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| Shoaib Malik in the black Shantanu and Nikhil sherwani at the Monday wedding. Sania Mirza shows her mehendi for Tuesday’s ceremony. Pictures by Vijayalakshmi |
Calcutta, April 13: Choosing the wedding wardrobe was less of a task for Sania Mirza than despatching a lob across the court.
“Her fashion decisions are faster than her forehand,” said Nikhil Mehra of the designer duo Shantanu and Nikhil, whose Delhi store she had been to for five outfits, three for the bride and two for the groom.
“Sania and her mother came to us recently. All they needed was one hour,” Nikhil told The Telegraph.
While picking her wedding-day wear, the sassy tennis player went the beaten path and settled for her mom’s red sari. For the receptions at Hyderabad and Lahore, Sania had to choose her ensembles.
In Hyderabad on Thursday, she will wear a khada dupatta, an elaborate wedding dress comprising a kurta, churidar and a six-yard dupatta. In Lahore, she will sport a lehnga. Swarovskis embellish both outfits.
And what would the colour palette be like? Nikhil threw his hands up. He is bound by a confidentiality code.
Shoaib Malik’s black wedding sherwani, which complemented Sania’s red joda at yesterday’s wedding, came from the Shantanu and Nikhil studio. So will the dress he will wear at Lahore.
The duo had first dressed Sania in a purple-and-black body con dress — from body conscious, which implies you have to be conscious of your figure if you wear one — for an awards programme two years ago.
Sania has always been in the news for her style, off the court and on it. Whether it is her tiny tennis skirts that drew a frown from clerics to cheeky slogans across her chest on tees.
Almost single-handedly, she had made black-rimmed glasses trendy. Many still call them the Sania Specs. And the long-shelved nosepin.
During her recent visit to Calcutta, she wore her navy tracksuit with crystal-studded sunglasses and a chunky metal watch.
“She is very glamourous and knows what works well for her. She knows her beauty and her body,” said Nikhil, who is often texting tips to her what is fashionable and what is faux.
Gifts from Pak
The people of Shoaib’s hometown Sialkot will gift Sania a gold crown during the Hyderabad reception, said a PTI report from Karachi.
Minister for welfare and population Firdous Ashiq Awan, who would represent the Pakistan government at the event, said she would take the crown with her and a painting.
Sania will also be handed gifts from President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. Firdous said she doesn’t know what they would give. “Sania will know when she opens them,” she said.