Tag: Dior Mumbai

RUBINA’S RADAR | OCTOBER HIGHS

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OCTOBER 6, 2023

In India, October heralds the celebratory season of shimmer and shine, with odes to the divine. October is Bachchan month for me, as the superstar turns 81 on October 11th this year. The Indian SS24 fashion week starts on October 11th to October 15th 2023 in Delhi’s Pragati Maidan even as Paris Fashion Week closed the international season of the Big Four on October 3rd, 2023.

LONDON: Artist Ambika Hinduja-Macker and businesswoman Sangita Jindal, two Indian women will take centre stage at the Victoria and Albert museum in London with the unveiling of Harmony Of Nature – A Concerto Of Art, come October 18th. Hinduja-Macker has envisioned and created a piano in glistening shades of champagne and gold, made of bronze, privately commissioned by Jindal. This is her first independent work of art to be exhibited and that too at the V&A. It is to be seen and heard, live! This evening sounds like it will be music to one’s ears and an artistic sight to behold. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office will be gracing the cocktail evening, alongside London’s minted and intelligentsia.

Ambika Hinduja-Macker photographed by Rubina A Khan

PARIS / MUMBAI: Christian Louboutin unveiled his Spring Summer 2024 collection at the Grand Amphitheatre of La Sorbonne in Paris during Paris Fashion Week SS24 on September 28th, with The Loubi Show. The show was an amalgamation of human artistry and technological wizardry, with Belgian–Moroccan artist Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui choreographing the live performances. Cherkaoui is known for his collaborations with some of the best theatres in the world, including the Paris Opera Ballet, and global artists like Lady Gaga and Beyoncé. The world’s first bionic pop star, Viktoria Modesta, wearing custom Louboutins, opened the show alongside sixteen talented performers that moved through a series of contemporary dances on a musical interpretation of an Arabic love poem, celebrating the designer’s Egyptian heritage. The Loubi Show was red haute with a lot of heart and fiery soles! Hot off the heels of The Loubi Show, Louboutin will be showcasing a special India Wedding Edit on October 20th, 2023 with 18 pieces at the flagship store in Fort in Mumbai with a collection that speaks to bold gold dominance.

Louboutin’s Astrilarge boots (L) and Christian Louboutin (R) photographed by Rubina A Khan

MUMBAI: Nita Ambani, Director of Reliance Industries Limited, is hosting a fashion show on Tuesday, October 31st, showcasing the works of multiple Indian designers at the launch of the new Jio World Plaza luxury mall. Situated within RIL’s extensive $1 billion business and cultural core, the Jio World Centre in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai, Jio World Plaza will house luxury brands like Dior, Hermes, Cartier, Gucci, Balenciaga, Tiffany, Bottega Veneta, Versace, Burberry and Rimowa. The fashion show is slated to exhibit the designs of India’s finest designers that Reliance Brands Limited has a stake in, to over 2000 guests in attendance at the gala. Given it is also Halloween on the day, there might be some sightings of Halloween costumery on the red carpet. The first fashion show ever held at the Jio World Centre was Manish Malhotra’s bridal showing on July 29th, 2022 with two of Bollywood’s most popular actors, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, walking the show with the best struts and poise.

Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Manish Malhotra photographed by Rubina A Khan

And, there’s more to come!

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©Rubina A Khan 2023

Chivas Glassware Alchemy 2023 In Mumbai

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Mumbai is where the fame and glamour games are at, but since March 2023, an almost impossible party métier seems to have been set in basalt by the city, upon itself. The bar was raised irrevocably by the magnitude and magnificence of French fashion house, Christian Dior’s pre fall 2023 runway show held at the Gateway of India on March 30, so much so that no one remembers or wants to remember ABCD – A Before Christian Dior era! Mumbai shows no signs of tailing off the money shots any time soon, with Chivas Glassware Alchemy 2023 shaking up the city’s May calendar with its beguiling arrival.

MUMBAI, INDIA – MAY 06: A general view of the music stage at the Chivas Glassware Alchemy 2023 Event on May 06, 2023 in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Rubina A. Khan/Getty Images)

The fourth edition of Chivas Glassware Alchemy 2023, called the Kaleidoscope of Time, was held on Saturday, May 6th in Mumbai at Snowball Studios in Worli. Time as a construct cannot be contained, but it can certainly be felt, such was the ubiquitous theme of the haute summer night. Oscillating between the then and now, the alluring blue-hued night reiterated the universal infinitude that today’s new is tomorrow’s vintage through fashion, art, music and food in a manner most luxurious.

Five virtuosos played host in previous years at Chivas Alchemy, expressing themselves through the five senses of Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste, and Touch, but this edition had eighteen this time around, dix huit being the magic number of the award-winning Chivas 18 whisky blend.

The night was separated by rooms, each echoing the spirit of the artistry exhibited in it. Eleven design minds, ranging from established Indian designers to emerging ones, showcased their fashion genres through live installations in the main room, ably complemented by the art on the walls, a very busy bar and of course beautiful people like Malaika Arora, Arjun Kapoor, Rahul Khanna, Pulkith Modi, Kunal Kapoor, Narendra Kumar, Rajesh Pratap Singh and so many more at the party. There were almost a thousand people in attendance! The second area had an art installation with a bar right by it and a mezzanine bar above. The third room was where the party was really at with an edible centrepiece and culinary experiences par excellence by Ekaa Mumbai, Koko and Eat Drink Design. Chef Niyati Rao of Ekaa Mumbai is a culinary genius! The live musical act by Delhi businessman Ajay Bijli, and his band, Random Order, had everyone singing and dancing to his dulcet sounds – he’s got some pipes – and DJ Masha from Belarus turned up contemporary beats on her turntable, with yet another open bar led by mixologist, Giovanni Depergola from Dubai. Four open bars raising the party bar in Mumbai!

The interpretation of the night was yours, and yours alone, whether you loved the vintage, heritage vibe or the modern, hedonistic one. Everything in Mumbai is now evaluated in an AD (After Dior) parameter and that’s a tall order in itself, and I think that Chivas Glassware Alchemy 2023 was a wicked success making it one of the top three events in the city so far – it was mounted and orchestrated on a lush scale, with an attendance as bold and seductive as its whisky blends!

Disclaimer: Any part of the content on the rubinaakhan.com website cannot be reproduced without prior permission and crediting the website and the author.

©Rubina A Khan 2023

Christian Dior’s Pre Fall 2023 Fashion Show At The Gateway Of India In Mumbai

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The Dior Pre-Fall 2023 show held at the historic Gateway of India in Mumbai, on March 30th, 2023, was an ode to the exquisite hand artistries and the rich textiles and colours of India by Dior’s Creative Director, Maria Grazia Chiuri. Dior’s affinity with India and its craftsmen dates back to its founder Monsieur Dior, to Marc Bohan to Chiuri now. Overlooking the Arabian Sea, dotted with ferry boats, the 26 metre high and 15 metre wide basalt Gateway of India constructed in the Indo-Islamic architectural style, turned its 99-year-old vintage self into the Diorway to fashion in a manner most extraordinaire on Thursday night. The Gateway of India was built to commemorate the arrival of the Emperor India, George V and Mary of Teck, Empress consort, at Apollo Bunder, Bombay on December 2nd, 1911, the first visit of a British monarch to India. The protected monument has been the very essence of the island city, ever since it was inaugurated almost a century ago on December 4th, 1924. Dior’s pre-fall 2023 showing had 99 styles on 23 models from India, 33 Indian models with international backgrounds and 43 international models. Interestingly, 99 was the glorious number of the night.

The show’s scale, grandeur and execution in India were unparalleled, and in step with Dior’s new landmark energy, taking over the facade of Harrods in London in November 2022 to the men’s pre-fall show at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt in December 2022. With the Gateway show, Dior set a new criterion for luxury brands that have a presence in India, and those that are interested in coming to India.

The Dior show in Mumbai had everyone talking around the world, even before the house announced the same on March 14th. And once it was confirmed, the word Dior was heard every day and everywhere, such was the excitement in the city, and country. It was akin to Bombay being dressed up as a bride for its French groom to arrive on March 30th for the wedding of the year! The Dior teams were in residence in the city a week prior, at the Taj Palace Mumbai, which is a mere 280 metres from the venue. Imagine being in walking distance of a fashion show of this magnitude, and the afterparty too – that’s the palace of Mumbai – the Taj Palace for you. The show had Rekha, Christian Louboutin, Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma, Cara Delevingne, Karlie Kloss, Pierre Casigrahi, Beatrice Borromeo, Simone Ashley, Jeff Koons, Apo Nattawin Wattanagitiphat, Mile Phakphum Romsaithong, and accomplished people from around the world, in attendance. The show also marked the presence of Delphine Arnault, who made her first appearance since being appointed Dior’s Chairwoman and CEO in February, 2023.

Founded by Christian Dior in December 1946, the eponymous French luxury fashion house headquartered at 30, Avenue Montaigne in Paris, France, was acquired by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in April 2017 in a $13.1 billion deal by Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods company today.

Here are some photos of the Dior Pre Fall 2023 runway, arrivals and the venue, shot by me:

Disclaimer: Any part of the content on the rubinaakhan.com website cannot be reproduced without prior permission and crediting the website and the author.

©Rubina A Khan 2023