Ladies Only

The presence of some glittering Bollywood faces in Anamika Khanna8217;s guest-list breathed some life into the otherwise slow-paced proceedings. And when the beautiful Sonam Kapoor sashayed down the ramp, the applause we heard was the loudest. The surprise entry of the evening was Sanjay Leela Bhansali with his mother who clapped for his proteacute;geacute;. Also applauding their daughter were Anil and Sunita Kapoor who were both playing hosts. The front rows were sprinkled with more stars in the form of Twinkle Khanna, Madhur Bhandarkar, Karan Johar, Surily Goel, Seema Khan, Rita Dhody looking better than the models and Pooja Shetty.

Khanna8217;s choreography was the least dramatic but thanks to the wide ramp, the models were almost walking into our laps. This had to be Khanna8217;s weakest collection to date. Leotards under chiffon tunic dresses, overlaid kurtis and ruffled skirts, aren8217;t anyone8217;s definition of haute couture. Every ensemble looked like a pared-down version of something far more beautiful, ironic since her ready-to-wear shows are far dressier. That said, her cutwork styles were the highlight, especially a red, rose-motif coat.

Pallavi Jaikishan8217;s well-heeled family, Roohi and Chetan Jaikishan, Yogesh and Priya Jaikishan and Bhairavi Jaikishan were present to applaud her. The SoBoites and star wives after exchanging hellos witnessed what can be termed as the shortest couture show so far. Queenie Dhody dressed in a Jaikishan saree, Avanti Birla, Kaajal Anand, Haseena Jethmalani, Anju Taraporewala, Bhavana Pandey, Rita Dhody, Nitasha Nanda, Ekta Raheja, Tanya and Arvind Dubash, Maheep Kapoor, Chhaya Momaya and Bonita Bulchandani applauded the designers work.

The ramp was a French garden with an artificial lawn, plants, vines and exquisite benches and the choreography was dramatic to say the least. A male model dressed like a French nobleman with a white wig served chocolates to the models sashaying down the ramps and guests seated on the front row. Jaikishan8217;s clothes too had a European influence with Duchess satin and lace lehengas made to look like ballroom gowns with French tape embroidery, crystal embellishments and embroidered flowers and accessorised with stoles. But the kalidaar lehengas and bandhini sarees took away from the European feel.