So Long

Jaising,a strong propeller for casual chic amongst us,showed that ‘couture’ in India does not have to spell trousseaux. Her opening sequence had gowns-meets-maxi dresses in luxe fabrics and zero glitter. And then,out of the blue,she reverts to what she does best: the mini. Jaising even showed the finger to bridal wear by dressing her three “Brides of Dracula” in stark black and white. Fluctuation hemlines and Oriental prints,menswear tailoring on feminine fabrics,Jaising looked like she was having a ball with a collection aptly titled ‘Resort to Red Carpet in 30 Minutes’. Dreaming of resorts and red carpets were Anju Taraporvala,Natasha Poonawalla,Avanti Birla,Prerna Goel (in a painfully chic backless shirt),Priya Ailawadi and Ramona Narang.

To head to the HDIL VIP lounge proved tough: Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor were arriving. When they finally did,the paps went into paroxysms of trigger-delight. Saif yanked his beautiful Bebo aside and asked,loud enough for some to hear,“Darling,my hair okay?” “Ya,” she muttered annoyed,before moving on to what she does best: make magic with the cameras-in-waiting.

Golden boy Karan Johar’s first steps into fashion were spectacular; as Farhan Akhtar says: “Everything Karan touches turns to gold.” And with the mighty talent of Varun Bahl as co-designer,how could this fail? The clothes ranged from Chip-n-dale chic to J Crew sophisticat; boy’s shorts in bright colours to fabulously styled jackets and trousers. Nothing clever,but everything cool.

Several actors were on stage: Ranbir Kapoor,Imran Khan,Dino Morea and Randeep Hooda. But the four times that Shah Rukh (slick) and Gauri Khan (Sixties hair-n-makeup,golden mini) walked up and down devalued both of them.

Everyone who’s anyone or wants to be someone in the film industry showed up; right from Yash Chopra and Rishi Kapoor to Kajol and Priyanka Chopra (even Arjun Rampal had to sit on the floor). Couture Week black sheep Sandeep Khosla,now known as trousseau designer-turned-runaway bride came with Ma Bachchan as liaison officer.

See you next year,huh?