Actress Shilpa Shetty at the launch of Rocky S’ new store

Fashion designers no longer limit themselves to designing clothes alone. In keeping with the trend, designer Rocky S recently launched his ‘Duvet — Home by Rocky S’ home furnishings store in Mumbai. The designer’s luxurious home furnishing line, presented by Syntex Corporation, includes individually crafted and intricately designed pieces in limited editions. The collection includes quilts, duvets, sheet sets, cushions, table linen, throws, curtains and towels in silk, velvet, linen, cotton and blended fabrics. What’s more, the store is willing to customise its products to suit clients’ needs.

Of course, with the designer to film stars lending his name to the collection, it was bound to draw the glitterati. So it was that evening too, as Rocky S and Shashank Shah, director, Syntex Corporation, played host. Designer Anna Singh came to lend support. All eyes though were on star couple, John Abraham and Bipasha Basu, dressed in white and black respectively. Shilpa Shetty in a corset chiffon top and Manisha Koirala in white upped the glamour quotient, while Viviek Oberoi made a quick entry and exit. Also present were VJ Sophie, Arjun Rampal and Meher Jessia

A chic blend

Models at the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour preview

Last weekend, the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour rocked the ramp in Calcutta. But just a few days before the style carnival kicked off, a special preview was held at Delhi’s Lodi Garden Restaurant. All 14 designers who signed up to showcase their creations — with the exception of a handful — were present to provide a sneak peek at the styles expected to rule.

There was Mumbai-based Nandita Mahtani who presented a magenta chiffon dress and claimed her inspiration for the collection were independent women who were strong, yet very feminine. “The party season is just round the corner, which is why I’ve done plenty of cocktail-wear like skirts and dresses high on embellishment,” added Mahtani.

Design duo Nikhil and Shantanu Mehra presented menswear in shades of gold, beige, red, pink and ivory. “Our line depicts the grey side of Indian royalty. There’s a deliberate feminine touch to the prints with Indian motifs,” said Nikhil.

Suneet Varma showcased a gorgeous purple satin dress at the preview and said his “leisure and couture line had been inspired by painter Amrita Sher-Gil”.

Just back from the New York Fashion Week, Ashish Soni spoke of his new line that drew inspiration from the Viennese art movement. “It is about lifestyle of people during the movement, which was either very extravagant or extremely poor. I have combined the two. For instance, I have used expensive embroidery on cheap fabrics,” said the designer.

Fashion’s wild child, Malini Ramani introduced a collection that was designed keeping in mind the festive season. So fans of the designer can expect loads of beachwear and funky Western dresses in Rajasthani prints.

While several of the design docs are tour veterans, those like Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra, Ashish Soni, Suneet Varma and Nandita Mahtani are making their debut on the Blenders Pride runway.

Slim is in

Rohit Bal strikes a pose with the new Samsung SGH-P310

It’s no big news when a new mobile phone model makes its entry onto shop shelves. But when it’s as slender as a credit card and weighs just 76.5gm, mobile junkies take notice. And all the more when it comes from a biggie like Samsung.

Samsung Telecommunications India recently introduced its card size phone SGH-P310 at ITC Maurya Sheraton in Delhi and doing the honours at the launch was style maverick Rohit Bal. Dressed in pristine white, Bal posed for shutterbugs as managing director of Samsung, Hyun Chul Ryu looked on.

A little later, a slide show took the gathering through the different features of the new handset. These include 1.9” 262K colour screen, touch sensor soft key, 2 megapixel camera, bluetooth wireless support, email, direct TV out, privacy lock, mobile printing and more. What’s more, it has 80MB of internal memory and a slot for external memory where you can store business presentations, video footage and MP3 songs. Another useful feature is the battery backup for 15 hours. The phone comes with a smart leather case and costs Rs 21, 499.

All in the family

Participating designers at the same event; models showcase creations from new store, BIAN

It’s raining designer stores in Delhi — be it at the plush Khan Market, the Crescent Mall or Lodi Colony Main Market where recently New York based designer Gurmeet Pia Fleming launched her store, BIAN.

Okay, like we said, designer stores are a dime a doze, but what’s special about this one is that it is a labour of love of three sisters — Gurpreet Pia Fleming, Pavan G. Singh and Harmeet Bajaj. Fleming designs for the label while Singh, a textile designer looks after the manufacturing, and fashion consultant and entrepreneur Harmeet Bajaj takes care of retail and merchandising.

Although Fleming, who’s dressed celebrities like Julia Roberts, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jennifer Garner, launched her label BIAN in New York in 2000, this is her initial foray into the Indian market.

What does she tout as the picks of the season? “Dresses are big. I’ve focused on Western casual and cocktail-wear and the Fall Winter collection has an 80s feel,” she said.

The racks at BIAN will have a selection of dresses, skirts, tunics, jackets and knits. A corner of the store has been reserved for saris embellished with Swarovski crystals, pearls, embroidery, and French lace.

Photographs of Delhi events by Rupinder Sharma and Jagan Negi