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!

Bollywood Stars at Lakme Fashion Week Autumn-Winter 2016

I do love celeb-spotting when it comes to fashion weeks, and Lakme Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2016 which took place just over a week ago was chock-full of them. I won't post all of the collections and red-carpet pictures because there's too many, so here are a few of my favourites which caught my eye on the catwalk.

You can also see more pictures of the LFW16 event here - Day One, Day Two and here, plus these gorgeous Sabyasachi outfits at the finale.

Kareena stole the show with her baby bump, wearing a beautiful Sabyasachi ensemble as the designer's showstopper. As always I love the designer's bridals pieces and this is a beautiful combo of sequinned-net and worked top.

Both Illeana D'Cruz and Shilpa wore vibrant, colourful lengha outfits - Illeana's rich purple design was by Ridhi Mehra while Shilpa's was by Anushree Reddy.

Alternatively, Karishma Kapoor went for a more contemporary look with this bright red maxi dress by Archita Narayanam, which looks like the perfect party or reception dress for brides. While I don't love the work on this, I do like the cut of the dress and Karishma carries it well.

I loved this dramatic outfit worn by Prachi Desai by SVA - I've always liked their striking designs and their fusion style, and it works here well with the draped sleeves/cape look and the flowy skirt.

Dia Mirza and Bipasha went for the traditional sari route, although I love that Bipasha had the traditional South Indian bridal style to it (by designer Sanjukta Dutta) while Dia's sari was more regal and deeper-coloured (by Tulsi Silks).

Lastly are two very different styles, but both beautifully done. On the right is Radika Apte in a heavily-worked, red Saroj Jalan bridal. I'm not a huge fan of the fishtail lengha and crop-top look because it reminds me too much of the 90s bridal look, but I love the work on this and the shape of the lengha skirt is done well. In contrast is the rich blue worn by Pooja Hegde on the left, which is a skirt and top design but looks almost like a modern jumpsuit look. I actually like the played-down dressy look this is going for and think this is quite wearable.

So far my favourite is still the ever-classic Sabysachi, although the lengha ensembles are also on my wish-list!

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?

COPYCAT DESIGNS & DRESSES #10: The White Manish Malhotra Maxi Dress as worn by Shilpa Shetty

I've admired this dress for a while in the past, which is a design by Manish Malhotra at the Mijwan Fashion Show back in 2011, which was worn by Shilpa Shetty on the ramp. My favourite this about this dress is the full volume of it, which isn't 'puffy' but more A-Line and flowy, which shows that it has a really good cut. I also like the intricate work on the sleeves, and the simple but striking colour combination of off-white and royal blue with gold, which can't go wrong in my opinion. I'm a big fan of maxi dresses anyway, so anything with a good flow and some decent volume to it is always going to be a good thing!

This is my version of the dress, which I got made from Sai Fashions, a boutique in Manchester, a couple of months ago. I chose to keep the colours the same because I thought that white and blue would be a different  for me to wear, and it would make a change to go for a light colour rather the usual deep colours I tend to go for.

I got the dress made as a full-skirted maxi dress, with an embroidered dupatta and plain white churidar. I also opted not to go for the see-through waist panels in the original design, and has slightly less work on the sleeves, with the cuffs edged in velvet. The bulk of the dress is made from panels (there's about ten in the front, and ten in the back) which were sewn together, and has a layer of georgette underneath to make it more fuller.

I also went for the work to be in gold and silver under the advice of the people who worked at Sai Fashion, to give it an extra sparkly look: the silver would blend in with the white fabric and the gold would look more striking, and I also added deep blue crystal stones along with the white ones. The dupatta is a lot more simpler, since it had a simple gold and silver embroidered motif, which made it very light and easier to wear, although I could also opt to go without it as well if I wanted.

This is the dress when I wore it, which I had to wear with very high heels because the dress was very long. It's not easy to see the layers of fabric under the skirt which makes it quite full, but there's a slight 'tail' at the back because of how the dress sat, which was quite flattering.It was quite an easy dress to accessorise because it didn't need much, and I think it was quite a striking outfit.

THE GOOD: The dress was quite fun to walk around in because it was so swishy, and it definitely had a glam-factor to it. The designers at Sai Fashions boutique were very helpful when I was buying the outfit, I didn't design it myself, obviously, but it was easy to see the quality of it when it was done. I really liked the deep blue crystals which added a nice touch to the dress, because it's subtle yet very pretty. The finishing of the dress was quite good, the hem at the bottom was immaculately done and the velvet use was very good quality.

THE BAD: The dress was slightly long, so it took getting used to in order to walk around in it - I've only worn it once and I had to make sure I didn't trip over it! It's also a little difficult making sure that the dressed doesn't get bunched up when sitting down, but it is easy to drape to avoid this. My main issue with this outfit was that the fabric for the sleeves was quite thin, so the dabka (metal) work stones on the sleeves and bodice kept catching on it and caused a few pulls and was slightly uncomfortable. This has been the case for a lot of outfits I have made of chiffon and silk, and in hindsight, I would use a thicker material like georgette which doesn't pull as much.

THE UGLY: Walking up stairs, I had to pick my dress up like a medieval princess each time. And coming down the stairs in huge heels was just as bad!

OVERALL: I think this is a pretty outfit, and I definitely think that the work on the sleeves and neckline was of a high quality. The dress also had enough panels to give it the volume that I like without making it too puffy, and it also draped beautifully when worn. I would perhaps try this dress as a shorter, less fuller outfit to see the difference, but I doubt it would have had as striking an effect in the same way a maxi dress does.

 The only thing about this outfit which I'm still undecided on is really the colour, while I do like white dresses and off-white, I'm not sure whether it's a flattering colour on me. I like trying out new colours and designs and I think this was quite different for me, and it was an outfit I liked. On the other hand, now that I have a white dress, I'm not sure whether I would go for another one. I tend to gravitate towards warmer and richer colours, and while I like soft colours like coral pinks and off whites, they're not always my first choice.

All in all, I was quite happy with this outfit, it wasn't cheap to make but it was fun to wear, and it's something which feels classic to me because I can imagine getting wear out of it. I also think something like this would make a pretty registry outfit for brides-to-be, perhaps just as it is or slightly heavier, and it's certainly got that 'fusion' look to it which is quite popular in London.