OCTOBER 27, 2023
It is you and your skin, that makes fashion visible and desirable, with or without clothes caressing your person. And who knows skin better than Kim Kardashian who turned billionaire with Skims, and billions are fashionable! The success of Skims for women made her launch Skims Men on October 26th with a fabulous campaign featuring pro athletes to add a few more billions to her skin game. Her billionaire sister, Kylie Jenner, posted an affordable Hi with Khy, her new clothing line that will retail vegan leather coats priced at $198 November 1st onwards. Meanwhile, Indian fashion will be celebrated with regal ease, in the palaces of Jaipur this November, with the sound of clinking glasses of Glenlivet and Royal Salute adding to the allure of the night.
LOS ANGELES: Skims changed the shapewear game for women around the world, making its founder, Kim Kardashian a billionaire. As of July 2023, the valuation of Skims, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, stands at $4 billion. And Kardashian wants more, stretching her seamless sights and tights on men. Skims Men dropped on October 26, with a campaign featuring pro male athletes – Brazilian soccer player Neymar Jr. (Al Hilal SFC), American footballer Nick Bosa (San Francisco 48ers) and Canadian basketball player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder). There are three collection for men, “designed for your best performance” as it claims, in cotton, stretch and sport, that includes underwear, tees and tanks and socks in her trademark soft and comfortable fabrics. Prior to her Skims era, Kardashian could never find shapewear to match her skin tone, making her dye the limited ones available with tea bags and coffee in her bathtub before her red carpet appearances. This vacuum in the market prompted Kardashian to create Skims with business couple, Jens and Emma Grede in 2019 with underwear, shapewear and lounge clothing for women in multiple hues to match every skin tone around the world. And, Skims for women has been a fitting, body hugging success since, as will be Skims for men, in all likelihood.
©Neymar Jr and Nick Bosa for Skims Men
JAIPUR: Jaipur, a UNESCO world heritage site since July 2019, really seems to be in step with fashion this holiday season. The city is hosting not one, but two fashion shows on the first weekend of November and on the same date, in its historical and walled confines. There’s the Rewild fashion fundraiser show by the House of Anita Dongre, founded in 1995 by Anita Dongre and her siblings, Meena Sehra and Mukesh Sawlani, taking place on Saturday, November 4th at the City Palace. It is jointly hosted by designer Anita Dongre and Princess Diya Kumari of Jaipur and her daughter, Gauravi Kumari, with a brunch the following day. In line with Dongre’s belief that “the opportunity to lead a dignified life should be accessible to all, from people to animals,” the Anita Dongre Foundation has collaborated with the Nature Conservation Foundation in Mysore to raise funds to preserve and protect the Earth’s wildlife, their focus being elephant welfare and conservation in India. And, a mere six kilometres away, a capsule fashion show at the Rambagh Palace will see designer Rajesh Pratap Singh, exhibiting his collection on its grounds the same evening, along with other designers. Interestingly, Dongre’s show is being held at the City Palace, and the Rambagh Palace show on its grounds, both palaces belonging to the divided royals of Jaipur. It’s Pernod Ricard for the win in Jaipur this season, celebrating fashion with their scotch whiskies – Glenlivet at Dongre’s fundraiser and the befitting Royal Salute at the Rambagh show. Royal Salute has been a part of royal history for over 70 years, given it was created on June 2nd, 1953 to honour the coronation of the late Queen Elizabeth II of England, and named after the ceremonial 21-gun salute fired from the Tower of London to mark royal occasions. Royal Salute has been a part of Pernod Ricard since 2001.
Anita Dongre (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)
MUMBAI / BALI: He’s Indian, he’s Goan, and he’s been a Bombay guy for a while now, but come November, he’s all set to become a Balinese guy. Chef Dane Fernandes, Executive Chef of the JW Sahar Mumbai is moving to the Westin Nusa Dua Bali, Indonesia in November, both hotels under Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel chain. Marriott International generated approximately $20.77 billion in revenue in 2022 worldwide. Fernandes is all about food, especially hyper regional fare, that he learnt to cook from his grandmother in Goa. Anyone who works with him learns the art of innovation and patience, no easy feat in a hot and busy kitchen. Once the youngest Executive Chef for Marriott Asia Pacific at 29, he abhors boredom as much as he adores a late night workout. Fernandes plays ball, runs marathons and works out as much as he works in his kitchens creating delicious foods, leading a team of over 200 people.
Chef Dane Fernandes, photographed by Rubina A Khan
“I am leaving for the Westin Nusa Dua on November 9th, and I am hopeful and excited. I’ve always loved embracing cultures and I feel that moving to Bali will be a spiritual awakening of sorts for me, where I will be able to connect with my inner self. I am really looking forward to cooking with the fresh produce in Bali and the quality and range of ingredients that are available in the country. I hope to create new dishes and flavours, mixing Indian and Balinese culinary styles. But what I am looking forward to most is eating authentic Indonesian food,” says Fernandes, who might just take up running through paddy fields by dusk as his daily workout fix over enclosed gyms in Bali.
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THE FATTY BAO, a subsidiary of the legendary Olive Bar & Kitchen, is Mumbai’s latest obsession and rightly so, given its vibrant and innovative Asian fare is everything, and more! Behind the Fatty Bao’s red entrance door in a Bandra bylane, lies a tantalizing food haven created by Chef Manu Chandra, with a painted, surreal Eastern dreamscape on its walls, adding to the exemplary Asian culinary experience. The Patty Bao with Lamb Mince is just-to-die for, or rather, worth living for, as are the Lamb Shanks braised in a Massaman Curry, Prawn Tempura Sushi Roll, Brie Tempura with Plum Sauce, Gochujang Lamb Chops, Crab Meat and Prawn Dimsums, and the interesting Duck Hoisin Bao, paired exquisitely with terrific cocktails like the Beach Blonde, Bora Bora and Made in China, rounded off with delectable desserts like the Fatty Hill, Japanese Cheese Cake and the Green Tea Chiffon Cake with Yuzu Cream. The menu is expansive, with every kind of Asian dish imaginable cooked to perfection, making every plate on the menu someone’s favourite! The Fatty Bao is consummate for any time of day or night, whether you’re looking for some sugar or spice!
YUUKA, located on the 37th floor of the St Regis Mumbai, is where stellar Japanese food is at, under the culinary direction of the award winning Chef Ting Yen from Boston, Massachusetts, (of the Oishii restaurants) with the most spectacular views of Mumbai city. The interiors draw inspiration from Japanese tatami mat seating with raw silk chairs and wooden block tables. Mirrors and brocade set off a deconstructed origami pattern, lending the space its decadent, sexy vibe. Avocado Tartare, Moullard Duck Breast, Naan Taquitos, Hot Sizzling Sake and Hamachi or Yellowtail Salmon on Fire and King Crab Leg Tempura are some of the special dishes crafted at Yuuka, that showcase contemporary Japanese cuisine at its best, paired with Yamazaki single malt cocktails and more. The elaborate sushi menu leaves no space, almost, for the delicious Green Tea Layer Cake (40 layers!) with aged rum-soaked raisins and matcha dust — such is the indulgent food experience here.
SERAFINA, situated in the Kala Ghoda district of the city, is New York’s most famous Italian casual diner’s first Mumbai outpost. With its signature yellow signage and the faint whiff of lava-stoned pizzas beckoning you in, the Tartufo Nero (Truffle Pizza) is an obvious favorite. Even a non-pizza eating person (they do exist!) will turn into a Truffle Pizza convert after a slice of this cheesy creation! The Penne Alla Vodka, Truffle Ravioli, Farfalle Limoncello, Beetroot Carpaccio and the D-Salad — named after spiritual guru Deepak Chopra- – paired with endless flutes of Prosecco and Bellinis and the most delicious Tiramisu ever complete your Italian experience here. And if you want to make your own pizzas and pastas, well then, you can do that, too!
The PALLADIUM SOCIAL is located inside the Palladium Mall, with a state of the art Craft Beer Tasting Room — the first of its kind in India — with 12 craft brews on tap sourced from India and Europe’s finest breweries. The solid rough-cut wood log tables and low-light mood make for a perfect beers-and-burgers bash, for work or play, at this cafe. With 15 different types of burgers paired with craft beers in over 215 different ways, and house favourites like Keema Pao, Awesamosas, Prawn Sesame Toast, Naga Chilli Cheese Toast, Akoori, the humourously named Ramesh and Suresh deep fried 5-star chocolate dessert, the Gadbad Shetty icecream delight, SMS burger (Spinach, Mushroom and Swiss Cheese) –Social is the place you have to go to, at any of their four outlets in the city – Colaba, Todi Mills, Palladium and Khar – to try out the best of Mumbai’s diverse food fare on Indian prison plates.
THE IRISH HOUSE pub feels like a little bit of Ireland in the island city, with its dominant green lights and rustic wooden decor, barring the beloved Irish accent. of course, given the pub’s Indian origins, where music, beer, kidney pies, fish and chips, nachos and an exciting array of pub eats come together for a fabulous time out in the city. It is a great place to just hang and laugh out loud with friends, eat your favourite foods like Drunken Fettuccine Prawns and watch ball games on the big screen, any time of the day or night. With six outposts in Mumbai – Kala Ghoda, Palladium Mall, Bandra, Andheri, Kurla and Malad, The Irish House is the best way to get a feel of the city and make new friends over pints of beers (over 40 varieties), wines and cocktails.
Rubina A Khan 