Model ShoppingMiss India fever is always at its peak during this time of the year. It has just been a week since Gul Panag, Yukta Mookhey and Shivangi Parikh were crowned Miss Indias and already, they are on their way to becoming household names. One of their first tasks as newly-crowned queens was to open the new Sheetal outlet for trendy western wear at Grant Road. In a trice, the trio found themselves being mobbed for autographs and seemed to enjoy their new status. Sheetal also allowed the beauty queens to pick up some clothes for their wardrobes. With all the public appearances they will be making they are going to need all outfits they can get. And Sheetal is bound to be their favourite brand - Hemant Trivedi and the Sheetal Design Studio will be designing the gowns for the three beauties when they go for their international contests.Also this week, Graviera's Grasim Mr India winners were in town to meet the press. The actual competition was held in Calcutta on January 16 and now thewinners have embarked on a strenuous grooming programme for the Mr International contest. The winner this year was a local boy, Abhijit Sanyal who is no stranger to the world of glamour. He is second cousin to both Kajol and Rani Mukherjee. Besides this, he has also done ramp shows for Sangeeta Chopra and Hemant Trivedi. At the Mr International contest, Abhijit will have to live up to great expectations. Last year's Mr India, Diwakar Pundir, won the Mr Intercontinental competition in Germany. Besides, Abhijit has very expensive tastes. On his shopping list are a Rolls Royce and a house with a swimming pool. The prize money will contribute in a small measure in supporting his expensive habits.Or he could head for Bollywood, like the other members of his family. Well, while he has no definite answer for that yet, he says he has an open mind. Perhaps we have another model star in the making.Ash is backAfter keeping a relatively low profile, Aishwarya Rai is back in the news. First her film AaAb Laut Chalein was released last week and then it was announced that she was the brand ambassadress for the Swiss watch company Longines. Like many other former models, such as Anna Bredmeyer and Rhea Pillai-Dutt, Ash too has jumped on to this bandwagon - which seems to have become a new career option for former ramp queens. But why would she opt for this career is slightly puzzlingly as she is meant to be a very busy actress. According to Ash, she was first asked to join the Longines team just a month ago. "Longines represents timeless elegance, so I was honoured to be asked," said this former Miss India already spouting politically correct phrases as ambassadresses are expected to. She was full of confidence despite the fact that her last three films have flopped. Let's hope she is better at this new job than as a film actress, for the company's sake at least. Longines is a world renowned Swiss watch company that dates back to 1832 and is now part of the Swatch group whose sister brands are Omega andCalvin Klein watches. Ash was lucky enough to be presented with a gold and diamond watch by the company. Time seems to be on her side.Fashion FiestaHow can a week go by in this city without a fashion show? The Fashion Bar & Bistro held its first show of the year, called Dawn of a New Generation. The designs on show belonged to Hemant Trevedi and the Sheetal Design studio, Gayatri Ruia, Manoj Sharma, Indira Makani and Aliya and Arshiya Fakih. The choreographer was Sangeeta Chopra who used some of the city's best known ramp models - all of whom are finally back from their Christmas and New Year holidays. Bipasha Basu, Helen Brodie, Sushma Reddy and Aparna Sharma all looked like they had a good break, as their sun-kissed complexions glowed under the arc-lights.Daler's RayAnother model who seems to be everywhere is Lisa Ray. Either she is writing for newspapers - The Indian Express, more specifically - or the papers are writing about her writing. Well, she hit theheadlines this week for Afreen Part 2. Lisa has just finished shooting a music video, this time for Daler Mehendi. Jalwa is his first Hindi pop song and the video was shot right here in Mumbai. Says Lisa, "It is presented in a very sophisticated manner." She has always been a fan of Daler and says she found him to be a really down-to-earth person - his off screen manner matches his on screen magic. By the way, watch out for Lisa's outfits in the video - some of the clothes she has worn have been designed by the Goa designer Wendell Rodericks. And wow! Has he has made her look sensational!And Finally.While on designers, the media-savvy Azeem Khan - whose clothes were worn by Naomi Campbell for the ELLE cover last year - is holding a special sale for his regular clients at his Colaba store this week. Besides traditional ethnic clothes he is also designing a few western evening gowns. But that seems to be the latest trend. Many designers are focusing on the West forinspiration. Tarun Tahilianai's Ensemble also has a large selection of western separates designed by Tarun, Monisha Jaising, Bhairavi Jaikishan, Pratap and Raghavendra Rathore.
