Amazon India Couture Week 2015: Opulence and Bollywood

One of the best things about the flourishing of social media, such as Instagram and Snapchat, is that it allows us to follow events around the globe as they happen and keep up to date a lot quicker. Where even a couple of years ago, I would have to look online for events after they happened, now I'm able to follow more fashion news and events in India and Pakistan, and of course in London without having to be there.

So naturally, I followed all of the beautiful outfits of Amazon India Couture Week last month, which was a very luxurious affair with plenty of Bollywood stars present; as well as PFDC L'Oréal Paris Bridal Week 2015 which just took place a few days ago in Pakistan (which I'll also be posting about!)

Anju Modi

I loved how colourful and traditional this collection was - apparently this designer's line was inspired by upcoming epic movie Bajirao Mastani which certainly shoes in the gorgeous detail of these outfits. The style of these are meant to be more Persian, which I loved because of how regal these outfits look.

Gaurav Gupta

Conversely, this designer went for a gold palette in various shades, with focus on the cuts of the dresses in layers, and on embroidery. Gupta also collaborated with jewellery company Outhouse to create special earcuffs for the model, which I thought was a nice touch. The cocktail-style dresses in this collection were quite elegant, with a few sari-gowns hybrids thrown in as well.

Kalki Koechlin was the showtopper for this designer, and looked very much like a princess in her layered pink outfit, which I thought she looked lovely in.

Rahul Mishra

This collection leaned towards formals and bridal trousseu pieces, with inspiration from the 'Tree of Life' theme, present through plenty of floral and parrots embroidery. I loved the richness of the colours in these outfits, simple yet summery which worked well together.

Debarun

This was another traditional collection which was inspired by the maharajas, which had plenty of colours, taking inspiration also from the classic 80s and 90s Bollywood colours  which looked vibrant together. I loved the rich colours and fabrics of this collection - idea as bridals or as party outfits!

This collection had two Bollywood stars as the show stoppers, Aditi Rao Hydari and Chitrangada Singh, both in different styles, showing a transition between old-style Bollywood through to the contemporary styles. 

Monisha Jaising

This was very much a modern, fusion collection - bridal meets sportswear and funky prints. I can't say I was a fan of all of these although I did like the quirky mix of prints and embroidery.

Showstopper Kriti Sanon completed this theme, with a gorgeously embellished lengha skirt mixed with a jersey top and embellished trainers! On the other hand, Pernia Qureshi was dressed in a simpler maxi dress with sparkles, which looked more contemporary.

Reynu Tandon

One of the things of the I really liked about this collection was the way gorgeous rich colours (I do love my maroons and aubergines!) and the way the dupatta was styles for each model, showing a traditional bridal look. I also liked the various flowy styles, although it was mostly lengha, there were a couple of shararas thrown in and dresses in a similar style.

Richa Chadda was the showstopper for this collection, looking like a Lucknow queen in a rich red and gold bridal, mixing rich prints and brocade with embellishment.

Rimple and Harpreet Narula

This was a collection which focused on a rich palette of golds, red and white, with plenty of intricate embroidery on beautiful A-line skirts and worked tops - very elegant and classic. The collection is apparently a homage to the days of the Raj, using fine craftmanship and royal insignias in the outfits.

Shilpa Shetty looked just as lovely in a gold lengha from the collection - I loved the gold-on-nude look of this outfit which worked well with the heavy embellishment.

Manav Gangwani

This is another collection which focused on vivid colour and florals, for a striking look. There were a lot of silhouette outfits, closely-fitted gowns to emphasise the figure and finished off with plenty of embellishment.

Kangana Ranaut was the showstopper for this designer, with plenty of sparkles in this sumptious gown. This was certainly for the modern bride who is looking for a little drama in their outfit, which Kangana certainly pulled off.

Rohit Bal

This collection mixed floral and animal motifs with Kashmiri inspiration, finished off with beautiful floral hairband. I love how unique these outfits looked, with each piece being a statement in itself, using rich colours and fabrics.

Varun Bahl

This was a lot more floral-based, with emphasis on the feminine in each outfit - appropriately called 'Song of the Flower'. The ramp itself was decorated with roses to add to this, and each outfit has beautiful flowers worked in. I really liked the pieces of this collection, which I thought were a lovely alternative to the usual gold embellishments you usually see on bridals.

Sabyasachi

This was one I was looking forward to seeing, and it is one of my favourite collections of AICW because of how rich the outfits looked, and how intricate the details looked. The designer collaboated with Louboutin to create a series of shoes for the catwalk, which were just as richly embellished, while outfits were mostly gold and black with a spot of red to signify the famous soles!

Manish Malhotra

The designer closed the show with a collection of rich flowers and colours to celebrate his 25th year in fashion. Entitled 'The Empress Story', featuring gowns which ranged from metallic silver and vintage gold to rich reds, rose pinks and chocolate browns. There wer also plenty of flower and bird motifs in embroidery, which finished off the looked in a unique way.

Aishwariya Rai Bachan finished off the finale in a gorgeous maroon and gold ensemble, looking stunning and chic and every inch the 'Empress' of the collection.

Images source

I really liked the range of colours and styles of this collections, and it was interesting to see how many designers were going back to the traditional, old-era looks as well. I loved the different interpretations of these, and it'll be interesting to see how many of these will filter down to the high street shops - especially as a lot of these will be available for the public to buy in coming months.

What did you think of these - which designer was your favourite?

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: The Divas of the Green Carpet at IIFA 2014

There's been a lot of publicity over the IIFA awards ceremony which took place recently, due to all of the Hollywood and Bollywood celebs who turned up, as well as the beautiful outfits which were showcase. I've been following some of the glamour and glitz on and off the carpet, and here are some of the ones which stood out for me.

I think the lovely Deepika Pudokone created the biggest stir in the fashion world, wearing gold Sabyasachi with deep red lips followed by a pretty floral red maxi dress by Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad (although her hair and make-up were very similar to the previous day). I love the glamorous style Deepika has going on, and I think she pulls it off very well (I also love this vlogger's take on copying her make-up, which I really want to try as well now!)

Next is Priyanka Chopra wore a pretty, cream Monique Lhuillier gown and a Prabal Gurung pencil dress on the carpet, followed by a blingy dress during the show at the ceremony (although I'm not sure who that one is by)

 

Kareena Kapoor dressed in a risqué Giorgio Armani dress (don't worry, I think that's a panel in the middle!), followed by another Giorgio Armani two-piece outfit. I also loved the kurta-style top she wore with white trousers at the IIFA conference, particularly the sleeves with its colourful embroidery - although it did make me notice she wore a lot of black!

 

Next was Bipasha Basu in a a gold Gaurav Gupta gown, followed by a sparkly black Rocky S gown and lastly, a pretty white Sonaakshi Raaj draped sari-gown with Amrapali earring. I'm less keen on the metallic gown, but I though the black gown looked chic and the white sari looks very pretty.

Sridevi wore a glamorous number, an Oscar de la Renta gown followed by a pretty Marchesa dress which reminded me of a slightly Greek-style design.



Sonaksi Sinha wore a DKNY black dress to start with, followed by an Amit Aggarwal long gown, and lastly a Nikhil Thampi ensemble which looked slightly more smarter than her other dresses.

Next is recently-engaged Dia Mirza, one of my favourite style icons, wearing a sparkly pink and gold Sabyasachi outfit followed by a soft apricot-coloured dress by Halston Heritage.

I loved this Sabyasachi dress worn by Kalki Koechli wore a the ceremony, as well as the silvery-grey Gaurav Gupta gown she wore which really flattered her figure. The deep red turban she wore looked great with her Sabyasachi outfit, which added a quirky yet chic twist to the outfit.

Lastly, is the lovely Madhuri Dixit, who looked elegant in a pretty blue sheath by Jatin Varma, and a Sonakshi Raaj light orange sari on the carpet. I thought the two made quite different styles which left Madhuri able to go for a formal look with an updo for her dress, and a more playful look with loose curls and soft makeup with her sari.

These aren't all of the celebrities who attended the IIFA 2014 ceremony, but these are the ones which I liked or which I thought were quite striking - I'll agree with a lot of people on the blogosphere that one of my favourites was Deepika with her dark red lips and Sabyasachi.

You can see more picture of what these celebrities as well as the other Bollywood stars wore over the IIFA events here and here.

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Deepika's Glamorous Saris in 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewaani'

I watched this film recently, and was struck by the colourful, bright saris worn by Deepika in 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani' (mainly in the second half of the film, the first half is casual western slacks, shorts and funky dresses). I liked the vibe of this film, but to be honest, it wasn't original and it reminded me of a few other films like 'Love, Breakups Zindagi' and 'Tanu Weds Manu' and a few others I can't remember the names of right now. Having said that, most of these films are a fun watch if you're not looking for anything too heavy.

The main thing I noticed about Deepika's outfit is that although her character is meant to be shy and quiet, she still looks fabulous (it also helps that she has an amazing figure too!). Apart from the glasses (it had to be put in there, didn't it?), Deepika doesn't look very mousy, she looks chic, stylish and she certainly knows how to wear a sari - but I think this is deliberate, and on the whole it works pretty well. The main designers for the costumes in this film are Manish Malhotra, and Samidha Wangnoo - I don't know Wangnoo's style very well, but several lenghas and saris in this film are iconic Manish Malhotra and fit his signature style.

The first outfit I liked it this sari in a beautiful shade of cobalt blue, with a black sequined blouse - simple yet colourful, and looks great on Deepika. I also love Deepika's wavy curls here, loose but glamorous, finished off with pinky-nude lips and some eye-make up that I'm already wondering how to copy. I'm not a fan on the small, bikini-style blouses, but Deepika pulls it off, particularly with the way that the sari is draped. I also love the fact that this sari (designed by Manish Malhotra) is available to buy here, along with another design from the film (although you may have to wait a while seeing as they're currently sold out, otherwise you could make your own version like this lovely blogger).

Another outfit worn by Deepika is a red sharara, with a cropped top, although I wasn't so keen on this because it felt a little outdated (it kept reminding me of Kareena's outfit in Bole Chudiyan). Although the outfit itself wasn't to my taste, I loved the dupatta with its accent of blue, and the beautiful mehndi on Deepika's hands - it's my opinion that they don't have enough detailed mehndi in Bollywood films!

Kalki Koechlin plays the bride-to-be in this film wearing a pretty red wedding dress which I assume is by Manish Malhotra again. I couldn't get a proper full length picture of the dress, but I like the work on the dress (in one of the pics below, particularly the embroidered flowers) and the dupatta - it's been a while since I've seen mirrors on clothes in Bollywood films! I also thought the scene where the bride is led out under a dupatta is sweet, and I really loved the touch of having LED lights under the dupatta to add a sparkly touch (something to try at the next family wedding, I think!)
Again, I loved the detailed mehndi on the bride, although I think Kalki looked better with her hair loose rather than tied up.

Deepika's outfit at the wedding is also quite pretty, I couldn't find a full length picture of the outfit, but it seems to be an orange lengha suit with a pretty red sequined scarf. I really like the way her hair is styled with a red rose too, it doesn't look cheesy and looks quite elegant with the outfit since her make-up and jewellery are quite simple.

All pics belong to creators of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

I think the outfits in this film are pretty because of the bold use of colour, and the fact that Deepika's overall look is elegant and simple, so that each look is feminine and not too blingy (not to mention easy to copy!) Although this film reminded me of several other films, it's still a fun watch and of course, it's nice to see some beautiful mehndi!