Lakmé India Fashion Week-Pria Kataria Puri

Every year hoards of Non-Resident Indian brides flock to their native land with one goal in mind: shopping. Shopping for exquisitely decorated wedding garments. Brides make week long jam-packed trips to scoop up beautiful jewels, wedding party outfits, gifts and finally a series of elaborate outfits appropriate and absolutely necessary for every wedding-related occasion. Brides then scour shop after shop looking for the most exclusive outfit made from the most luxurious grouping of materials: saris woven with gold, adorned with semiprecious stones and draped in chiffon, satin and raw silk.

At Lakmé India Fashion Week this year, brides and non-brides alike were exposed to bridal haute couture, fit to impress even the most hard to please bride and everyone else in between.

At the Pria Katari Puri collection, guests enjoyed a visual treat for the eyes in the designer’s Summer/Resort 2010 collection, aptly called “The Royal Rajputna Collection”. The garments were seen in spectrum of rich hues that ranged from creamy pearl, golden topaz, coral, aquamarine, emerald, onyx and more. Fabrics such as silk, chiffon, tulle, satin, and jersey hugged the curves and helped create a stunning silhouette, that made each model look like Indian royalty from another era. Gorgeous bejeweled cholis, embellished gowns, and colorful kaftans, and saris cascaded down the runway one by one, each more beautiful than the next. Fabulous accessories and elegantly painted red pouts helped add allure and drama to each outfit and look. Pleating, hemlines and prints from Rajasthan royalty were apparent in the tailoring and clothing was adorned with crystals and gems to create a 3D effect of jewelry on the body. Unique construction and heavy embellishments also kept the saris interesting and original, a must in Indian bridal couture. An Indian bride mustn't be upstaged by a fashionably dressed blinged-out auntie or cousin! Oh the drama that would cause!

It was a stunning show geared towards the NRI bride who comes to India expecting the most romantic, visually spectacular creations, ready to wow their community of friends and family back home, at their no doubt glamour-filled over the top fabulous shadi (wedding). Do I smell a reality show called The fabulous life of the Indian bride brewing? I'll keep you posted!

Lakmé India Fashion Week-Shyamal and Bhumika

It’s no surprise that bright and bold colors were in style at LAKMÉ India Fashion Week for the Summer/Resort 2010 season. Everyone wants to look bright and cheery in their stylish vacation wear. One of the most evident displays of that was seen at the Shyamal and Bhumika collection. The design team recreated the Festival of Colors, Holi, in their punchy line. For those unfamiliar, Holi is the festival of color and spirit. Revelers wear clothes ready to get splattered and then engage in a “Holi War” with friends and family using a fantastically pigmented powdered dye mixed with water as their weapon. At the end of the day participants are drenched in a pinwheel of colors encompassing every inch of their clothes revealed skin.

The gorgeous gowns, maxi dresses, sunny tops, tiny bikinis, micro shorts and tunics were all blitzed with a kaleidoscope of color. A cocktail of colors created quite the summery scene: grape, flame, fuschia, black and bright acid tones of citrus were seen in cotton, satin, georgette and crepe fabrics.

The models wore tightly pulled back, voluminious bouffants that brought attention to their rainbow smeared faces. I particularly loved asymmetrical dress that had paint speckled colors and a flattering neckline. It was a joy to see a show with such spirit and color!

Lakmé India Fashion Week-Krishna Mehta

An Indian girl in Paris isn’t a popular saying or sentiment but perhaps after seeing the stylishly bright, Parisian inspired Krishna Mehta collection it’ll start catching on. The Summer/Resort 2010 line combined colorful prints, embellishments and silhouettes with sharply tailored cuts and a European flair. The look combined a mixture of vintage looking time periods: the late 1930s meets the 1970s with structured jackets and trousers in a range of colors. Clothes were seen in moody dark tones like muddy brown and gray to shocking yellow, red, blue and green. The occasional richness of purple and black and white seeped on to the clothes and cotton, silk, jersey and velveteen fabrics were used.

The models all walked down with one of the best summer accessories: a healthy glow and tan to them. Otherwise it was tall bouffants and updo's and low-key lips with defined eyes. The latest fashion trends seen on the Indian runways include biased jersey tops, glittery tunics, bubble and printed minis and sack dresses with corresponding scarves and plenty of feminine draping. The show and collection were a beautifully different, trendy and refreshing way to kick off my fashion week experience. Plus, I love that sparkly and bright punchy colors stay current in this warm weather blessed city, year round.

Lakmé India Fashion Week-Fern Mallis

Lakmé India Fashion Week has been a wonderful experience and I feel more than lucky to have been able to attend two different Fashion Weeks in less than a month. An absolute highlight for me was meeting IMG Fashion Senior Vice President and the person responsible for making Fashion Week possible, Ms. Fern Mallis. IMG Fashion is the group that organizes Fashion Weeks all over the world and Ms. Mallis is the fashion powerhouse behind it. For someone so influential in such a cut throat industry it's amazing how down to Earth and warm she is. Despite being the most respected and arguably the most important woman in the fashion industry she is so low-key and willing to chat. I have a tremendous amount of admiration for her and meeting her in India at Lakme India Fashion Week after only seeing her from a distance in the Bryant Park tents was a fun twist of fate. I somehow never thought I'd meet her in India at Lakmé Fashion Week (despite IMG organizing the event) in front of the men's bathroom in the show's lobby area. She seemed equally amused by the location we ended up chatting in front of. Thanks to Fern Mallis and IMG for making my month so fashionable, fabulous and memorable!

Check out Fern's blog posts on Lakmé India Fashion Week here.

The Beauty Buff: Beauty Reporting from India!

Sorry I’ve been a little MIA in the past few days! As it turns out airplanes aren’t that conducive to blogging! I just arrived in India and will be here on vacation for the next ten days! But don’t get too sad peeps! I’ll be blogging from the new Beauty Buff headquarters (e.g my grandparents home) and checking out all the latest beauty trends, products and happenings from the Motherland. I’ll also be covering Lakme-India Fashion Week and checking out the latest designers from this side of the Globe. So keep reading and get ready for some serious international beauty reporting!