Author Archives: The Asian Fashion Journal

Mar 16 2013
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Events, Fashion

Step Right up! Selfridges: Shoe Carnival

16th March 2013

Love for Fashion blogger Meera Sharma and I popped into Selfridges this week and stumbled across Selfridges’ latest theme- Shoe Carnival. I wasn’t a fan of the whole No Noise theme they hosted previously but am loving the Shoe carnival. The windows are fabulously fun and the in-store events and exhibitions are fab.

selfridges poster

selfridges 1The windows are awesome!

selfridges 2

selfridges 3

There are many exclusives at the Shoe festival. Nicholas Kirkwood has created a beautiful four piece collection exclusively for the event inspired by Disney’s Oz: The Great and Powerful and there are other treats from Rupert Sanderson, Charlotte Olympia and Katie Grand x Hogan.

selfridges 4

selfridges 7

selfridges 8

It’s not all about the ladies though, the men’s event are equally fab and I’m sure Oliver Sweeney’s ‘Tattoo Your Shoe’ will be the most popular. A tattoo artist will be in-store to literally tattoo your Sweeney’s.

oliver sweeney

oliver sweeney 3

oliver sweeney 2

The event runs from 1st March- 21st April and for details of events click here.

Images: Windows- The Asian Fashion Journal, The Rest: Selfridges & Oliver Sweeeney

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Mar 14 2013
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Fashion

Masaba Gupta @ Satya Paul Wifw A/w 13

14th March 2013

The much anticipated Masaba Gupta for Satya Paul opened Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week A/w 13 yesterday. And what a show?! AMAZINGGGG! Masaba injected her fun, quirky and youthful style to the brand. The stunning prints revolved around pop art style telephone boxes and lipstick motifs as well as a Jackson Pollock-esque splatter print. The base colours were whites, blacks and greys with bursts of neon lime, pink and orange and silhouettes included saris, simple shifts, kaftans and a great range of accessories. This super commercial collection will fly out of stores and bring a younger audience to the great brand which is exactly what they hoped for by appointing Masaba as creative director.

1 masaba gPretty show invite

2 -in-Masaba-Gupta-for-Satya-PaulSonam Kapoor steps out in a lipstick sari a few days before the show

3 masaba-gupta-satya-paul-wifw-aw13-3Gorgeous lipstick print

4 masaba-gupta-satya-paul-wifw-aw13-4

5 masaba-gupta-satya-paul-wifw-aw13-2

6 Masaba

7 masaba-gupta-satya-paul-wifw-aw13-7

8 masaba-gupta-satya-paul-wifw-aw13-5

9 masaba-gupta-satya-paul-wifw-aw13-8Love the embellishment at the hem.

10 masaba-gupta-satya-paul-wifw-aw13-6

11 masaba-gupta-satya-paul-wifw-aw13 1

12 masaba-gupta-satya-paul-wifw-aw13-9

Images: Purple Window, Satya Paul Facebook, Yahoo India

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Mar 09 2013
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Fashion

Michelle Obama, Katy Perry & Lady Gaga all love Indian designers

9th March 2013

I was explaining my blog to a non-Indian friend and she said she didn’t know of any Indian designers. And my response?

“you might not be familiar with the names but trust me you’ve seen plenty of Hollywood and Brit talent wearing Indian designers.”

Ok so I know there are no Indian equivalents of global designer brands like Gucci & Prada (trust me its only a matter of time before PPR and LVMH group start investing in Indian designers- the talent is definitely there!) but there are many Indian designers making an impact this side of the world too. Vineet Bahl is stocked on Net-a-Porter, Alpana & Neeraj have dressed Lady Gaga & Nicole Sherzinger (Sherzhy stepped out in her number on The X Factor) Manish Arora has dressed many international celebs and has been creative director at Paco Rabanne and then there’s Naeem Khan who’s dressed Michelle Obama and is stocked globally. See where I’m going with this? The list really does go on and on………..

Alpana & Neeraj1 9 march alpana & neerajL-R Kat Graham, Lady Gaga and Nicole Sherzinger

Shane & Falguni Peacock1 9 march falguni & shane peacockL-R Fergie, Cheryl Cole and Jessie J

Manish Arora1 9 march manish aroraHeidi Klum, Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry

Naeem Khan1 9 march naeem khanAlison Williams, Michelle Obama and Nicole Richie – and how exciting is it that Naeem Khan will be showing at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2013 this month!!!

And Louise Roe of MTV Plain Jane fame has been quite a supporter of Indian designers- stepping out in Manish Arora, Pia Pauro and Falguni & Shane Peacock.

1 9 march louise roe

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Mar 08 2013
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Spotlight: Mithila Art

8th March 2013

I’ve been inspired by the oh sooo fab Project Renaissance (which was one big celebration of Indian craftsmanship) to blog about some of the diverse Arts & Crafts across India. Last time I was in Goa there was an Indian craft fair and I picked up a couple of beautiful Mithila, folk paintings. I was drawn to the vibrant scenes depicted, the bold colours, the distinctive 2-D style of drawing and the fact that the whole space was intricately covered.

image from thestranger.com

Mithila is described by the Mithilahandicraft as

“…the ancient kingdom. It existed in the eastern Gangetic Plains in areas which is today spread over more than half of Bihar state of India, and parts of adjoining Nepal. Mithila was the capital of Videha kingdom as per epic Ramayana. This city is identified as modern day Janakpur in Dhanusha district of Nepal.”

- Swati Kashyap 2007Black and White painting by Swati Kashyap 2007

And the website describes Mithali art as

“A native art drawn on the auspicious occasions and religious celebrations by rural Maithili women of southern Terai of Nepal is known as Mithila arts. Mithila traditional art is drawn on the wall of the houses as well as on the floor with local natural colour. Mithila art describes about the life of the Maithili people along with their religious figure in a symbolic way. Mithila Painting is mostly done by women.”

TaraBlog-Sita-Devi-Krishna-1981Painting by Sita Devi, artist credited with raising the profile of Mithila art.

following my paintbrush

While looking up examples of Mithila art, I came across this sweet children’s book ‘Following my paintbrush’ which is illustrated by Dulari Devi and in fact tells the story of Dulari’s journey from a domestic helper to an artist and how she intertwined this traditional technique with her own artistic style.

following my paintbrush 2

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Mar 05 2013
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Vietnam Part Three: Nha Trang

5th March 2013

Our third and final stop in Vietnam was the coastal town of Nha Trang. We were after complete R&R for our last few days and we got it in spades at the stunning Vinpearl Luxury resort. Vinpearl is in fact an island off Nha Trang that’s home to two hotels- Vinpearl and Vinpearl Luxury as well as Vinpearl Land (a HUGE amusement park with a water park, aquarium, entertainment shows and rides) and Vinpearl Golf. I’m a fairly new golfer so didn’t feel confident playing on the rather slick Vinpearl course but my mum and sis did and they loved it! We also saw a few local sights while we were there- Po Ngar Cham Towers and the Long Son Pagoda. If you’re after some good Indian food we’d recommend you try out the Sheraton for dinner, there is a talented Nepalese chef who wowed us with his cooking. And on the flip side a restaurant to avoid is the Evason Ana Mandara. The setting is beautiful and at £50 a head we were expecting some amazing food and instead we got the worst meal of our whole trip. Just incredibly bland food- AVOID!

1 vinpearl luxuy 1Yep, this bad boy took guests back and forth from Nha Trand to Vinpearl Luxury. It only took ten mins and was available every fifteen mins

2 vinpearl luxury 2Talk about picture postcard! The private beach

3 vinpearl luxury 3

4 vinpearl luxury 4

5 vinpearl luxury 5The huts where the Spa treatments took place- I had a yum facial and reflexology treatments

6 vipearl luxury 6

7 vp nha trang 1Long Son Pagoda

8 vp nha trang 2

9 vp nha trang 3Po Nagar Cham Towers

10 vp nha trang 4

11 vp nha trang 5Yellow flowers were out everywhere to mark the festival of Tet

12 vp nha trang 5.5

13 vp nha trang 6Fishing boats. As you’d expect of a coastal town- the seafood was delicious.

14Me in my fav new costume from Asos

15

16

17The daftest yet most enjoyable read I’ve had in ages ‘The hundred year old man who climbed out of a window and disappeared’

18What can I say?

19

20

21

Aww that’s it from Vietnam

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Mar 02 2013
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Events

Russian Tea Party at Mari Vanna

2nd March 2013

It’s the beginning of March and what better way to welcome spring and the upcoming festival of Maslenitsa then a fabulous Russian Tea party. Maslenitsa, the Russian Sun Festival has been celebrated in London for the last few years and this year’s programme of events looks very exciting. There’s an exhibition ‘Treasures of the Royal Courts: Tudors, Stuarts and the Russian Tsars’ at the V&A, a special pancake menu (the festival is also known as Pancake Week) at Russian restaurant Mari Vanna, a literary evening at Waterstones, a special performance by Theatre Praktika and of course the annual street festival celebrations at Trafalgar Square 16th March. For full details of the weeks events go to www.maslenitsa.co.uk

Here’s a few pics of the yummy decor and treats served at Mari Vanna.

mari vanna 1 image from mari vanna

mari vanna 2 image credit the asian fashion journal

mari vanna 3 image credit the asian fashionjournal

mari vanna 4 image credit the asian fashionjournal

The festival is supported by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and the festival’s official charity partner is the Naked Heart Foundation, founded by Natalia Vodianova

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Mar 01 2013
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Bridal, Fashion

Friday Fives: Manish Arora for Amrapali Jewels

29th Feb 2013

From one talented Manish to another, today’s Friday Fives puts the spotlight on Manish Arora’s stunning collection for Amrapali Jewels. The luxury jewellery brand is known for their exquisite jewels and fine craftsmanship and this new collaboration sees Manish put his spin on the traditional with enamelling in unexpected pastel shades as well as striking animal motifs. Love it all!

mEnamel Ring with mirror in the centre.

maTassel Bijou Earrings.

manRoyal Bengal Cuff

manish a 2Gazelle Enamel Ring

manish aroraGazelle Hand Harness. The coolest Hathphool ever!

Available from Pernia’s Pop Up Shop

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Feb 27 2013
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Events, Fashion

The Angeli Foundation’s Manish Malhotra London Fashion Gala

27th Feb 2013

Grab a cuppa, this is going to be one looooonnng post! On Saturday night I went to the amazing Manish Malhotra gala show in aid of the Angeli Foundation. The fab event was held at the plush Grosvenor Hotel, Park Lane. Guests were treated to a sensational catwalk of over fifty looks by the infamous Bollywood designer with special guests Urmila Matondkar and Pareenti Chopra. Even though most of the collection shown was first seen in India at Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week over a year ago it was still amazing to see the designs in person. I’m keeping my intro short because it’s all about the pics! Enjoy! (My write up on the event for Grazia India is live too)

A courtesy of Angeli foundation (4) Uk chair Ratika Puri KapoorAngeli Foundation UK Chair- Ratika Puri Kapoor

B Dubai's Rivaage boutiques owner Rohini Gehani and husbandRohini Gehani, owner of Rivaage (a chain of designer boutiques across UAE) and one of the sponsors of the event.

CManishMalhotra23.02.12_0008Yep, managed to get a pic with Manish!

D Manish Malhotra sari that was auctioned at the event and sold for £5000There was an auction at the beginning of the event and this beauty went for £5000

Here’s the show pics!

1 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0154

2 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0307

3 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0153

4 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0304

5 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0313

6 courtesy of Angeli foundation (2)

7 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0166

8 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0173

9 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0168

10 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0186

My personal highlights were the dreamy dip-dyes, delicate Chikankari work (which Manish has developed with NGO Mijwan Welfare Society), beautiful flowing full volume skirts and gorgeous sheer back detailing which included pintucks and placement embroideries.

12 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0189

13 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0193

14 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0215

15 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0211

16 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0273

17 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0280

18 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0216

19 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0235

20 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0316Menswear silhouettes were structured and well defined with slim fit cut pants that looked oh soo dapper.

21 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0254

22 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0237

The colour palette worked through whites, greys, pinks, corals, reds, lime green, cobalt blues and blacks. All of which were brought together with metallic touches.

23 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0271

24 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0238

25 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0250

26 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0277

27 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0203

28 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0202

29 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0228

30 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0204

31 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0286

35 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0210

37 courtesy of Angeli foundation

38 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0327

39 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0325

40 ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0333

41 courtesy of Angeli foundation (3)

42 courtesy of Angeli foundation (5)

EThese sweet treats from Cakes4U were delicious- I had a chocolate brownie and a cookie dough choc chip type cake- yum

FNope, we weren’t special guests- the media tables were full so we joined this table!

G ManishMalhotra23.02.12_0015Me and my AWKWARD posing (there’s a reason this will never be a style diary type of blog!)

I

J Sweet treats from Sugar Mill Desserts

The night was finished off with the Punjabi Hit Squad boys working their magic on the decks! That kept people dancing till late. A fab event for a fab cause.

Image credit Angeli Foundation and ace photographer Pathman Ruthirapathy

And to all Manish Malhotra fans in the U.K. there is only one official stockists here – London’s Aashni & Co. The lovely team have a gorgeous range of the hottest Indian designer labels so head down to their pretty Notting Hill boutique!

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Feb 26 2013
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Beauty, Events

Leighton Denny: Mine’s A Rose

26th Feb 2013

Over London Fashion Week, Love For Fashion blogger Meera Sharma and I popped into Fashion Monitor’s Style Lounge. Not only did they treat journo’s and bloggers with a chill out space at The Mayfair Hotel, they also offered a range of treats from getting hair done, a Bourjois make over, a massage or a manicure. I opted for the mani and went for the Mine’s A Rose from Leighton Denny’s S/s 13- The Riviera Collection. I think it’s the perfect nude shade for Indian skin. I usually find nude shades either too close to my skin colour or a little too pinky this one really is perfect.

leighton denny 1

Leighton denny 2

leighton denny 3

leighton denny 4

Ignore the nail smudges that’s my fault for being too impatient and not letting the polish dry properly!

Images: Leighton Denny and Love For Fashion

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Feb 25 2013
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Vietnam Part Two: Ho Chi Minh City

25th Feb 2013

Our second stop in Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh City (formerly know as Saigon) I preferred Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, there was more of a buzz and energy to the place. On the first day of sightseeing we opted for the cyclo tour which was a wonderful way to see the place, stopping off at the key sites with our guide. We visited the Reunification Palace, the War Museum, a Buddhist Temple and the old Post Office. We visited the Cu Chi tunnels on the next day which was an area outside the city where the Viet Cong dug a maze of tunnels and rooms underground during the War. It was a fascinating place and there’s option to crawl through a tunnel if you want (yep, crawl- the tunnels were tiny even though they’ve been widened for tourists!)

saigon 1My sis and I on our cyclo’s- she’s in the left pic. I look like a kid in a pushchair!

saigon 2In amongst the traffic

saigon 3The Reunification Palace

saigon 4The Reunification Palace

Where we stayed: Rex Hotel- The Rex was the original luxury hotel in Ho Chi Minh City and is home to all the major European fashion stores from Balenciaga, Marc Jacobs and Chanel. I don’t think you could call it a luxury hotel any more, in fact I don’t think there’s been a refurb since its 1970’s heyday but saying that I found the kitch interiors and the ‘Faulty Towers’ type employees rather charming!

saigon 5Outside the War Museum

saigon 6Indian Propaganda poster

saigon 7Cuban posters

saigon 8At the Buddhist Temple

saigon 9

Where we ate: There’s a lot more choice of restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City our fav place was Givral in District One, the food was delicious esp the deserts and it’s a great place to people watch.

saigon 10The Old Post Office

saigon 11Inside the Post Office with a poster of Ho Chi Minh

saigon 12Flowers were everywhere as people started to decorate for Tet festival

saigon 13Me posing in a tunnel although its huge compared to the original tunnels which I refused to pose in- a girl no more than a UK size 12 got stuck and the guards had to pull her out!) the other pic shows how rice paper is made

Next Stop: Vinpearl Luxury, on the island of Vinpearl off the coast of Nha Trang- blog post coming soon

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