AISHWARYA RAI WALKS THE RAMP at HDIL COUTURE WEEK - Photos, Video

AISHWARYA RAI WALKS THE RAMP FOR MANISH MALHOTRA’S BRIDAL COUTURE COLLECTION

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Aishwarya to be Manish Malhotra's showstopper

Aishwarya Rai will be walking the ramp for designer Manish Malhotra at the upcoming third edition of the India Couture Week.

"Beautiful Aishwarya is going to be the showstopper at my couture week show," Malhotra posted on micro-blogging site Twitter.

The designer, who has worked on Aishwarya's looks for the mega-budget Endhiran and Action Replayy, is known to have given makeovers to many actresses, including Karisma Kapoor and Rani Mukerji.

He will be opening the couture week, starting Oct 6-10.

The designer says he will be showcasing 55 different outfits and emerald will be the dominant colour in his collection.

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In Pics: Yuvraj Singh walks the ramp for Manish Malhotra in Mumbai

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Rani's sexy in her bikini

Believe it or not, but the whole ‘bikini top ‘n’ skimpy shorts’ avatar in short — flaunting Rani Mukerji’s hot new bod wasn’t her idea. Not even the producer or director had anything to do with it.

After she realised how much she had toned up (to play a male cricketer in Dil Bole Hadippa!), Rani just happened to discuss this idea with her designer friend Manish Malhotra. And from there on it was Manish’s game plan, after all, he’s transformed many a Bollywood girl in to glam queens. He suggested that it would be a pity to waste such a well-toned body by not showing it off. That’s how the idea of a special song was born. And is she looking hot? Talk about her ‘shapely’ success, and Rani says, “Believe me, I didn’t starve at all. I love my food, especially rice and sweets. There was no way I was giving up all that. So, I just worked out harder and was occasionally allowed my ‘cheat’ meals of rice, sweets, etc. And I’m happy. All gain, no sacrifice.” Imagine our Bong tigress on a ghaas-phoos diet? That’s not fair to such a beauty, na?

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Wear Kareena’s Clothes!

Kareena Kapoor has established herself as an unmatched style icon in Bollywood. She now plans to extend her love for fashion by launching a signature clothes line with an international fashion house.

As the ambassador of Globus, the gorgeous Kapoor heiress played an important role in reviving the sales of the brand. Then she became very big for the brand and her contract wasn’t renewed after two seasons.

Manish Malhotra is one of the few Indian designers she swears by and she has been his muse too. Aki Narula, who thinks Kareena is the most stylish Indian actress, is her stylist of the moment as he has successfully styled her look in Kambakkht Ishq, Tashan and the upcoming Main Aurr Mrs. Khanna. Bebo, however, doesn’t want to associate herself with any other Indian designer or brand anymore. When it comes to Indian outfits like sarees, lehengas and salwar suits, she turns to Manish Malhotra but she relies on international brands like DvF, D&G and Cavalli when it comes to Western outfits. She loves shoes from YSL and Christian Louboutin.

If sources are to be believed she will tie up with an international fashion line to launch her own collection which will be called Kareena. She is all set to tour Los Angeles and Paris and meet with the who’s who of fashion. Roberto Cavalli, Jean Paul Gaultier, Donatella Versace and Christian Lacroix are the brands her agents at Matrix (modeling agency) are in touch with. In fact, Kareena is a huge fan of Roberto Cavalli and wears his leopard or animal print outfits all the time.

Kareena will sign a whopping multi-million dollar deal with either one of these high-end fashion houses. All of them are members of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in France and don’t have a foothold in India unlike Salvatore Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Gucci. So in a way, through her signature line, she wants to bring them to India. Undeniably, Kareena has a huge fan following and is considered a style icon par excellence, so people will want to buy whatever she is associated with. The question is will it be affordable?

A grand launch has been planned for Kareena’s eponymous line. Like Globus super-successful campaign, there will be a luxe nationwide ad campaign and a sophisticated national launch in Mumbai, once the deal is finalized.

Kareena, who wanted to launch a fashion blog earlier and was invited to a Christian Dior fashion show in Paris in the recent past, is excited yet tight-lipped about the fashionable venture. She said she will be shooting for KJo’s Stepmom for the next three months, after which she has planned a holiday. She also said that she will squeeze her trips to Paris and LA in her schedule and will make an official announcement only when all the details have been worked out.

John Abraham is one of the few Indian actors who ventured into the fashion arena with his JA for Wrangler line. It was fairly reasonable and successful. There have been rumours about Kangna Ranaut and Malaika Arora Khan launching their fashion lines.

After Jab We Met, we don’t really trust your choice of movies but Bebo Darling, you have never failed to wow StarBoxOffice with your impeccably beautiful and stylish appearances at events, so we can hardly wait for your fashion line!

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Behind the scenes of Pyaar Impossible

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What Manish Malhotra did in Dubai…

Designer models his IPL-inspired clothes and goes shopping with Tusshar Kapoor

Manish Malhotra presented an IPL-inspired collection as a part of Studio 8’s show on Day 2 of the Dubai Fashion Week (DFW) on April 7.

The Bollywood designer tells masala.com about this sporty collection and his shopping spree in Dubai.

What made you come up with an IPL-inspired collection?

I was designing for Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders and that’s when the idea of marrying formal with sporty wear struck me.

A kalidar kurta with a hoodie in gold and black looks stunning. For the men a formal jacket with check pants looks great.

Shah Rukh walked the ramp in this collection at the recent Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai. I made a blazer for him and teamed it with a shalwar. The gold and black sling that he wore was in theme with the IPL collection.

You walked the ramp for your own collection at DFW. Why did you do that?

I have walked the ramp a number of times before for other designers but this is the first time I walked in my own collection. Sarah Belhasa of Studio 8 felt it will be nice if I modelled my own collection in this show so I went ahead and did it.

What did you wear?

I wore track pants with keds and a V-neck T with the Knight Riders helmet logo on it.

Heard you went shopping with your show-stopper Tusshar Kapoor in Dubai…

Yes, I picked up a few nice things for him. I picked up a pair of really nice jeans for myself. I am overwhelmed to see that I am fitting into a 30 waist size again.

Lastly, what films are you working on at the moment?

I am working for 12 films including “My Name is Khan”, “Robot” and “Main Aur Mrs Khanna”.

I have to wake up really early to make use of the entire day if I have to juggle so many fashion weeks and films. But I love pushing myself all the time.

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A classy finale to the LFW

The grand finale of the tenth Lakme Fashion Week started fashionably over an hour late. Vikram Chatwal, Anaita Adajania, Manisha Koirala, Sonam Kapoor, Manish Malhotra, Rohit Bal, Anupama Verma and Aditi Gowitrikar were among the celebrity guests and the finale witnessed an over flowing house.

The set was all white with bells decorated with red roses. The sound of the bells was amazing and added to give a rich Indian wedding feel. The Fall Winter Lakme Fashion Week 2009 Bridal Sutra collection by Anamika Khanna was marvelous and fitting for the Indian bride. The makeup done with products from the Bridal Sutra collection comprised soft lips, a red bindi and winged black and gold eye liner. The hair was left loose and crimped. The brides had a very Bengali look that suited all their outfits, fortunately.

The collection was in soft, summery colours like champagne, ivory, white, beige, crème, off white, pastel blue, yellow and red. Brocade, cotton, organza, raw and crushed silk, georgette, chiffon, etc were the fabrics used. The embellishments were mainly soft gold and there was lots of embroidery, different textures, belts and borders with accents of gold. Even the footwear was gold. It was refreshing not to see any bright colours. The collection comprised of sarees, lehengas, gowns with an Indian edge, ghaghras, chunnis, cholis, patialas, dhoti pants.

The energetic Alecia Raut, veteran model Nina Manuel(who opened the show), the beautiful Waluscha Robinson, the restrained Monikangana Dutta and the striking Aanchal Kumar walked the ramp with the faces of Lakme: Indrani Dasgupta, Amrit Maghera and Vipasha Agrawal. Anu Ahuja put up a splendid show, even though it was a tad too long. But you do expect a substantial duration after you have waited almost an hour for the show to begin. All in all, a very classy, luxurious and timeless collection.

Designer Anamika Khanna was stylishly dressed in her own creation in crème and gold which she paired with black boots. It looked edgy and sexy. She said, “We have used Indian fabrics and drawn inspiration from all states like Kerala, Gujarat and Bengal. Traditional designs have been given a contemporary twist. At least 150-200 karigars including masters, tailors and embroiders have been used for the collection.”

Advisor to Lakme, Anil Chopra said, “At Lakme we have a concept and we discuss which designer’s collection would showcase the concept the best. We all agreed that it had to be Anamika Khanna. It took me two hours to convince and at the end of it she said, “I am delighted.” The beauty of India isthat we can take the same concept and showcase it in mkany different ways because of our cultural heritage and talent of our designers. Last year, Sabyasachi showcased the bridal sutra for winter so the colours were heavier and darker and this year, for summer, I loved the lightness of the colours and the outfits.”

On the success of the show he said, “The show has been successful beyond my expectations. The elections are going on but the LFW is making front page news along with it. People have loved the new venue and have asked me not to change it. This is our first time at Grand Hyatt and yet everything is so well organized. We will be here for a long time to come.”

Asked if recession had hit the LFW, Chopra said, “It hasn’t affected the LFW and India is growing. Our participation fee is the same and response from the buyers is the same if not better. Designers have become more business savvy and have decided to team instead of doing solo shows. In fact, India isn’t in recession, it is growing.”

On Bollywood stars as showstoppers he said, “We as LFW, do not invite Bollywood stars at all. Only the designers do it as part of their endorsement plans. LFW doesn’t invite film stars.”

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Bollywood Stars at Manish Malhotra's Party After LIFW 2009

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SRK walks the ramp for Manish Malhotra at Lakme fashion week - Video

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In Pics: Shahrukh Khan Walks The Ramp at Lakme Fashion Week

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SRK: Thank you very much!

What a day! First there was Akshay Kumar and then Shah Rukh Khan who never, ever fails to entertain you. His spontaneity and charm is unmatched and ever-so-endearing. For the first time, the audience at the 2009 LFW was laughing their hearts out, shouting, screaming, clapping and yelling, “Love you, SRK” to which the superstar replied, “Thank you, darling!”

And what a star studded audience it was. From Vikram Chatwal, Preity Zinta, Hrithik Roshan and wife Susanne, Kareena Kapoor(not with Saif), Tusshar, Genelia, Sridevi with Boney and daughter, Arjun Rampal with his stunning wife Mehr, Anu Dewan, Gauri Khan (of course), Rita Dhody with Nari (we think they are more than just friends) to Anaita Shroff Adajania (who was seen chatting with Sabina and Anil Chopra) and Parmeshwar Godrej.

Shah Rukh, in a black coat and chocolate brown dhoti pants with a designer gold sling was the showstopper. He walked the ramp and then unlike any showstopper before him, started talking, because he doesn’t do anything without a mic!

“This was gooood!” he exclaimed, “For formality sake, I want to thank the Lakme Fashion Week for having me here because I am neither tall nor good looking. You are very kind people. I would also like to thank all the models who were very kind to me backstage. Thank you everyone as you made me feel that I could do this and my Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team. Since our growing years, we have been taught to believe in the notion that models can’t act but my handsome, beautiful and very talented friend Arjun Rampal has proved them wrong. Then there is Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen, Priyanka Chopra, John Abraham who has muscles everywhere, Dino Morea and even Zeenat Aman has been a model. All you models are wonderful and talented. Thank you”

“I would also like to thank my beautiful friends Kajol, Kareena, Preity Zinta, Boney and Sri and my wife Gauri. She said she would talk to me the next morning no matter how I do now. I would like to thank Preity because she has joined KKR now,” he laughed

“Choreographer Lubna Adams has done a great job and she tried to make me look good. She told me to give her my 'good looking face' and I showed her and said, 'This is it. So she said 'Well, you will have to change it by sucking in your face, pouting and looking very angry.' So I showed her like this and she said 'You look like a fish that is starved of sex.' I didn’t mind the fish part but well, I am a Khan and I have some reputation! Then Karan tried to show me and he asked me to look as if I didn’t give a beep!” he said and everyone burst into laughter.

Lastly he introduced and welcomed designer Manish Malhotra on stage. He said, “He designs for the wonderful and beautiful boys and girls on screen but he is the first designer in the history of mankind and in the world to design a sling. If you guys (LFW) give away Filmfare awards, then he should get it for making a sling. Thank you very much, guys.”

I cannot forget mentioning the collection which comprised sporty wear in black and gold. For the first time probably, a Manish Malhotra show didn’t have bright colours. Korbo Jeeto Re was the main song. Topless male models looking super hot with six pack abs opened the show and the girls were floored. They haven’t looked so appealing before. The super energetic and inimitable Alesia Raut was the first one to strut her stuff. Her energy, seen by the way her shiny long pony tail swayed from side to side is so appealing and unmatched!

The metallic black and gold KKR collection comprised dhoti pants, racer backs, ghaghras, mini dresses, short skirts, hot pants, sarees jeans, t-shirts, coats, cropped jackets and jumpsuits. Everything was paired with metallic gold sneakers. The accessories comprised glares in gold and pop colours, waist pouches, calf shields, boots, gold bags and caps.

All uber sporty, trendy, sexy and glam! Because of SRK and the sheer energy of the show made it unforgettable. A super success and by far the most entertaining show we have seen this fashion week!

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Tusshar: I felt superb being Manish’s bridegroom

Manish Malhotra’s show had celebrity guests like Asin, Sridevi and daughter, Anushka Sharma, Sophie, Deepika Padukone. The music for the younfg Indian bridal collection was Indian tribal with Bhangra and Arabic percussion. Monikangana Dutta opened the show which featured models like Aanchal Kumar, Alesia Raut, Deepti Gujral and Inder Bajwa among others.

The colours for the girls were all pastel and pretty. They included ivory, champagne, red, pink, peach, green, turquoise, yellow, gold and orange. Heavy borders were seen on all the sarees, tunics, and lehengas. There were also long and flaring kurtas with assymetrical hemlines. the colours were pleasing but not too bright. The backs were criss-cross, v-shaped, open and rounded. There were vertical stripes on the kurtas. Many of the sarees and kurtas were sheer with bikini blouses

The guys wore Sherwanis in more solid colours with Churi and Jodhpur pants, patialas and lungis. Their prints were vertical stripes, small checks and geometric patterns like hexagons and pentagons.

About his collection the designer of the hour Manish said, “I have gone back to my favourite pastels and corals after a long time. For some time my colours have been bright like fuschia and pink. We have used vibrant colours but they are soft. It is a young and hip bridal collection and that is why I used Tusshar an Genelia as bridal show stoppers as they are young and hip. I haven’t had showstoppers for some shows now though there have been showstoppers sitting in the front row. Genelia and Tusshar make a good young couple and we have been friends for some time now. The men have solid colours with a lot of texture."

Speaking about recession impacting his collections he said, “I think recession is a very boring topic and we have gone overboard with the coverage we give it. If people want to get married, they will. If you make good clothes and sell them at a good price, people will buy. I have cut my prices by 23-24% but I cannot compromise on quality. I don’t do prêt, I only do luxury and fusion couture. All my designs are wearable and I don’t like to design anything that is not wearable.”

Manish's bride Genelia couldn't stop smiling. “It was fantastic to walk for Manish and wear his clothes. It was a gorgeous moment for me though I felt a little nervous.”

When asked about how he felt being Manish’s bridegroom, Tusshar exclaimed, “It felt superb to be his bridegroom and walk the ramp for the first time for Manish. It was a great high. I loved everyone’s reaction. I feel good. I have worn Manish’s clothes earlier but I have worn the bridal collection for the first time. It feels so comfortabl; I am going to wear more of these now. I have always worn Manish’s clothes and I think they are the best!"

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Deepika Padukone's favourite designer is Manish Malhotra

Model-turned-actress Deepika Padukone, who is in New Delhi to walk the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) ramp for designer duo Shantanu-Nikhil, says she does not follow any fashion trends.

"I believe in being comfortable in what I wear instead of wearing something in fashion that does not suit my body. I don't follow fashion trends," said Deepika.

Deepika says her favourite designer is Manish Malhotra, who is popular with most Bollywood icons.

"Manish always goes out of his way for me and does a good job. He also did my first film 'Om Shanti Om'," she said.

On Thursday, the actress was dressed in a one-shoulder, short salmon coloured dress designed by Shantanu-Nikhil, who are showcasing their collection at the WIFW as part of the sponsor show for personal care brand Fiama Di Wills.

"I am really looking forward to be a part of the show," Deepika said.

Deepika attended an event here to announce the winner of a Fiama Di Wills Beautiful Face 2008 Hunt, organised in collaboration with the Elite Modelling Agency.

Delhi-based Prerana Sharma was crowned winner of the event by the actress.

Deepika said: "During my days of modelling, I never got any such opportunity or platform to showcase my talent. But god has been kind to me."

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Farah Khan's starry Eid bash

Farah Khan's Eid lunch party turned out to be a star-studded affair with the who's who of B-Town turning up. Farah and husband Shirish Kunder played perfect hosts. Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor and Shekhar of Vishal-Shekhar were the early birds.

Dino Morea, Lara Dutta, Mallika Sherawat with producer brother Vikram, Anil Kapoor with wife Sunita and daughter Sonam, Karisma Kapoor, Sanjay and Maheep Kapoor, Sohail and Seema Khan, Chunky and Bhavna Pandey, Farhan Akhtar, Rani Mukerji, Karan Johar, Tusshar Kapoor, Urmila Matondkar and Manish Malhotra, Fardeen Khan with wife Natasha, and Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan trooped in.

A lavish spread kheema pau to Kashmiri dum alu, mushroom pulao and mutton biryani. Kulfi and kheer were the desserts on offer.

The actual stars of the party were arah and Shirish's triplets Diva, Anya and Czar, all dressed in white embroidered kurtas. The trio seemed most at ease with the starry presence all around them. Their real faves turned out to be Deepika Padukone, Malaika Arora, and Mallika Sherawat the three bombshells were at ease handling the babies. Quite a party this!

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Urmila Matondkar and Manish Malhotra - Shopping Buddies

What's every girl's shopping dream? How about having one of the industries top designers as a shopping buddy? Get a load of Urmila Matondkar and her fashion partner in crime, Manish Malhotra at the opening of a boutique below... You'd think Manish being the well-known designer that he is, would stop Urmila from wearing a top that has gold Christmas ornaments attached to the end! Unfortunately that wasn't the case... Check out the picture proof below!

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