Bollywood Fashion Awards make a dazzling debut in New York
03rd May 2001
14.57 IST
By ApunKaChoice Bureau
The Bollywood Fashion Awards made a delectable debut at Soho's trendy Puck Building in New York. The event confirmed that South Asian and Western fashions could produce a fusion that is as spectacular as it is elegant.
The fare included presentations of couture collections by Indian and American designers as well as Awards to the movers and shakers of fashion in the Indian and American movie worlds.
Five collections were presented holding the audience spellbound. It seemed like each designer went all out to create a feast of color and line, fabric and form, with styles and motifs from East and West effortlessly woven into a symphonic whole.
From India With Love came three collections by designers working in India -- Suneet Jain, Neeta Lulla and Aliya Khan. Both Jain and Lulla are celebrated designers in India while Khan is a new talent.
Aliya Khan's line displayed her base and training in classic western couture. A South Asia American trained at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology and now living in India, Ms. Khan's outfits bore the stamp of robust practicality and sensuous Indian contours.
Neeta Lulla is the darling of India's movie stars. As was only to be expected, her creations were simply dazzling. Bright sunshine colors permeated the creations she presented virtually stretching the boundaries of what color can do but within the disciplined constraints of an elegant form.
Suneet Jain's creations vividly demonstrated why he is Moet et Chandon's (the high end champagne's) brand name ambassador. A daring overlay of styles and traditions intrigued and challenged the viewer and evoked spontaneous applause from the audience.
To India With Love comprised two collections, one by the multi-faceted Steven Seagal (yes, the action hero), and the other by Anand Jon, a young and dashing designer from India now working in New York.
Seagal's devotion to Buddhism is well known, as are his talents as actor, martial arts guru and musician. But nothing prepared the audience for the display of meticulous discipline as a couturier. His collection showed abundant imagination in the use of flowing Tibetan styles of apparel modified to western tastes. Consistency in the use of Buddhist ornamental elements was evident as was a glamorous but subdued richness embodying the material and spiritual worlds.
Anand Jon's creations showed all the exuberance of youth and a willingness to experiment, rarely seen in most designers.
As if glamour and glitter of the collections were not enough, the roster of supermodels from India was a feast for even the most jaded eye. Aditi Govitrikar (the recently crowned Mrs. World) Nayonika Chatterjee (India's 5' 11"answer to Naomi Campbell), the ever-smiling Ishta Arun, the brainy twins of fashion Tapur and Tupur, Cleo Isaacs, Shamta Singha, Madhu Sapre and Reshma Bombaywallah were superb exponents of Asian-American fashion fusion. The men also chipped in with their share of machismo. Rahul Dev (winner of the Best Male Model award), Craig Scott, Jas Arora and Aryan Vaid added luster and panache to the show.
Jerry Hall was the winner of a Lifetime Achievement Award. In a brief acceptance speech she acknowledged her love of India.
Finally, as the evening drew to a close, a warm glow of having seen something memorable and wonderful seemed to settle on the viewers. The father and daughter team of Kamal and Sonia Dandona, who organized the whole event, brought to New York an event which will become a beacon for generations of designers drawing inspiration from both Indian and American traditions.
The Bollywood Fashion Awards made a delectable debut at Soho's trendy Puck Building in New York. The event confirmed that South Asian and Western fashions could produce a fusion that is as spectacular as it is elegant. 