Forgive me if I don’t go in quite the right order, but I’m going to start with the highlight of my week, a fun model meetup at Buva House. The occasion? A photo shoot to commemorate fashion choreographer Sunil Menon’s 25 years in the industry. The series of photographs shot by Kapil Ganesh and styled by Rachel Singh will see models from over the years and across all ages, most of whom Sunil has lovingly mentored. I can still remember my first ‘catwalk’ class with him like it was yesterday. As for the actual shoot itself, it went from fun to crazy, to moments of absolute mayhem, with everyone trying to shower the man of the moment with love (although smother might be a more appropriate word). If you ask me, some of my favourite shots are the ‘out takes’, capturing the mood perfectly.
I thought 2017 was the year of the pop-ups and trunk shows, but the trend very much continues into this year, with popular brands returning for their second and third rounds. Label Bazaar by Anam Mirza (who let me remind you is Sania Mirza’s sister) saw the usual suspects arrive bright and early at Hyatt Regency Chennai. I have it on good authority that some were hoping to catch a glimpse of the tennis star. Sania or no, they left with lots of great buys for their summer wardrobe. Later in the day, many of the same faces were seen at the Queen’s Birthday celebrations at Cottingley. It certainly wasn’t a ‘tea and crumpets’ vibe with special cocktails, a live band, a photo booth with themed props and everyone dressed to the nines. The surprise came in the form of a Bollywood- style dance performance by the team of the British Deputy High Commission.
There was also lots for the art and culture buffs this week, starting off with the Japan Cultural and Sports festival by the Consulate General of Japan. Everything from a mini-marathon to martial arts demos was on offer. The next stop was Madras Music Academy for Sairandhri — a musical, starring Sandip Soparrkar and Neha Banerjee. The dance interpretation of the Mahabharata drew a mixed crowd of dancers, theatre buffs and P3 regulars.
