Season change

This year it seems as though the wedding season has shifted from December to Feburary. This week alone saw two high-profile marriages take...

This year it seems as though the wedding season has shifted from December to Feburary. This week alone saw two high-profile marriages take place. The first ended yesterday, at Navy Nagar, after week-long celebrations. Mayuri Samarth the grand daughter of yesteryear actress, the late Shobhana Samarth married Vayu Garware the son of Ramesh Garware on Sun/Monday night after a long engagement. Mayuri is not only very popular with the city8217;s fashionable crowd she is also a talented designer. The wedding kicked off last week with Superna Motwane the new editor of ELLE and her husband Gaurav8217;s bash. The party went on till the wee hours of the morning 8212; like all the other functions 8212; and was attended by a diverse mix of beautiful people from model Lisa Ray to industrialist Arjun Mehra. Then on Friday there was another function at the Apollo Bar which was followed by a Sangeet the next day.

This Wednesday, Lascelles Symons held a fashion show at the Fashion Bar amp; Bistro. Lascelles makescorsets in all shapes and sizes and over the years not only has his finish really improved, he has also perfected the art of teaming corsets with everything from trousers with side slits to micro minis. Wearing his designs at the Bistro were Anna Bredmeyer, Helen Brodie, Carol Gracias and Aparna Sharma. It was a shame that the Bistro was not packed to the hilt as these designs were really worth a dekko. Of course close friends, like Queenie Singh Dhody, turned up to give Lascelles moral support.

Horse sense
This Sunday it was the turn of the Poonawala Millions race and to celebrate the event Famous Grouse held a pre-race party at the Regent Hotel, in Bandra. A really good venue for a party as the view from this new hotel is quite breathtaking. And it was not only the racing crowd that turned up to party the night away. Also spotted there were Shyla Lopez, Sheetal Malhar, Helen Brodie and designers Tarun Tahiliani and Rocky S whose designs many of the models were wearing. Butit was not only the fashion crowd who danced the night away 8212; also there seen enjoying a swig of Famous Grouse were Star8217;s Peter Mukerjee and MTVs Cyrus Broacha.

And finally8230;
There has been a lot talk about Lisa Ray of late with rumours of her joining films flying about fast and furious. Well, there is no spark without a fire and Lisa has finally admitted that she has signed on two projects and work begins as soon as next month. But until shooting starts the light-eyed model does not want to talk about work in detail. quot;These were two really good offers with two young directors that I would like to work with. But I am not intending to move into films full time.quot; We are sure that Lisa will a successful model-actress as she has amazing camera presence.

Qamp;A
He left Reverie when the store was going great guns. Then he joined Sheetal 8212; a store that already has a high-profile in-house designer. What on earth was he thinking? Sujata Assomull gets Manish Malhotra to answer the 10questions on everyone8217;s lips:

Why did you decide to leave Reverie and join Sheetal Design Studio?
Reverie is very dear to my heart and I will never forget that Kajal Anand, Avanti and Yash Birla gave me my first break into mainstream fashion. But it just came to a natural and amicable end. I wanted to travel with my label all over India and abroad, and when I left Reverie I was thinking of going it alone. Though I was getting lots of offers, the SDS one made the most sense. They have a huge infrastructure and want to expand. Our goals are the same.

Since Hemant Trevedi is Sheetal8217;s in-house fashion consultant will you two work together?
No, we each will have our own role. Sheetal and Hemant have a very special relationship. I am the new addition but I come with my own load. I have movies, my ad-film work and my own private clientele. In addition, I hope to come out with a pret line for women as well a pret andcouture line for men.

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You never trained in design, do you feel that has hampered your career?
At first I missed the fact I was noy trained but now I think it8217;s been an advantage. I worked hard and learnt from practise and theory.

Why did you focus on costume design?
Since I was not trained I felt films would be the right place to make a mark. I am quite a film buff so I had the knowledge and let8217;s face it, everyone loves the movies.

What is the difference between costume designe and your own retail label?
For films you have to keep the character in mind so that can be a constraint. It also has to be very glamorous. What I retail has to be wearable. I am very focussed and would like my label to stick to my style.

And what should one expect from a Manish Malhotra design?
Soft, feminine clothes that are subtle and have young cuts. That8217;s Manish8217;s style.

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Many fashion designers look down on costume design, they feel it is not really creative. How doesthat make you feel?
I am never concerned about what others think. Anyway bitching is the first barometer of success. Besides today a lot of mainstream designers want to dress actresses.

And do you think Indian designs will work for international films too?
Well Sophie Marceau wears Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla in the new James Bond film. And Naomi Campbell has bought a pair of embroidered jeans from me and I have designed for Michael Jackson, so I think in time Indian designers will work on Hollywood films. I would love to design for Elizabeth Hurley or Catherine Zeta Jones.

What about launching your label abroad?
It is too early to say but there is great demand for my clothes in London.

Finally where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I would like to grow with SDS. But this is all a bit premature 8212; let my first line hit the stores first.