Day 1 saw a lot of celebrities, especially for the Archana Kochar show (catch Ranjit’s take on her show). Celina Jaitley, Mahakshay Chakraborty, Parvathy Omnakuttan, Diana Haydon and Ayesha Takia were all in attendance for her show. I caught up with a few of them at the Kingfisher lounge and gave them our MissMalini rapid fire. Rapid mostly because I didn’t have much time to chat or energy to fight the paparazzi! So make sure you check out the video for their candid answers, trust me you’ll want to know how long Celina takes to get ready, she’ surprising quick (I take much longer).
Rina Dhaka
As Ranjit has already said, it was a bit of a disappointment, mostly because it was my first Rina Dhaka show and I was filled with anticipation. The garments were heavily embroidered with Gota work done on chiffons that were in shades of sand and faded pink. A feminine look on Indian wear with a sex appeal that was evident in shoulder bearing and backless kurtas. Personally I’m not a big fan of lame fabric, I feel it’s entirely too shiny and cheapens any collection, hence I wasn’t too happy to see it being used especially as a churidar. What was extremely peculiar on her ramp walk with Sonal Chauhan, Rina threw a Champagne balloon at Rohit Bal. Lets just say Rohit was not the only one who was confused about this!
JJ Valaya
The night ended on a grand note with JJ Valaya, who although doesn’t like us very much, dazzled us with his collection that sparkled like I’ve never seen before. At first I thought he’d put in mini led lights that twinkled, but on close inspection it was actually semi precious stones! Very extravagant I must say, but this is Winter/Festive and it’s all about which designer will make it to the trousseau’s of girls that are soon to be wed. You can be assured that JJ Valaya will be on that list. His story of old B&W photos to the digital photography days was told by his garments. It started off with Black and White saris and sherwani’s and slowly took to sepia tones and then finally to full colour and luminosity. He teamed up heavily embroidered lehengas with fitted raglan sleeved jackets in brocade and silk. This combination is available in many strong hues and you can probably mix and match your jacket with your lehenga. It was a bold collection and unlike some designers from day one, the finish of the garments was impeccable. I can only imagine how long each garment took to make! Maybe he’ll be nice enough to meet us and tell us next time we want a quick video byte!