(From top): Bindu and Tanuja strike a pose at the Rudra spa; Ayesha Dharker (left) with Kavita Shah at Gallery Chemould; models in bridal finery at the Bride & Groom wedding exhibition; A D Singh; Rina Dhaka, Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra (left to right) at Crescent Mall

It was anything and everything to do with the great Indian wedding ? and all under one roof. The three-day wedding exhibition, Bride & Groom held at Delhi’s Ashoka Hotel Delhi took in everything from trousseaus, accessories, wedding gifts and make-up artists to wedding planners, photographers and honeymoon deals.

The event, organised by International Trade and Exhibition (ITE) Group, kicked off with what else, but fashion shows. First up were the bridal collections of four Pakistani designers ? Lajwanti, Faryal, Monia Faruqui and Usman Dittu. Faryal dressed in a beautiful blue jacket, detailed with kora and dabkawork and embellished with antique pearls, was clearly enjoying all the attention on her first visit to an Indian fashion show. “Especially for the Indian woman, I have created a special partywear line finished with embroidery and Swarovski crystals,” she said.

Her fellow Pakistani, Dittu showcased clothes cut close to the body, in contrasting colours like maroon and ivory. For the Indian brides, he used fabrics like jamevaar, raw silk and net. “There is an exuberant feel to my clothes. The blouses are hip and happening too,” he said.

But it wasn’t all fashion from across the border. Indian designers Bhairavi Jaikishan, Sagar Mehra, Sulakshana and Umesh Vashisht also ruled the ramp with their bridal creations. Adding a nice touch to all the style shows was live music courtesy classical singer Imraan Khan.

What’s in store

After 1, MG Road fell victim to the demolition drive a few months ago, Delhi’s Crescent Mall has played style substitute with elan, growing to become the city’s newest fashion hub. And the latest designers to open up shop at the Mehrauli-Gurgaon mall are Rina Dhaka and designer duo Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra.

Dhaka and the Mehra brothers launched their stores, which stand alongside each other, at a joint event to which family and friends had been invited. Describing her store Dhaka said, “The store has a modern feel and it took us about four weeks to do the interiors.” The collection that currently occupies centre-stage at Dhaka’s store is the one she showcased at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week. However the Indian interpretations have been done in brighter hues. And what makes Dhaka’s store glitter even brighter are the Swarovski-studded handbags created by young designer Chandani Munjal.

Next door, Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra were seen busy attending to guests and showing them around the store. Done up along minimalist lines and spread over an area of 500sq ft, Nikhil and Shantanu’s store displays their collection from the Fashion Week too and comprises beautiful skirts and dresses done in black and white combinations. The two have also created a colourful spring-summer collection especially for the store launch. Spotted congratulating the designers were interior designers Navin and Raseel Ansal, designer Varun Bahl and owner of Olive Bar and Kitchen, A D Singh.

Power of print

Art lovers crowded Gallery Chemould recently as a group exhibition, Footprints ? Women in Printmaking took pride of place. The show saw 30 women printmakers explore the issue ? ‘What does it mean to be a woman printmaker?’ The show was curated by Kavita Shah, a printmaker herself. One significant work of each artist was showcased in order to represent his/her contribution to printmaking as a medium.

The participating artists transcended not only generations but geographical and political boundaries, drawn as they were from India, Pakistan, the UK, US and Hong Kong. Their creations, done over the past five decades, reflected the evolution in the language of printmaking as well as in the techniques of the medium. The participating artists included Lalita Lajmi, Naina Dalal, Anupam Sud, Jayati Mukherjee, Zarina Hashmi, Meher Afroz, Maggie Jennings and Yung Sau-Mui, among others.

Quite naturally, other artists were curious to see how the printmakers had tackled their medium and the opening day drew an eclectic mix including Gieve Patel, Anjana Mehra, Bharti Kapadia, Bose Krishnamachari, actress Ayesha Dharker and her father, columnist Anil Dharker.

Celebration time

Sometimes you don’t have to wait for a specific event like an anniversary to bring out the bubbly and celebrate. And that’s just what Rudra ? The Luxury Day Spa in Mumbai did recently. Their reason for revelry: achieving 100 per cent membership within just two months of opening.

But it wasn’t the young smart set that sparkled at the Rudra party. Instead yesteryear star Tanuja stole the show, dressed in a black halter and fuschia skirt. She danced the evening away with another actress from days gone by, Bindu. The party, which doubled as a birthday celebration for Rudra’s owner, Amith Dholakia, also drew spa members like socialite Roohi Jaikishen, food columnist Rashmi Uday Singh and actress Aarti Chabbria. Also present were designers Nisha Jamwal and Sangeeta Chudiwala. Incidentally, the food doing the rounds at the bash was whipped up by Chef Kaizaad of San Francisco’s Ritz Carlton.

Photographs of Delhi events by Prem Singh and Rupinder Sharma