On the Catwalk, On the Celeb...Shilpa Shetty in Ridhi Mehra

I haven't seen Shilpa in the news for a while but recently she's been cropping up again at the catwalks and fashion shows, and is looking good while she's doing it!

I thought I'd post a quick outfit I saw on the Bollywood star that I liked by Ridhi Mehra (makes a change from the constant Sonam-Priyanka-Deepika outfits I keep seeing, as much as I enjoy looking at them!) - let me know what you think of the outfit!

On the catwalk:
I LOVE the oxblood red colour of this outfit, and though it looked very chic on the catwalk - flowy, stylish and very fusion in style, a great balance of westernised jumpsuits and dressy asian wear. The only thing I didn't love about this outfit was the deep V-neck which seemed a little too low, and brings the effortless look of the outfit down a bit- apart from that, I love it, it reminds me of something you'd see on an Italian catwalk, particularly the cinched-in belt added in which gives it a lovely, smart look.

On the celeb:
I think what I like most about this outfit was that it looks a lot more playful on Shipa, and also more girly. She worked the V-neck pretty well here (probably because it's not so low and also looks more chic), and I also love that she accessorised with pretty gold earrings (by Valliyan) and and pretty gold stack bangles (by Prerto) for a minimal but elegant look. For some reason the outfit looks more fuschia in these pictures, but it still works well and I love that she's managed to make it a great dressed-up evening look.

I'm not sure which look I prefer more - the catwalk one is much more stylish and Westernised, but on Shilpa she carried the outfit wonderfully and looks a lot more spunky which I quite like!

So here's a random story -  did I ever tell you (readers) about the time I (kind of) met Shilpa Shetty?

It was while I was working part-time in Knightsbridge at university (I won't say when but it was nearly a decade ago!) a little while after the actress appeared in Big Brother, so she was staying around London for a little while to shop.
My job was to be a 'host' (basically a greeter) for the day at Monsoon in Knightsbridge to greet customers and show them around. In breezes in a tall, pretty brown woman with oversized sunglasses, who walked past way too fast, before I could say 'Hi! Welcome to Monsoon!' in my fake cheery voice.
So while I looked around in a baffled way about why someone had walked past so quickly, another person (later found out this was Shilpa's PR Team) stopped to tell me not to worry and leave the customer alone. I crept up to the main cash till to speak to my colleagues, and amid furious whispers we all realised the beautiful Shilpa was in our store. Unfortunately our managers also caught us whispering and warned us not to approach the actress, ask for photos or autographs (this was before the explosion of selfies, really) and basically treat her like a normal customer.

Shilpa tried on a few dresses, bought a pretty yellow number and then left, and that was the end of it -  none of us got any pictures. It was still pretty cool for the teenager I was at the time though!

Pakistan Fashion Week London 9

Last month saw the prestigious Pakistan Fashion Week London 9 held at the Grand Connaught Rooms in central London at the beginning of June over a weekend. The fashion event showcased 36 designers from Asia, which ranged from bridal and formals, jewellery and menswear.

I wasn't able to make the shows when they took place, but I did follow the event on social media and loved what I saw - there was plenty of colour and a range of styles which were pretty creative. I won't post all of the designs (there were quite a few!) but I'll post some of my favourites from each designer.

I was glad to see a mix of new names with established designers, as well as a mix of Pakistani and Indian labels along with designers from the UK, who are also beginning to make their mark. Each designer had a pretty varied collection, whether they were soft pastels, dramatic black and gold or pretty floral prints, with plenty of colour in each collection. I'm not sure if I have any favourites yet, but I did love Rani Eman's bridal collection, alongside the casual, fun prints of Sapphire, Shameel Ansari and Gul Ahmed Textiles - all well-known names and favourites!

Event Produced by: Riwayat Ltd
Choreography: Hajira Ahmad @ EBH
Official Photography: Shahid Malik
Head Stylist: Nabila
Hair and Make-up supported by Saima Kiran
PR : Enigme Internationale

Agha Noor

Aisha Imran

Al Zohaib Textiles

Ayesha Aejaz

Diva By Sana Rashid

Embellished by Sadaf Amir

Erum Jamal

Flora

Goal by Fozia Hammad

Gogi by Hassan Riaz

Gul Ahmed Textiles

Iqra Saqib

Lajwanti by Ana Ali

Madiha Gohar

Moazzam Abbasi

Najwa Imran

Nida Azwer

Noorulain

Rani Eman

Rozina Munib

Sapphire

Sarah Salman

Seemas

Shamaeel Ansari

Shazia Kiyani

Umsha By Uzma Babar

On the Catwalk, On a Celebrity: Raveena Tandon in Mantra by Shalini James

I'm a big fan of Raveena Tandon and I always keep an eye out for her on the random channels and photoshoots, partly because I'm a fan of her from the 90s films, and partly because I love her dress-sense. She's always very well put-together, and a lot of her outfits are very modest and mature, which I love because she still looks the same gorgeous self that she has from the 90s era and only seems to look classier with age.

The Bollywood heroine was spotted in a Mantra by Shalini James outfit yesterday, promoting a jewellery brand in a gorgeous printed anarkali.

On the catwalk:
Like a lot of the brand's designs, this is a beautiful printed dress - I really love the fusion of gypsy-chic and boho with traditional Indian trends. I love that the outfits from this brand are made from rich fabrics, beautiful deep colours with subtle accents, which make for beautiful outfits which look classic.This outfit is pretty lovely on the model because it looks so flowy, and it works well with her height without looking baggy or boring on her. The only criticism I would have is that the look is very plain - although this was probably a deliberate effect from the designer to take away attention from the model such as accessories, and focus on the dress.

 Image source

On the celeb:
I loved the way this outfit looked on Raveena Tandon, it's perfect for a wedding without looking too overdressed. I also love that the jewellery doesn't clash but rather adds to the rich-look of the material and the outfit, making it look very traditional and classic, not to mention Raveena's updo and smokey eyes which give a little more of a dramatic effect.

Image source

Honestly. I loved the outfits on the catwalk and the celebrity, but I think Raveena pulls it off a little better because of how well the outfit is put together with accessories and doesn't look too overly-dressed.

What do you think of this look?

Lollywood Ishtyle: Bin Roye's Glittering Outfits

I saw Bin Roye this weekend, and left the film in love with the beautiful outfits, sets and scenes. Mahira Khan looks amazing in the film and the film itself is really, all about her. I haven't seen many Pakistani films over the years, and I'm not sure this one falls into Lollywood (which I remember from my childhood being Punjabi films with a lot of shouting, over-acting and heroes jumping off buildings!)

I wanted to post some of the outfits showcased in the film - the images below are from both the film and also from the launch of Bin Roye's music at Telenor Bridal Couture Week 2015 last month, where the designer outfits worn were modelled by the main actors and reknowned Pakistani models.

First is this iconic outfit by Feeha Jamshed, which I love the colour combination of - yellow, royal blue and bronze accents. I've seen a few outfits in the Pakistani fashion trends with sequins all over, it works on some and doesn't on others - this one pulls it off with a lovely sparkle and glamour.

This is the outfit as worn by Mahira in the 'Balle Balle' song, which is actually a fun song because it reminded me of some of the dholki songs my sisters and I know. This is one of my favourite looks on Mahira mainly because of the swishy skirt and the simple block colours which work well together.

The next outfit I immediately recognised was this Elan outfit, from PFDC L’oreal Paris Bridal Week in 2012 - I recognised it especially because it's a pretty popular outfit and I love the soft colours and the heavy work. I couldn't find a picture of Armeena Khan wearing it in the fil, but it looks pretty much the same (except she has the dupatta pinned to her head in a bridal style).

I also loved this bridal by Sania Maskatiya, which was really pretty in orange, red and yellow, and ideal for the mehndi scene. It's a very traditional look which you just can't go wrong with, and looks pretty much the same as worn by Armeena on the catwalk (except the border of the dupatta which looks slightly different but that's minor)

It took me a good while to find out where the next outfit was from, I had to ask a few of my friends who are fashion aficionados like myself before I found out it was by Elan (I kept thinking it was Elan because it reminded me of their older designs) I liked the classic cut of this outfit but was less keen on the two-tone look of the fabric and the colour of the dupatta, which I think would have worked better as a deeper colour.

This is the outfit worn by Mahira in the film although with a skirt rather than with a salwar - I loved the brocade print of the skirt and the deep teal colour of it, and thought it went with the rust coloured kameez pretty well.

I also loved this sharara outfit which was modelled by Sabeeka Imam in the Bin Roye music launch, I couldn't find a picture of Mahira wearing it but it looks the same, except Mahira has her hair loose! It's a lovely traditional outfit and I think it works well as a formal.

The last bridal I found from this film is another Elan outfit, although I don't remember seeing this one in the film even though it was part of the Bin Roye catwalk, so I either missed it or it didn't end up in the film.

This outfit is a traditional deep red and purple outfit which is really heavily worked - I liked it but I found it a little too heavy as a bridal, and it not something I would pick myself. I liked the way it was styled on the model, although the jewellery on Mahira looked lovely too.

I also liked some of the simpler outfits worn by Mahira, I won't post them all but you can see the rest here - there were a lot of simple Punjabi-style salwar kameezes and casual suits which I thought was a nice touch for the casuals-at-home-look. 

Both of these remind me of other outfits I've seen in other films before, but Mahira looks lovely in them because she keeps it simple, her hair is loose and the jewellery is never overdone.

The last few outfits I wanted to post were these Elan (1 and 2) and Sania Maskatiya (3) ones below that are also worn in the film, which I loved because of the colours and the floral embroidery - all perfect wedding formals and Eid outfits!

It's really great to see Pakistani designers getting some visibility on the big screen - I'm so used to seeing the Bollywood go-to designers such as Manish Malhotra that it's nice to see Pakistani trends getting some screen time!

The film itself was a nice watch, a little too girly and romantic for me (I do like my sci-fi!) but I went with some close girl friends and we had a lot of fun watching the film. It was also nice to see some Eid scenes and Chand raat scenes as well, which was fun and made me want to visit Pakistan!

Telenor Bridal Couture Week 2014

I followed some designs from Telenor Bridal Couture Week 2014, which took place in Lahore, Pakistan just over a fortnight ago, so thought I would post some of my favourite designers, and re-cap some of the other big names whose outfits I liked.

The collections are too big for me to re-post all of them here, so here are a few of my favourites, there's a lot of designers I recognised this year, and I loved the extravagance that some of them had. I noticed that longer hem-lines are still being showcased, although I also saw more shorter hemlines creeping in - as well as the fact that a lot of these designs were very heavy, making them perfect for bridal inspiration!

Faraz Manan - Bridal Collection

Ali Xeeshan - Mugal-e-Azam Collection

Mehdi - Bridal Collection

Umar Sayeed

Tena Durrani - Perenia Progressive Collection

Hajra Hayat - Empress Collection

Fahad Hussayn - Nautanki Rani Collection

Maria B. - La Roseraie / The Rose Garden

Mini Bindra - Rubaaiyat-e-Khayyam collection

Sahar Atif - The Sultanate Collection

You can also see more pictures of the different designers and their collections here and here.

My favourite collection was probably Maria B's Rose Garden collection, which seems light, whimsical and  very pretty. I can see a lot of influences - Great Gatsby, Renaissance and even some 90s and 80s designs, which make for a very pretty floral collection. I loved the pieces in this collection and thought it was very wearable, although a few other collection such as Umar Sayeed's colourful finale also looked beautiful, with some amazing pieces for a mehndi bridal!

What did you think of this collection? Which collection did you like best?