Hina Rasim's Luxury Shopping Event at The Dorchester

I was lucky enough to be able to a ticket to Hina Rasim's Luxury Shopping Event last week, featuring several designer collections which were also available to buy. After attending her last exhibition last year, I was pretty keen to attend because of all of the gorgeous outfits available which aren't necessarily accessible in London for a lot of buyers.

This event was more upscale, and was held at the gorgeous Dorchester Hotel in ones of the ball rooms, which was also beautifully decorated by Dream Occasions UK, who are wedding and event planners/decorators, and did an amazing job with the flowers, lanterns and candle decor.

There were several designers' outfits and collections being showcased, I wasn't able to get prices of all of them but I did find out about a few - I'll list below the ones I know about but you can also contact Hina herself for more information on prices.

Elan
The most prominent collection was Elan's latest collections, the Le Bijou Collection and the Garden of Evening Mists collection. This was also the only collection I didn't ask the prices for because I knew they would be out of my range - these were mostly bridal pieces but each were pretty gorgeous.

There was also a rail of Elan formals which were very pretty, such as these outfits below. I wasn't too keen on the orange and blue outfit, but I did like the spring green kurta with delicate work all over, which cost about £400 (I think!).

Sania Maskatiya
Being a big Sania Maskatiya fan, this was the first collection I went for, and which there was a good range of. There were a few pieces I recognised from the catwalk, such as the pink dress below, which were also very heavy and probably the most expensive from the collection.

The prices for the heavier SM formals ranged from £600-700 upwards to about £1300.00 for the heavy, fullworked outfits.

Ayesha Farook Hashwani - AFH
This was a new designer being added to Hina's collections, featuring light wraps and capes to heavier embroidered formals and maxi dresses - most of these were £150 for the basic wraps and went up to £300-500 for the heavier formals.

Shela Chatoor
These were mostly embroidered kameezes and formals, but in pretty spring colours and floral patterns. Most of these were around £500ish but the heavier pieces were slightly more.

Rozina Munib
I remembered Rozina's collection from last year and was glad to see there were a lot of new styles in her latest collection. I didn't get to take many pictures but I liked this oufit because of the colours, which I thick was about £300-400

There were several other designer collections as well, but I didn't get to take pictures of them all, mostly because the hall was so busy and I didn't want to get in the way too much! I wanted to write about outfits by other designers like Farah Talib Aziz, Saira Shakira and Maison de Lace, both of whom had lovely designs but a few of my photos got deleted, so I can't post these!

One last outfit I loved was this velvet cape which I think was by Saira Shakira but I can't remember at all - I thought this was a really elegant piece which looked very regal. I'm loving the whole cape trend right now (and have even bought one of my own!) so this is right up my street!

UPDATE: This outfit is actually by Ayesha Farooq Hashwani, I wasn't able to get the price but you can contact Hina Rasim for orders.

Tanaya Couture
Again like last year, Tanaya Couture were displaying their beautiful jewellery but in a separate room this time, and there were some really lovely pieces available which really caught my eye. A lot of these were beautiful statement pieces, which would also make amazing bridal pieces, and I think the prices for these were pretty reasonable considering they were one-off pieces and had beautiful gems and work to them.

Again, I can't remember a lot of prices because each piece was individually priced, but the earrings were around £50ish, necklaces were from £150 upwards for pendants (depending on how heavy) and heavier bridal necklaces were about £300-400 and upwards.

I took a lot of pictures of necklaces so you can see what caught my eye!

I also really loved these earrings, each which would really complete an outfit and each had beautiful stone and pearl details.

Tanaya Couture also had furs and shawls available to buy, which were quite popular seeing as it's the cold spring season!

Because the event was on Valentines Day, there were also some cupcakes provided, which were the perfect treat to end a nice day, and of course a nice way to indulge!

Even though I didn't end up buying anything, I did see a lot of outfits which I will be considering for future events, because the designs and the workmanship look so great. Althought it was a very busy event, it was a fun one and I got to speak a few other shoppers who were buying outfits.

Did you manage to attend this event? What do you think of the outfits?

DESIGNER MODE: Faraz Manan presents the Imperial Collection

Who doesn't love Faraz Manan? In the last couple of years the designer has really made a name for himself and gained popularity, and it's no wonder why - his collections just keep getting better and better. I meant to post this earlier but couldn't get any decent pictures until now - Faraz Manan's launch at his flagship store in Dubai, debuting his Imperial Collection.

I followed a lot of the designs from the launch on instagram and loved what I saw - shades of creams, golds and silver in beautiful dresses and formals.

I won't go on too much about the outfits, but I thought each one was beautifully detailed and made amazing outfits - ideal for as bridals for wedding functions or heavy formals for special events. I also loved the colour themes in this collection, which all complemented each other and look every elegant and regal.

Here's some pictures of the outfits below - my favourites were the maxi dresses but I also loved the cuts of the saris and trousers suits too.

You can see the beautiful detail in each piece, which have intricate embellishments and crystals in silver and gold which go wonderfully with the outfits - right up any bride's streets.

I think Faraz Manan also managed to produce an amazing range of outfits which would appeal to a lot of body shapes and tastes too, and you can certainly see how luxurious this collection is. This is a collection for special events and weddings, and each piece certainly is designed to stand out.

I also thought it was interesting that while not every outfit is modest, there are plenty of flowing maxi dresses which are, and there are a lot of dramatic pieces too. Faraz Manan certainly made a splash with this launch and received a lot of praise for this collection - since then we've seen a few of his newer pieces in the year and he has not disappointed.

Images from Wedded Wonderland and Facebook

Did you see any of this collection's launch? Which one did you like best?

Este Couture presents Nitin Katikeya and Amrapali Jewels

I recently went to an exhibition held by Este Couture, a boutique which carry several Indian and Pakistani labels, selling both formals and bridals for those who want something a little different. The exhibition was being held for Indian designer Nitin Kartikeya, who was showcasing his lately collection which features both Indian and fusion designs.

Nitin Kartikeya recently debuted at Amazon India Fashion Week last year, so I was interested to see what was on offer and the details in his outfits.

I thought some of the dresses had some really interest cuts and designs to them, I thought these made great party dresses for more Western functions or events such as receptions or English weddings or even something for younger girls like the prom or graduation parties.

There was also a beautiful collection of formal tops which could be worn alone, with trousers or with jeans but which were beautifully embellished. I spoke to the designer himself for a little while and he said these were his favourite pieces too because of the beautiful level of detail on each one!

You can see the various embellishment techniques and materials used in the outfits below - french knots, beading, metal work, pearls and net overlay, which looked lovely together.

I also liked these lovely maxi dresses by the designer, which I though would appeal to a lot of potential buyers because of the beautiful skirts and the embellished bodices, which were very wearable (sorry about the terrible picture quality below!)

I thought this was a really interesting collection, which was great to see fresh off the catwalk. I also really liked the fact that these outfits are accessible for those of us in the UK - often we see outfits on the catwalk which we can't always buy!

I was also really glad to see Amparali Jewellery being showcased and which were available to buy, especially as the only place for sale I have seen them are on Pernia's Pop-up Shop, so it was nice to see them up close and to appreciate how beautiful they were.

\These are a few of my favourite pieces from the exhibition, all of which make ideal statetment pieces. Although they weren't cheap, they were each beautifully made and very different from a lot of the jewellery I've seen on the high street!

I thought these were all gorgeous pieces, which would really glam up any outfit, and I loved the details behind each piece. I really wanted to buy a bangle or bracelet but ended up not getting anything, partly because it was a bit above my price range and partly because I was waiting for payday! The good thing about Este Couture is that they're fairly local to Londoners, so I can easily go to their store and browse for more things if I want them.

It was a fun experience at the exhibition, and I was glad to speak to Nitin Kartikey about his excitement over his collection, which was really great too!