Paloma about town: Fashion, salsa, and a champagne tower

if there’s something we can’t resist, it’s just the right amount of suspense and that’s how the week began — with a somewhat cryptic invite to a girly brunch by Pavitra Sagar and Nikita Kapoor, founders of the now iconic Funky Fish pop-up. The instructions were to bring our best gossip, and the ladies answered the call to arms with gusto, putting their most fashionable foot forward. Sage and Lavender wore a new look with pops of colour, carnival accents and Jackson Pollock-inspired food styling. Needless to say, there was a line for photos. Many of the same faces were spotted over the weekend for Shweta Mahtani’s milestone birthday at Black Orchid, with a ‘colourful carnival’ dress code. Interpretations of the theme saw quite the spectrum with some rule breakers even turning up in all-white. We toasted the birthday girl along with loads of Instagra-mming around the champagne tower.

Later in the week, we were in for a dose of glamour and some serious fan-girling at the launch of The Bridal Story by Jito, a luxury pop-up at Taj Coromandel. Driving the crowds into a frenzy were the stars of Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives  — Maheep, Seema, Neelam and Bhavana, all smiles despite the madness around them. It really was a sight to behold. The next stop was at The Armoire pop-up where it was just as crowded, with the ladies in serious shopping mode. Nandini Varshnei worked her usual magic and the exhibition stayed packed all day long. I lost steam somewhere around this point but some people managed to make it to three pop-ups in the very same day, ending at the Artisans exhibition for a range of handcrafted pieces from across India.

And for those who wanted to take a break from the shopping, the Latin Festival Madras at Surf Turf was just what the doctor ordered. Think performances by international dancers, some of Asia’s coolest DJs and loads of dancing by the beach. Perfect. Meanwhile back in the city, coffee lovers had gathered for the launch of Theka Coffee on Khadar Nawaz Khan Road. The wafting aromas of cold brews combined with the Harry Potter-esque puffs of smoke were the backdrop to the founders’ promise (or should I say challenge) of a ‘coffee takeover’ in Chennai.