Journalism of Courage
Couture Week was a dazzling display of clout and coterie – Haute Couture be damned!
It was dull Friday once again. Turning into a Hindu,etc,clearly did not tilt the karmic scales for pretty woman Julia Roberts Eat Pray Love as it turns out,failed to impress. Do Dooni Chaar fetched good reviews and ho-hum box-office figures while Crook (of its good to be bad fame),was bad news.
Fortunately,there was far more excitement off-screen,what with all of Bollywood walking the ramp for someone or the other.
The biggest draw would have to be Karan Johars triumvirate Big B and Hrithik Roshan who scooped up SRK from his first-row-seat and deposited him on the ramp. The three breaking into a jig together was coup de grace! A Salman Khan was a worthy catwalk competitor who upped the ante from last year when the Whos Who of B-town walked the ramp for him including Aamir Khan,Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar among others. The very reticent Sunny Deol known to be a shy guy,well,shied away from the proceedings at the last minute. Khans line-up of ramp scorchers this current year may as well have been titled My Fair Ladies,as a whole plethora of heroines Kareena Kapoor,Priyanka Chopra,Katrina Kaif,Bipasha Basu and Sushmita Sen among those walked the ramp for the superstar. A little ahead of the dazzling display I mention,it was Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who walked for designer Manish Malhotra with doting mother-in-law Jaya Bachchan .
Its interesting that the shifting power equations are reflected in those sashaying down the runway.
In Delhi,its about getting Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to watch hubby dearest walk the ramp while the more ambitious of the lot are hoping to rope in Rahul Gandhi. Back home in Mumbai,it is the stars who hold sway over the runway,business badshahs be damned. So heres looking at the general showstopper DNA. For established designers,its fairly simple they usually align themselves with the top-drawer stars. These days the smart thing is to bring them on board as co-designers and have the stars friends hop on to the ramp too. A few,like Shahab Durazi,stick to old favourites walking the runway for them time and again,while those with friends and patrons in high places usually get them as showstoppers.
These days the term muse is often bandied about.
Loosely translated,it means a star or starlet available and willing to oblige a designer (usually a newcomer himself). Out-of-work former divas are good bets too.
With a whole lot of models turning to the movies Arjun Rampal,Bipasha Basu,John Abraham,Deepika Padukone and most actors with perfect physiques designers are spoilt for choice.
Who can be blamed,amidst all this excitement,to not notice the clothes at all? The glorious dozen may as well have walked wearing sacks and fetched the loudest cheers because Couture Week is more about the hi-wattage attendance than the clothes.
This season though,my personal pick would have to be the ladies who put aside their professional rivalry for the Being Human initiative. Who says women cant be friends?
