industry were absent from the crowd. According to some organisers, the industry has entered an era of restraint. And to add to the picture, which is not so perfect, even our fashion industry feels the heat of economic meltdown.

"Nobody can deny the downturn effect and we are also witnessing a low footfall," says Rakesh, showroom manager, Nautica-17. Ask him if the company has cut down on accessories or merchandising, and he says, "The growth has been affected and yes, the company is now selective on merchandising. We are being sent only those things that are moving fast." And, what are these fast moving things, "Shirts and t-shirts come in this category as people are buying these but accessories like watches or perfume are now a slow moving commodity."

"Yes, the recession sentiment is running high, but fashion will not stop progressing. Retail meltdown is there and there is no escaping it," says Geet Sethi, regional manager (North), Esprit. She adds, "Slump has affected us all and fashion is one of those, but we have not cut down on our accessories or designs. Rather we are trying to curb the operational costs." Ask her what includes in this segment and she says, "Rentals of the retail outlets are being re-negotiated and we are trying to improve on the efficiency."

Going by what fashion reports say, big names in the industry say they are cautious about spending but it will not be felt at their show. In Paris, Dior, Louis Vuitton and Hermes say they will hold shows as planned and intended to spend as required to send their artistic and commercial messages across.

Well, the message is loud and clear, but Supreet, assistant manager, Tommy Hilfiger, says, "Last month was a little slow when it came to sale, but otherwise it's all the same." And talking about the word cost cutting, she says, "There is no compromise in our lines or collections. In fact, Tommy will be launching its latest collection this month and it's after that we will decide on the plan for the year."

jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com

Stone age
Parbina Rashid

Avtarjeet Dhanjal Photo: Pradeep Tewari

A nomad is no mad. The statement made by UK-based eminent sculptor Avtarjeet Dhanjal during the lecture organised by the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi at the Government Museum and Art Gallery-10 evoked a peel of laughter among the audience, but that's precisely what it did. Nobody bought it. For a generation living in the materialistic world, nobody except for characters of Paulo Coelho books, give up everything to wander around and 'live' life. Or, unless the person is Dhanjal himself.

“Life has been generous to me, considering from where I began,” commented Dhanjal. Not because he has accumulated awe-inspiring fame or wealthy possessions, but he has been lucky enough to travel around like a free bird.

"In fact, I want to give away my house to the institution so that I cut myself totally free from the materialistic world," he elaborates. The institution in question is The International Institute of Visual Art, London, an institute he has been closely associated with. "It's actually my need to give it away you see, to free my soul. They do not need it," says Dhanjal with complete honesty. And the meaning he has been trying to convey through an hour-long lecture and a slide show on his sculptures all around the world, comes out loud and clear - to be a creator, one has to go Beyond the Object - as also was the title of his talk.

The talk covered his entire journey in art, right from his growing up days at Dalla, near Ludhiana, where he started his career as a carpenter, to his enrollment in the Government College of Art-Chandigarh to his various destinations, from Nairobi as a faculty at Kenyatta University to St Martin School of Art in London as a student and finally to Telford in Shropshire.

It's been more than 40 years he had left his country, his hometown, but the little boy of Dalla refused to part with him. So, a bit of his village is shown in most of his works like installation of his candle series, which he executed around 1985. Using candle in water or on slates germinated from the fact that there was no electricity in his village during his time making the impression of pitched dark was an integral part of him. Or, the one made with a huge white stone with a big hole in it, which reminded him of the well at his grandmother's house. There are others, like the Rhythm of Life in one of the beaches of Slovania, which he executed with five sand pyramids, or the one in the form of stepping stones in the ruins of Abbe or huge towering yet functional ones at London Park. Sometimes, his sculptures come with a poem or a few line of wisdom. And his drawings asking the big question: 'What was there before the universe?'

"I try to make a social or political comment through my work, but I have nothing intellectual to say. I just express myself very directly. In fact, I am still that man from the village and I guess being true to myself has been my driving force," he concludes.

Anything lined up for City Beautiful, we couldn't resist but ask the man who created quite a few for the city during the early years of his career. And comes the reply "Not really. There have been enough objects already. Maybe I can work at the idea level." Beyond the object, indeed!

parbina@tribunemail.com

The moment of truth
With the announcement of polls, the youth is taking to blog awareness
Jasmine Singh

It’s here finally. The moment we all have been waiting for. The announcement of polls for the constitution of the 15th Lok Sabha in five phases from April 16 to May 13, has raised hopes of all and sundry in the country. For they know, it’s now or never.

It’s the moment of truth for everyone, and you bet, no one wants to miss out on it. This reality has ushered in a number of vigorous ‘awareness movements’ on the Internet. Discontentment, anger, frustration looms from various blogs and sites. No one wants to miss this chance of throwing away the ‘incapables’ and getting into power those who favour and stand by real change. These sites call out to people to understand their rights and use them judiciously.

“There is no point in sulking over incidents that have created unrest in our lives. Instead, we should look at it as our chance to get back at people who have put us in such situations,” feels Vibha Sobti. This 19 –year-old surfs blogs quiet frequently and she has discovered that youngsters are itching for a change. “Most sites I visit these days have youngsters leave strong comments about corruption, global warming, voting, terrorism. And trust me, they mean every word they write.” Vibha talks about a girl from Barnala, who not only writes frequently on various blogs, but she also tabulates all the comments that people leave, draws a consensus and then mails them across to all political party houses.

With elections around the corner, awareness campaigns too are gaining momentum. Be, it Ungli Utha, Jaago Rey India, people want that the message regarding the use of basic fundamental right to vote should not go waste, and that people should not keep away from polling booth on the D-Day. “Last night, I got a mail from my friend in US to log onto to Indiachanges, a particular site, where he had found some interesting comments about why we should vote and chuck out the good-for nothing lot of politician,” tells Sukhdev Singh, a teacher. “In the morning, my colleagues in the school were talking about the same.” Adds Zarina Mehta, chief executive officer with Bindaas, “The youth feel that there is a strong need for change, however it is always easy to blame the system and not take responsibility. Under this initiative we urge the youth to participate in the change they want to see and provide them with a platform to express themselves on issues that affect them more. For impact log on to www.bindaas.tv/ichnage.”

jasmine@tribuenmail.com

Nanhi Chidiya spreads wings
Four students of Mad Art come up with a short animation film on female foeticide
Ashima Sehajpal

We have debated on it endlessly, taken out massive rallies in support of it, advertised it extensively and perhaps by now have used almost every medium to educate people about the same. It isn't like efforts haven't yielded any results and what confirms the positive change is also worldwide celebrations of Woman's Day. But guess that isn't enough. For, the figures of female foeticide in certain regions of India are surging. And that explains why four students of Mad Arts Film School made Nanhi Chidiya, yet another short film on the subject.

"We are aware that umpteen documentaries and social advertisements have been made on the issue but then to some extent, ours is still a sexist society. The issue will remain important unless society changes its attitude towards the girl child," reasons Jasraj Bhatti, director of the film. About the conscious decision to make an animated film on it, he adds, "This time our target audience is school children. We want to catch them young and incorporate the right beliefs in them. Also people of all age groups now like animation."

Jasraj's father, Jaspal Bhatti, renowned comedian and TV actor, conceived the story idea but Jasraj says that was hardly a deal for his father, "It took straight five minutes for my father to pen the script and eight long months to put it on screen for us." But they knew making an animation film wasn't going to be easy, "Unlike live action movies where you can direct the entire film in one shot, animation movies has to be made shot-by-shot. Before beginning the actual direction, I first sketched the characters, designed all shots and prepared blue prints of all sequences."

The two-and-a-half-minute short film puts across the message effectively. Jaspal Bhatti talks about his contribution to the film, story writing. "Essence of the film lies in the dialogue where in male sparrow answers the nurse when she asks him, doesn't he wish to know if it is male or a female bird." He then tell us what the male sparrow's answer is, "The male sparrow replies cryptically that he is not a human being who will celebrate his child's birth only when a baby boy is born."

The film is now being sent to film festivals like Lucknow Film Festival and to Golden House award, "We are looking forward to win critical acclaim for the movie and film festivals is the place for it."

Imparting a social message through humour has always been Jaspal Bhatti's forte and now his son too seems to be following his footsteps. Jasraj, on this, adds, "Social message adds credibility to the script. I have made various short films like Ladla Driver, Flop Booth, Bittu da Dabha with underlined social messages and humour."

WE are here
The all-woman group of artists is back
Manpriya Khurana

Can you define art? No. Can you define a woman? Never. What if the two came together? Never ever! The ongoing art exhibition, Expressions-21 by WE, at the Government Museum and Art Gallery, spells it for us, 'A group of Indian contemporary women artists' with twenty-one symptomatic of the number of artists. Well, there's blurring and blending of the two subjects of endless prose, equally endless praise and inestimable puzzle.

It's a splatter of rainbows, a quality inherent to art as much to a woman. There's a provocation at every step, every canvas. Be it the woman playing flute amidst bamboo sticks or the little mermaid-like lady with waves in her hair running parallel to the waves in the water that her hand is immersed in. The collection at the entrance serves a true prelude. It's not for nothing Navpreet Kaur, from Noida, a self-taught artist, has been painting the facets and elements of a woman ever since she can remember. "In earlier times of maharajas and ranis, the queens would be lonely. In my paintings I tried to bring out that element." The picture of a woman with a parrot for companionship now kind of falls in place.

With feminity writ large on the canvasses, even the birds in one of the acrylics appear to be screaming for female causes. Sparrows in hues of green and blue staring into reflective cosmic light. Says the artist, Sadhna Sangar, "When we paint, it's like we go into meditation." No wonder, it took the lady no more than around three days to sign off the work.

Concludes today

Spade work
Hang out
Satish Narula

When one wants to extend the garden boundaries skywards, one uses climbers. Another good choice is the use of baskets. They come handy, especially when the space is a constraint. You may also call them the hanging gardens.

Baskets are now available in various kinds and material, ranging from wire baskets to plastic and terracotta. The choice depends upon the kind of structure provided as support. It also depends on what planting material is being used. While hanging with the hooks, lightweight baskets are used. In such cases, the medium used for growing plants is also kept light. This is done by using more of vermin compost, farmyard manure and even shreds of moss grass in the soil medium. It helps to retain water over a longer period of time. The plants used in such cases include the light-weight asparagus, pilea, sedums, senecio, tradescantia zebrena, some small leaved begonias, ceropegia, or even flowering plants like petunia, burf, pansy, sweet alyssum, klanchoe (dwarf), oxalis, orchids, wedelia etceteras. In case of frames with base support, heavy baskets could be used and could easily support heavy plants like bryophyllum (small leaf type), syngonium, ferns, hederas, ivy geranium etceteras. For curiosity, I have seen cherry tomato growing in the baskets.

Hanging Baskets have many advantages. They need no extra space. They can be used in the corridor, porch, shed, in the conservatory, under verandah, on the sidewalls using frames, under the trees and even indoors. These should be used artistically and aesthetically. Though, in most of the cases, the baskets hang out in the open exposed to hot winds, some of the water conservation devises could be used. The upper soil surface could be covered with moss grass or using pebbles and grass shreds. Where these are fully exposed to harsh sun, do not use pebbles.

While using baskets as garden feature, one must keep certain points in mind. Do not use poor quality wire to hang the baskets. Galvanized wire or small steel chain matching the size of the basket should be used for this purpose. Ordinary wire gets rusted in no time. Many a time, I have seen people using poly-sheet lining at the base in case of wire baskets. The best material for the purpose is the coconut shreds. It not only holds the flowing mud and sand but also conserves moisture. As the growing medium used in the basket is very light and limited, there is every chance of water run-off or draining out fast. It is, therefore, necessary that while using baskets in the upper stories, one must make sure that the baskets are not hanged in a way that the over spilling water drops fall on those living at lower floors. While using indoors, one could use the plastic baskets that have a provision of base plate to capture the overflow.

satishnarula@yahoo.co.in

Star Signs
Machine man
Jasmine Singh

Actors live life the Ferrari lane, like most of us. And well, like us, they too yearn for a long weekend. If not that at least, they want to be in touch with their near and dear ones wherever they are. Actor Randeep Hooda, is someone always likes to stay connected with people who matter to him, even it means dropping a mail once a while. And technology is something he can bank on. Randeep tells us how.

Face to face

I am on the Facebook, which helps me stay interact with people who want to know about my work or anything about me. When ever possible, I try to update the Facebook and reply to people who have sent in their queries. Thankfully, I haven’t got any weird messages from fans. In fact, this is the only drawback of being on the interactive site. Anyone can say anything. However I think there should be guidelines to use these sites as well.

Phone bank

I can’t think of moving about without a cell phone. I have a fully loaded Nokia N95, which has a storehouse of information. The enhanced memory allows me store all kinds of details and data. But, I have started to face some problem with it. So, I might just shift to a new one.

I-love

I-pod is my constant companion whenever and wherever I travel. It is loaded with songs, which I keep updating. It is not possible to check mails during the busy schedule, so, I-pod is the only gadget that adds freshness to the routine and keeps me calm at the same time. I have discovered it to be a good stress buster as well.

Man and Machine

I have two beautiful cars and I have modified one of them according to my taste and requirement. Its eye catching and has state-of-the art technology. Earlier, I had good number of gadgets installed in my car, but I have got them removed. Because, I think they interfere in driving.

jasmine@tribunemail.com

GEEK SPEAK
Zooming in
Amitpal Singh Grewal

Haute Pick Samsung Pixon M8800 is a feature-packed phone that runs the Samsung Touchwiz user interface. It has an eight-megapixel camera that supports face recognition and Advance Shake Reduction features with GPS geo-tagging support and VGA video recording at 30fps. The screen is a large 3.2-inch full-touch screen. The phone is 3G ready and comes with an onscreen QWERTY keyboard with support of handwriting recognition. It is enabled to support for various audio and video formats like DivX, Xvid, and MP4 enhances the multimedia ability of the phone. So does the advanced music player that comes with SRS 3D surround sound. The Pixon can also be a decent gaming device and comes pre-loaded with a host of popular games like Brain Challenge, Diamond Twister, and Millionaire-3. There is also this motion-sensor based game, which can be played by tilting and shaking the handset. The phone has been priced at approximately Rs 28000.

If you are about to grab a digital camera, I am sure you must be confused by the puzzling and extensive range of models out there. And after this to make things even worse, digital cameras do not come cheap. Choosing a bad camera will easily cost you a few thousand rupees.

Hopefully this article will help you choose the camera that’s just right for you, the key considerations which you need to keep in mind before making a decision to purchase are:

Number of mega pixels

The mega-pixel rating of a digital camera determines how much fine detail you can capture in your shots. In general, the number of mega-pixels can range around from four mega pixels to eight mega pixels. How do you decide how many mega pixels you need? As a thumb rule, if you’re only interested in taking small snapshots to send via email or for posting on the Web, you won’t need more than four mega pixels. If you want large printouts of your striking photographs, then you’ll probably want to get five mega-pixel cameras and above.

Battery Life

This has got to be one of the most overlooked features in digital cameras. I know many people who go for the latest and greatest digital cameras, which are short in the battery life department. If you want to take good photos, your camera needs to be powered for extended periods of time. I’ve found that the cost and battery life don’t go together — many cheap cameras have good battery life, while some high-end models drain your battery really fast. Make sure you choose a camera that has good battery life.

Zoom lens

You definitely need to have a camera with decent optical zoom. Now, the type of zoom we are talking about here is optical zoom, not digital zoom. Optical zoom physically moves the camera lenses to zoom in on a subject. Digital zoom, however, digitally averages and magnifies the image within the camera’s microchip — resulting in pixel bursting which leads to poor picture quality. Many manufacturers advertisements talk about digital zoom instead of optical zoom, so be careful. My recommendation would be getting at least 3x optical zoom in any camera you buy.

Exposure control

The ability to control exposure settings such as shutter-speed and lens opening is critical to professional photographers. Cheaper digital cameras only allow you to shoot photos in automatic mode. Just press the shutter release and that’s it, your picture is taken. More advanced users prefer to change the shutter speed and aperture to capture fast-moving objects or blur the image background. Choose a camera with good exposure control if you see yourself taking on photography as a serious hobby.

User controls

If you are getting a point-and-shoot camera, make sure you find one that’s easy to use. User controls to set resolution, macro mode, flash and exposure should be within easy reach. On the other hand, if you’re a serious photography enthusiast, who wants to take the time to setup all sorts of manual settings, then this many not be so critical. Always prefer to try out the camera first in the store, play with the controls and get comfortable with them. Only then you will know whether it’s handy and comfortable enough for you.

A general piece of advice I can give is, if you’re a new to this, don’t go for the latest cam. Its always better to start off with a slim and cheaper camera which you can carry in your pocket. This will not let you miss any of your precious shots and you can also experiment, which will improve your digital skills. Once you’re more skilled, then proceed to upgrade to a better camera.

amitpalsinghgrewal@hotmail.com

Colourful invasion

St(r)ands apart

Light side
Little Zizou is a comic insight into the world of Parsis

Going places
Rang De Basanti will be screened at the ongoing SAARC Film Festival in Abu Dhabi

A still from Rang De Basanti

Beside Bollywood director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's RDB, another major attraction of the festival is the Pakistani film Khuda Ke Liye, which will also be screened. The film features Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah in a cameo as a Muslim scholar clarifying the tenets of Islam during a court case.

A film from Bangladesh - AHA, Caravan from Nepal and Sri Lankan movie Nisalgira and Samanala Thatu will be featured at the festival. All the movies will be subtitled in English and Arabic.

The five-day festival, commenced on Saturday, has been organised by the Embassies of the SAARC nations - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. — IANS

Behind camera
The woman who groomed Freida Pinto
Madhusree Chatterjee

Indian actor Freida Pinto is making waves internationally for her walk down the Oscar red carpet, her designer gowns and gracing the covers of popular magazines, thanks to Slumdog Millionaire. But not many know the woman who helped groom her and introduced her to British director Danny Boyle.

Sushma Puri, a grooming instructor and owner of Elite Model Management India in New Delhi and Mumbai, groomed and launched Freida when she began her career in modelling in 2005. Freida's photograph was among those of a few others that Puri had sent to Loveleen Tandon, the casting director of Slumdog Millionaire. And now she just can't stop praising here protege.

"My agency received a call from Loveleen Tandon's office when they were casting for the movie. We sent pictures of some of the girls who fit the brief. Freida was immediately put on the short list. She went on to audition for the part. Over the next six months, we were asked to send Freida many times over for various screen tests. Finally, Boyle personally selected her for the role," Puri said.

Anushka Sharma, who starred in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi opposite Shahrukh Khan, former Miss India Neha Kapur, and top models Vipasha Agarwal, Sonalika Sahay and Diana Penty are some of the other faces launched by Puri's Elite agency. — IANS

Shared secrets
Shilpa Shetty offers to share beauty secrets with youngsters

Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty who has set girls across the country trudge the treadmill to achieve a svelte figure like hers, wants to pass on all her fitness and beauty secrets to the aspiring lot.

The 33-year-old, who recently launched a chain of medi-spas across Mumbai wants to instil the importance of "health and fitness" among the younger generation.

"(With) my long-term vision and ultimate goal being 'Wellness India', I hope to bring about a certain awareness in the younger generation regarding health and fitness. I hope I can do it through my medi-spas...and be able to put people on the right path of how to lose weight and maintain it," Shilpa posted on her blog.

"I really wish that...I can pass down my tips on health and beauty and make a few changes in their lives. It is a lifestyle modification and that's what I intend on doing..." she added.

Not many know that the 34-24-37 beauty was once a dusky girl with average looks. The actor has revealed that she won't shy away from putting her own example for people to follow.

"I've been someone who's synonymous with glamour. If people saw my pictures in the past, they would know exactly how much reinvention can really work for a person and I hope to do that through my spas and salons," she wrote. — IANS

Step by step
19 Steps is my next big film, says Asin

Asin, who shot into popularity with the film Ghajini, made in Tamil and then in Hindi, is now aiming to scale even greater heights in the multi-lingual film 19 Steps to be directed by Bharath Bala.

"The film is being produced by Walt Disney and a good portion will be shot in Kerala. Kamal Haasan plays an important role in the film, which also has popular Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano. This is going to be made in Tamil, Japanese and English and would commence in the second half of this year," Asin said.

"For 19 Steps, I am now soon going to learn martial arts because the story line demands that," said Asin.

This film, being written by veteran Malayalam scriptwriter, M.T. Vasudevan Nair, tells the tale of a Samurai warrior trying to conquer the ancient Indian martial art of Kalaripayattu.

Kamal Haasan plays the role of an Indian martial arts guru.

Asin who studied in Kochi was just 15 years old. Since then she has acted in both Tamil and Telegu films besides Ghajini.

Now settled in Mumbai, she said that she is selective when it comes to roles and after her debut Malayalam film, she just could not work in any other Malayalam films.

"I got a few offers but somehow it did not work out," she said.

Asin said she is now completing her second Bollywood film London Dreams in which Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan play key roles.

She said her success in the industry was due to the full support her parents gave her and that they allowed her to take her own decisions. — IANS