Roving Eye

Unlike what we’ve seen in the recent past, people were well-behaved, didn’t jostle and weren’t expected to crowd each other to check out the range. The show was organised by Mehr Jesia, who, apart from showing up in old jeans and a tattered shirt, was too busy feeding Arjun Ramphal with her hands to pay any attention to anything else.

Then there was Kaizad Gustad, who insisted on crouching in a corner of the floor with friends. He ate a little food and drank a lot of booze.

Among the others present were Rohit Bal, Alecque Padamsee and wife Sharonand Lascelles Symmons, who designed the clothes. The models who graced the ramp and dazzled everyone included Rhea Pillai, Ritu, Alison, Fleur, Achla Sachdev, Nina Manuel, Namrata Barua. The quote of the evening came from Hayden herself. When compere Suchitra Pillai asked her why she chose L’Oreal, she replied, "Because I am worth it!"

Dead man walking

Lascelles turned up again on Saturday at the Yashab, Khyber, to show off the Provogue range of shirts for men. The invite for the party was highly innovative and cute — a palm-sized T-shirt, complete with buttons and button-holes. The show was also different and left the crowd speechless. So bad was the lighting, that apart from the organisers, no one even realised that the pastel range had come and gone! The light — rather the lack of it — also steamrolled over the nuances of the `Nostalgic Grey’ range. Then there was a strange range for the Workaholic, which actually looked tailor-made for the Alcoholic — the models that trooped out, woreshirts that were flaccid, unbuttoned and uninspired. Also, the audience, which included Persis Khambatta, had to sit on mattresses spread out on both sides of the `ramp’. And the view from down-under did not reveal much about the shirts. To comprehend what they were watching, they had to take cues from the anchor Pooja, ex-Miss India Worldwide. But the spectacle that made heads swoon was the dance troupe’s acrobatics on the cramped ramp. It inspired us to copy their style — on a local train during peak hours.

British bash

Saturday night seemed to be the night for private parties as there were at least a dozen must-be-at dos all over town. But the cream of the cream went to Pradeep Guha and Sukumar `Mukund’ Shah’s party, in Juhu. The occasion: a welcome to the Enduring Images exhibition organised by the British Council. The party list was a cocktail of Bollywood belles, industrial bigwigs and culture vultures. From the world of art there was Dr Saryu Doshi, with hubby Vinod as well as Dr SunilKothari. Adding glitz and glamour were Karisma Kapoor and Rekha — looking simply stunning in an elegant saree. The two Queens were seen having quite an in-depth conversation. And where there is glamour, there is always money — among the business tycoon’s spotted, there was Mukesh Ambani.

Calendar girls

While on the Ambani’s, did you know that 12 beautiful women can be found on Anil Ambani’s desk, at any given time? It seems that Anil always uses a Sumeet Chopra calendar to look up the date. Sumeet’s calendar is out and he is sending it to all those who matter. This calendar, as always, contains well shot pictures of Mumbai’s most beautiful women, such as Nina Manuel, Sheetal Malhar and Raveena Tandon.

Simi show

Food festivals have become de rigeur at Mumbai’s five-star hotels, but the recent Californian food festival held at the Oberoi seems to have really caught the interest of the city. The chef, Marie, was flown in from the Simi Vineyard in the Napa Valley. She cooked light butdelicious food and served some of California’s best wines. Among those caught there were Arjun Khanna, Shweta Shetty, Imam Siddiqui and AD Singh. AD, a caterer himself , seemed to particularly enjoy the buffet.

Designer choice

Shopper’s Stop has begun a new promotion whereby each month one designer will be chosen as designer of the month. To celebrate the choice there will be a fashion show at the store and the designer of the month will be available to the public to answer questions. This month’s chosen one is Shaina NC, and she will be there most of this week, to answer any queries that anyone has.

Love stories

IT seems that model couple Bickram Saluja and Anupama Verma have split-up. Apparently, Anupama’s entry to Bollywood was more than Bikram could handle. He is going around town with a long face and now he looks even more suited to sing `Tere Bin Jeena Nahi’. Anupama, on the other hand, is busy with her career and does not look like she regrets her decision. With that kindof determination, she is sure to go a long way.

But be sure that some people will be enjoying Valentine’s Day. The other star couple, Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora are very much together. In fact, their relationship seems to be going from strength to strength and there are even rumours of marriage — sometime later this year. Bollywood doesn’t have to destroy every relationship.

And finally…

Miss World Diana Hayden always claims to be single. But a little birdie tells us that she will not be spending Valentine’s Day alone. It seems that she is rather "good friends" with a marketing executive who works for IDV — the makers of Smirnoff, Archer’s Peach Schnappes and Kelly’s Cream.It seems the friendship goes back a long time.