(From top): models show off jewellery by Farah Khan; Nitasha Madhvani, Laila Khan Rajpal, Sundri and Fardeen Khan (left to right) at the launch of Sundri’s boutique; artists and art-lovers gather at Sakshi Art Gallery; Manish Arora with some of his designs at the Park Hotel

It’s the men in Mumbai’s Khan family who usually make the headlines. Now, two of the clan’s women are choosing to showcase their skills. Sundri Khan, wife of actor Feroz Khan (and mother of Fardeen) launched her own boutique in Delhi recently while Farah who is Sanjay Khan’s daughter (and Zayed Khan’s sister) showcased her jewellery designing skills with a glittering fashion show at Mumbai’s Grand Hotel.

Sundri’s boutique in Delhi’s Greater Kailash boasts a medley of embroidered creations, heavily embellished saris, blouses and lehngas along with plenty of Westernwear as well. In the past, Sundri had designed outfits for husband Feroz’s films like Qurbani and Jaanbaaz and her clients include famous Bollywood names like Hema Malini, Mumtaz and Sridevi and even Esha Deol from the next generation. Of course Sundri’s daughter, artist Laila Khan Rajpal loves wearing her mother’s designs too.

Spotted at the inauguration of the boutique were Fardeen and his fiancee Nitasha Madhvani (Mumtaz’s daughter) and Laila, all of whom except Fardeen, were dressed in Sundri’s creations. Says Fardeen, “My mother has been into designing before. She gave it up for some time. But her clothes are extremely elegant, so we encouraged her to pursue this profession. Sometimes she designs kurtas for me.”

Of course, Sundri was terribly excited about designing the wedding trousseau for soon-to-be daughter-in-law Nitasha. “It will be in the traditional red and gold colours for the wedding and a gorgeous Western outfit for the reception,” said Sundri.

After Sundri, it was Farah Khan’s turn in the spotlight. And the high-profile jewellery showing in Delhi saw almost the entire Khan clan turn up to applaud one of their own. There was Sanjay and Zarine, brother Zayed with fiancee Mallika, cousins Fardeen with Nitasha and Laila, Sundri and even DJ Aqueel. Farah was associated with AKM Mehrasons for the showcasing of her jewellery. The collection, inspired by handbags, tassels, lace and jamevaar, was modelled by some of the country’s top models including Nina Manuel, Jesse Randhawa, Gauhar Khan and Nethra Raghuraman. The highlight of the evening ? sultry actress Bipasha Basu sashaying down the ramp in a gorgeous white gown topped by a jaw-dropping necklace designed by Farah.

“My designs have been inspired by the little moments in my life and they come for anything upwards of Rs 50,000,” said Farah who is also designing the wedding jewellery for her to-be sister-in-law Mallika.

Crossing over in style

It looks like Indian designers are finally enjoying their place in the sun. Ashish Soni has just been showing at the New York Fashion Week. Now yet another Indian designer is all set to make waves overseas. Manish Arora is looking forward to wowing fashionistas in London with his style statements. Arora unveiled his Spring-Summer 2006 collection for the London Fashion Week 2005 at the Park Hotel in Delhi recently. Over cocktails and dinner at the poolside, the designer displayed his creations on mannequins. Singer Shibani Kashyap was one among the guests modelling the designer’s clothes.

“I am going to the London Fashion Week with a clean slate of expectation and hopes of garnering a new and relevant experience. This is an exciting time for Indian fashion and myself. Perhaps we will successfully cross over and bring recognition to the Indian aesthetic,” said Arora with a smile. The line showcased will have elements of Arora’s India Fashion Week line but it has been tweaked for an international audience.

Companies like Swarovski, Reebok, Waves Cinema and The British Council are sponsoring Arora’s debut at the London Fashion Week.

Art and soul

It was touted as a celebration of the “contemporary, bold, experimental, realistic, interactive, expressive and more”. And it was all that and even more as one of Mumbai’s leading galleries, Sakshi Art Gallery, brought together the works of 26 of the country’s known and upcoming artists for its annual show, Span. The canvas encompassed everything from painting to sculpture to installation art. So there were works by artists like Shibu Natesan, Sudarshan Shetty, Jitesh Kallat, Reena Saini, Baroda-based Ashim Purkayastha, Anjum Singh, Manisha Parekh and Subba Ghosh, among others.

Not surprisingly, the opening drew a large crowd of artists and collectors. Among the participating artists present were Anant Joshi, Chintan Upadhyay, Justin Ponmany, Naren Yadav, Riyas Komu, Sunil Gawde, Sumedh Rajendran and Valay Shinde. Shinde’s installation work ? a faceless human sculpture made with barbed wire and a video-screen on the forehead, which played scenes from the television serial Ramayana ? drew a lot of attention. Also present were artists like Laxman Shreshta and wife Sunita, Samir Mondal, Jenny Bhatt and Bose Krishnamachari apart from cartoonist Hemant Morparia and dancer Astad Deboo.

In keeping with the show’s focus on young artists, the opening went beyond the usual wine-and-cheese affairs and even had a deejay on standby. So, after lapping up the praise for their work, the artists could be seen rocking the floor later in the evening.

Photographs by Prem Singh and Rupinder Sharma