the asian fashion journal

20th February 2015

I’m ridiculously late with this post…!!!

Last month the Grand Ballroom of London’s luxury hotel, the Dorchester played host to the first ever Aashni & Co Wedding Show with the crème de la crème of Indian designers and new gen talent. Aashni & Co’s Notting Hill boutique opened in 2012 and is already the leading store in London for luxe Indian designer wear. The wedding show provided an opportunity to showcase the store’s designers on a larger scale and to a larger audience.

I was lucky enough to join Aashni the store’s owner on BBC 94.9- Jo Good show that week to talk about Indian weddings and the wedding show. It was the first time I’ve been on the radio and the fifteen odd minutes we were on air seemed to fly by. It was a great experience and a big thanks to Jo, Nishy and Gurpreet @ the BBC for making the experience enjoyable. Ok back to the wedding show….

The line up at the show was pretty damn impressive with A-list design talent including Sabyasachi, Manish Malhotra, Tarun Tahliani, Anamika Khanna, Varun Bahl and talented new gen designers Sonali Gupta, Shehlaa and Arpita Mehta.

Image Credit: Adnan Qazi

Aashni Anshul Doshi the founder of Aashni & Co had this to say about the show

“ I am so, so, so humbled that these designers have taken that leap of faith and have actually come down here to be in one room with each other and be part of Aashni & Co. It is time people stopped travelling all the way to India to find their wedding outfits- we wanted to bring the best of India’s bridal to our doorstep.”

I got married last year and the exhibition was a perfect opportunity to connect (translate to get star struck) with some of the designers who I wore for my wedding which included Manish Malhotra, Sabyasachi, Varun Bahl and Arpita Mehta.

L-R: Anushree Reddy, Anamika Khanna & Arpita Mehta: Image Credit: Shahid Malik

L-R: Sabyasachi & Shehla Khan: Image Credit: Shahid Malik

L-R: Sonail Gupta, Tarun Tahilani & Varun Bahl: Image Credit: Shahid Malik

I caught up with Sabayasachi and asked him…

You already have a connection with London. How does the U.K bride differ to the brides back home?

“Yes, I do. I did a short stint at London Fashion Week and before I came to London with my Bridal wear. I used to also cater to the western audience here through Browns and Selfridges. So, I do have a good idea about what the girls in London want from us. They like being traditional and every single bride whether conservative, whether democratic, whether eccentric actually fantasises about looking like a princess on their wedding day. So we try and keep the fantasy in mind but make sure we keep ethnicity in mind too because of course she is an Indian Bride.”

I also asked him what tips he would give a bride when shopping for her trousseau.

“I’d tell her to do some yoga before you come shopping and get a little introspective because I think it is very easy to get swayed by other people’s opinion on what you should wear but at the end of the day its your wedding so just wear what you want to wear which means if you want to wear a GAP t-shirt and get married just do it.”

I love his answer because it’s so true wedding shopping can become stressful with everyone having an opinion on what you should and should not wear!

Tarun Tahiliani: Image Credit: Shahid Malik

Manish Malhotra: Image Credit: Shahid Malik

Varun Bahl: Image Credit: Shahid Malik

Yummy florals by Zita Elise Image Credit: Raj Dharar

Photo Booth at the entrance

Cakes by Krishanthi- these pics don’t do the cakes justice. The designs were sooo detailed and intricate. Image Credit: Shahid Malik

Getting a lesson on how to take a selfie by Kay from the Desi Dossier and Raj from The Secret Wedding Blog. Was good catching up with other bloggers at the event. Image Credit: Raj Dharar

The event was a first for London and it was lovely to see such a wealth of Indian craftsmanship and talent in one place. With U.K brides following the trends in India (albeit sometimes a little latter) weddings are becoming longer with more and more events to shop for. I really hope it becomes a regular event…are you reading Aashni?

Fab post event video by Aashni & Co.

Full list of exhibitors for Aashni & Co wedding show in association with Zouch & Lamare

– Anamika Khanna
– Anushree Reddy
– Arpita Mehta
– Ashima-Leena
– Elisha W
– Jaipur Gems
– Kotwara by Meera Muzaffar Ali
– Manish Malhotra
– Monisha Thahryamal
– Nikasha,
– Pallavi Jaikishan
– Rajesh Pratap Singh
– Rimple and Harpreet Narula
– Sabyasachi
– Shehlaa
– Sonali Gupta
– Tarun Tahiliani
– Varun Bahl

I have interviews with Shehla Khan, Arpita Mehta and Anushree Reddy coming up on the blog in the following weeks- so keep a look out!

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