(From top): Priyanka Chopra, Vikram Phadnis and Salman Khan at the launch of the designer’s latest line; Neha Hirani, Rohit Gandhi, Rohit Bal, Rakesh Thakore and Pradeep Hirani (left to right) at the Kimaya launch; a model shows off jewellery from DiA and Riddhima Kapoor, Ritu Nanda, Devaunshi Mehta and a guest (right to left) at the same event

It may be the last time he holds a fashion show ? or at least that’s what his plan is. That’s because fashion designer Vikram Phadnis intends to turn film director. No wonder he pulled out all the stops when he announced his directorial debut and presented his Fall 2005 Collection in association with D’damas, Dheeraj East Coast, Zaf and McDowell’s Signature in Mumbai recently.

The star-spangled event drew a largely Bollywood crowd ? after all Phadnis is a favourite with stars like Salman Khan, who was present on the occasion. Ayesha Takia, Govinda, directors Ken Ghosh and Nikhil Advani, former models Sangeeta Bijlani and Lubna Adams, Suchitra Pillai and husband Lars, Pooja Bedi, designer Anna Singh, Zeba and Rajesh Kohli, and jewellery designer Poonam Soni were among the other celebs present at the event.

Phadnis unveiled seven new collections ? the evergreen saree, knitwear, fusion, animal prints, pastels, printed and bridals. For the first time ever, he had an entire sequence of Westernwear comprising skirts, dresses, corsets, gowns, pants, overcoats and blazers. Models Shamita Singha, Alicia Raut, Pia Trivedi, Gauhar Khan, Shawar Ali, Aditi Govatrikar, Upen Patel, Shayan Munshi, Praveen Sirohi, Deepti Gujral, Niketan Madhok and Nethra Raghuraman wowed the crowds. But the show-stealer was Priyanka Chopra, who set the ramp on fire.

Male order

Now, men can shop for designer Westernwear, ethnicwear, clubwear and more under one roof. Pradeep and Neha Hirani of the designer store, Kimaya, recently launched what they claim is the first multi-designer menswear store. It is called Ayamik or Kimaya spelt backwards. The store was launched by Priya Dutt, who is expected to win her late father Sunil Dutt’s parliamentary seat in the upcoming by-elections.

Ayamik houses the creations of 21 designers such as Rohit Bal, Wendell Rodricks, Ashish Soni, Abraham & Thakore, Rajesh Pratap, and Shantanu and Nikhil. Many of these designers like Bal, Rodricks, Rakesh Thakore and Rohit Gandhi were present at the champagne-and-cheese opening. Also present were socialites like Nisha Jamwal, actor Mandira Bedi, Atulya Mafatlal, Aarti and Kailash Surendranath, Viren Shah of Roopam Stores fame, Ravi Krishnan of IMG and his wife, fashion writer Bandana Tiwari. The party continued later at the seafront Vie Lounge.

Shimmer and shine

Delhi’s Page 3 people were in danger of being eclipsed last week by the dazzling crowd-pullers from Mumbai. And while two of the Capital’s best attended events were shameless serenades to a girl’s best friend ? the diamond (in all colours, shapes and hues) ? it was Mumbai’s film stars who sparkled the most. The first was the launch of DiA, the multi-brand luxury store that opened its doors in Delhi in the crowded lobby level of Maurya Sheraton Hotel & Towers.

The store is a treasure trove of fine diamond jewellery created by DiA’s designer and promoter, Devaunshi Mehta, who is displaying her creations cheek-by-jowl with a battery of delightful (to see if not to buy) jewellery watches by Bvlgari, Piaget, Chopard, Vacheron Constantine. Mehta’s designs have been clear winners in Mumbai and she now hopes that they do just as well in Delhi. “DiA offers an international shopping experience and the jewellery pieces are meant to become heirlooms,” Mehta promised.

Even as guests gawked at the world class time-machines and the glittering jewellery created by Mehta, her A-list of guests sauntered in, effectively stealing her thunder (though Mehta was not complaining). In walked Dimple Kapadia with her on-screen love interest Rishi Kapoor and his wife Neetu Kapoor (nee Singh) and their daughter Riddhima. Businesswoman Ritu Nanda gave them good company. Once the fracas had died down after this invasion, DiA’s jewellery show, featuring top models Katrina Kaif, Nethra Raghuraman, Sapna Kumar, Indrani Dasgupta and Australian game show Who Dares Wins anchor, Tania Zaetta, got off to a blazing start. Diamonds in myriad hues were all but forgotten as more stars settled into the sofas. Jaya Bachchan found friend Tina Ambani while steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal looked on with mild interest at the jewellery on parade. All eyes were trained on the new arrivals thereafter.

Shilpa Shetty at the unveiling of Signet

Sparkling on

The performance at the DiA launch was to be repeated barely a few days later. And this time by Vijay Shah, chairman, Vijaydimon Group, one of the giants in the business of rough and polished diamonds. The company’s global turnover is an impressive $400 million with trade spreading over Belgium, US, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, UAE, South Africa, Israel, Singapore and, of course, India. Now the group is launching a glittering flagship store and signature brand, Signet. Of course, for this event, Bollywood came calling again, and how.

Shah looked pleased as his front row was filled with Bollywood’s top powerbrokers and even producer Yash Chopra. The Kapoors hogged the limelight yet again ? only this time it was film producer Boney along with actor brothers Anil and Sanjay. However, it was Boney’s wife and one-time diva Sridevi who set the camera bulbs popping. Former minister, Vinod Khanna with wife Kavita shunned the cameras though Jackie Shroff had no such qualms. Mahesh Bhatt and TV star Javed Jaffery seemed to know Delhi’s P3P well, as did ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas. But the icing to the cake was Yash Chopra’s late appearance with friend and producer Subhash Ghai. And no one seemed to notice that the show began two hours late.

And when it did, cheers went up for Bipasha Basu (who also cut the ribbon at the store the next day), Katrina Kaif and the showstopper, Shilpa Shetty. This time, the diamonds didn’t steal the show.

Photographs of Delhi events by Rupinder Sharma