Karlito Limited Edition Capsule Collection

Karlito Capsule Collection

With his fun, coloured fur crest, Karlito lands now for the first time on FENDI ready-to-wear and accessories, after making his debut on Fall/Winter 2014-2015 fashion show catwalk of the Roman Maison. Now he’s back with an exclusive limited edition, eye-catching capsule collection which is both ironic and sophisticated, fusing fur with denim and sportswear in a playful yet luxurious way.

Karlito Capsule Collection

The range of products features black and white sweatshirts, cool jeans, a shawl, sneakers, a fur hat, a shopping bag, a studded backpack, a fun I-phone covers, and lastly, Karlito and mini Karlito. Each piece features an iconic flourish of fur across both the body and crest in vibrant colours ranging from fuchsia to turquoise.

Karlito Capsule Collection

Karlito is the popular Karl Lagerfeld fur FENDI charm, creating an upbeat homage from FENDI to its Ready-to-Wear and Fur Creative Director. The ultimate representation of FENDI’s creativity, Karlito and mini Karlito charms are dressed in Karl Lagerfeld’s iconic outfit with black mink sunglasses, a black tie in leather and white shirt, with silver fox body. The crest is a fun touch in kiddasia fur, with stunning variations of fuchsia, orange, turquoise and green, for every taste.

Creatively, Sensually and Visually Satisfying

Rajesh Pratap Singh for Amazon India Fashion Week, Autumn/Winter 2015

Veteran fashion designer and my favourite, Rajesh Pratap Singh commenced the Amazon India Fashion Week, Autumn/Winter 2015 on a rather unpredictable yet jaw-dropping note. The ramp saw a whole bunch of creative mélange—hospital-like setup, wherein beds with crisp white sheets were lined up neatly, along with saline stands on each side. As the lights dimmed, the saline bottles sparkled with small bulbs and Indi-rock music with hints of grunge genre played aloud as models walked flaunting theatrical gestures in black and white outfits.

Rajesh Pratap Singh for Amazon India Fashion Week, Autumn/Winter 2015

Structured and clinical, Rajesh Pratap Singh’s Autumn/Winter 2015 collection celebrates life’s true stage and its characters.   In this space, life is black and white with some indigo thrown in. Life is graphic here and it has its own beauty.

Rajesh Pratap Singh for Amazon India Fashion Week, Autumn/Winter 2015

Dissected and reconstructed surfaces using the brand’s signature hand-seam detailing have been extensively used in the collection. Hand-sewn garments in leather and wool using suture seam and its derivatives are utilised for the first time in garmenting.

Rajesh Pratap Singh for Amazon India Fashion Week, Autumn/Winter 2015

Stark surface textures and colour blocking are coordinated with footwear, where architecture is not your Achilles heel. Fabric experimentation takes the form of structured wool weaves in natural indigo and not so natural black. The romance with Ikkat still continues. This collection can be perceived as a bitter sweet pill—as we all know, the best medicine is laughter.

It’s All About Micro Bags!

 Cara Delevingne showcasing a FENDI micro bag

For Spring/Summer 2015 FENDI launches the micro bags, a modern and quirky interpretation of two iconic bags of the Maison, the Peekaboo and the Baguette, in a unique micro version. FENDI micro bags are perfect for the modern urban dweller – for the woman who just carries minimal essentials.

Fendi micro bag

Fun and compact, these bags are versatile at the same time. They can be worn either as a clutch with an evening gown or cross body during the day, as all of them feature a long strap.

FENDI micro bag

FENDI embraces irony and plays with aesthetics, proportion and colour, never sacrificing quality and savoir faire. Micro bags provide a bold fashion statement featuring high craftsmanship ability, mirroring techniques employed in the creation of regular-sized bags in the atelier.

Cara Delevingne, Karl Lagerfeld showcasing FENDI micro bag

These pieces are perfect for the edgy woman with an eye for detail, quality and creativity. The micro bags are available not just in nappa leather but also in special variations, including ‘Bag Bug’ eyes and precious materials like fur and croco. Wear them alone or pair them with their regular size icons.

Dorothy Perkins presents Spring/Summer 2015

Dorothy Perkins

UK’s most famous high street brand Dorothy Perkins announces the launch of its Spring/Summer 2015 collection, available exclusively on India’s leading fashion destination, Jabong.com. The spring summer collection of Dorothy Perkins embraces the key trends for the coming season with a return to the seventies and Sports Luxe.

Dorothy Perkins

The collection will be available on Jabong.com for its discerning customers from March. Jabong.com believes in bringing the latest and best trends forward for the customers. The latest summer collection from Dorothy Perkins is inspired by the 1970’s.

Dorothy Perkins

The dresses are longer, the skirts are A-lined and the trousers are cropped. Materials are a mixture of textures with knits and crochet, leather and suede – the chocolate brown suede shorts and jacket are key drifts. These rich textures are combined with denim – one of the star fabrics for spring summer.

Dorothy Perkins

Colours are a combination of muted pastel shades with pops of coral and indigo. Soft ruffle detailing and feminine prints, which take inspiration from the orient, create a seventies romantic bohemian look. Oversized peasant blouses are teamed with button front denim skirts and bell bottom jeans, matched with high platforms and felt hats creating a classic seventies silhouette.

Dorothy Perkins

For SS15 culottes are in pink leather and trousers are loose and wide – creating a new elegant shape. A fresh and modern feel updates this season’s Sports Luxe trend. Clean, simple lines create the look for the utility nineties inspired collection. Minimal boxy, cropped jackets in a variety of fabrics and textures – from neoprene to sheer and mesh – mixed with the cigarette trouser creates a sleek look.

Dorothy Perkins

Asymmetric tops and tunics add to the new season silhouette. Colour for this collection is exciting with poster paint shades of blue and green. Colour blocking leads the way – whilst the all-over whites we’ve seen in past seasons have returned. Florals are big and bold and are on full looks – on dresses and across short suits.

Hidesign Presents Eternal Love

Hidesign Ayana Priced at Rs 6,495

Some things age well…like love and leather. This Valentine’s Day, make her feel special by gifting a beautiful handcrafted Hidesign bag from their stunning red leather collection.

Hidesign Moroso Priced at Rs 5,595

The collection showcases shoulder bags and totes with interesting leather and design details.

Hidesign Clio Priced at Rs 6,995

Gift the gorgeous Clio bag with embossed snake leather and double buckle design or the charming Manilla bag, which lets her organize her essentials.

Hidesign Delucchi Priced at Rs 4,895

Make her feel glamourous by gifting the De Lucchi bag with attractive handle detail and stylish lock.

Hidesign Manilla Priced at Rs 6,395

Buy the special range of red bags from our exclusive Hidesign stores across India or shop online at http://www.hidesign.com. The collection is priced at Rs. 4895 onwards

The Townhouse Café: Food Review

Town House Cafe

Décor: Restaurateur Priyank Sukhija with Akshay Anand bring forth the latest uber-chic restaurant in town—The Townhouse Café. Standing at the heart of Connaught Place with much poise, this restaurant flaunts luxurious décor. Vintage inspiration runs through the place and makes the entire atmosphere very classy. The bar is one of the largest in New Delhi and the fun part is that—you can hop on to the bar and don the hat of a mixologist; yes, you are allowed to make your own cocktails.

Town House Cafe

Reflecting aesthetics of Gothic architecture, this restaurant looks old school but very plush. Décor elements like moldings, carvings, cast iron and rich velvet have been inculcated to cast a royal appeal. The eatery is spread across an expansive space; one whole stretch has black leather couches kept neatly; while, another section has been turned into small compartments with oxblood red velvet walls and dim lamps hanging above lazily, painting the dining table copper-ish. The furniture used are rusted or withered, which strikingly contrasts some very polished stuff to radiate an imperfect sense of style; perhaps things which are too perfect, might not be beautiful anymore. I certainly find beauty in perfect imperfections.

Town House Cafe

The lounging area is so comforting; Chesterfield’s leather and some animal prints are thrown in to create a contemporary style statement; soft textured wood-work has contoured the whole length of the flooring to give it a royal feel. The ceiling is tall and arched with mirrors placed in strategic locations to magnify certain décor elements.

Town House Cafe

Food: This restaurant brings to you a joyful ride of culinary atlas! Name a place, and they will serve you the specials. The lounge and café opens for you a whole new world of some scrumptious platter. The menu offers you to choose from best of authentic oriental delicacies, continental selection, nutritive salads, soups, spicy Indian, Italian pizzas, pastas and more. The bar flaunts some of the world’s finest spirits. The wine boasts of some thoughtfully put together names, along with an excellent range of whiskey selection.

Town House Cafe

I started with the mouth-watering cheese croquettes, it was crispy and well-fried, and it broke into molten lava of cheese; pure deliciousness! Also, this was served with cocktail sauce. I also ordered a portion of ajwaini fish tikka—it was served with mint sauce and onion rings. However, my favorite remains the mutton galouti kebab; mouth-melting baby kebabs served on mini Malabar parantha. For main course, I tried their grilled fish steak with lemon caper olive; it was served with house mash and lemon on caper sauce—an absolute gastronomical delight! I must say hats off to chef for this one.

Town House Cafe

I would recommend this place to people who love dining with panache. This place has a rustic yet opulent sense of eccentricity and is sure to create buzz amongst food lovers. You can find them at N Block, Outer Circle, Connaught Place, New Delhi.

RISA: Where Leather Becomes Art

Risa

Leather handbag label RISA, is more of a passionate affair than business acumen for Delhi-based sisters Riddhima and Saloni Sayal. “We grew up around bags, lots of them. We would always tweak the bags in production from the family run export house and started to experiment with design from scratch as the years went by. The love affair with leather became too serious and that’s how our label Risa was born.”

Risa

The brand explores indigenous craftsmanship with intricate detailing in weaving and embossing on leather and fabricating exclusive luxury designs. Infusing specialized modern production techniques with traditional hand-tooling, punching and embroidery defines the brand philosophy. The leather used for the product is processed in an in-house facility. The high-end patent leather is imported however… The brand offers wide range of bags for both men and women like shoppers, totes, wallets, evening clutches and handbags manufactured with buff wash, cow and sheep leather.

Risa

While the parent company (Aries Inc.), handles large scale production for stores like Anthropology, Zara, Asos, Dorthy, Perkins, Armani, Pepe, etc. to name a few, Risa’s vision is to tap into domestic retail and offering international quality standards along with very competitive brands.

Vault Café—Redefining British Raj Era

Vault Café

Ambiance: Nestled in the heart of Connaught Place, New Delhi, this brand new eatery joint resonate a certain industrial ambiance that will remind one of a store house of British East India Company. Dark emerald, teal, brick brown and red dominate the colour palette of this place. Leather and velvety seating arrangements placed spaciously across 6000 square feet area makes this place a party paradise.

Vault Café

Like the name suggests, the entrance of the restaurant is like a huge vault. The classy décor elements only add to the vintage vibe of this thematic space. The notion of dine and party inside the vault was customary in the past of the Queen’s nation, which acts as the core mantra of this restaurant. The rustic undertones of the interiors have transformed this café cum lounge bar into a colonial space with influences from the British Raj era. Interestingly, classic vintage note has been subtly blended with concoctions of grunge finishes; for instance, exposed iron bracing, non-processed cement walls, occasional patches of distressed walls, raw wooden effigies and more.

Vault Café

The lounge bar also has an attached terrace where you can sit and enjoy some unusually splendid flavored hookkas. This area overlooks Connaught Place and Palika Bazaar; and it is quite a visual delight. Plus what makes a lunch better on a winter afternoon in Delhi! Overall, this place made me feel adventurous at some subconscious level; maybe because looking at the vaults and chambers (small cubicles of seating areas recreated inside mini vaults) made me feel like, I am on some sort of a treasure hunt.

Penne bacon and mushroom

Food: The menu housed dishes from many different cultures. It was a very impressive spread. I started with some Pokchoi and Water chestnut dim sums. These delicate little dumplings of joy were mouthwatering. The flavour was new to my palate and the concept even newer. The coating was crystal-like gentle and the stuffing was moist and velvety. After this, I ordered for a serving of extra spicy chicken wings; and boy-o-boy, was it smoking hot or what?! The chicken wings were six in pieces and I wished they made it eight because it was so delightfully spicy with subtle hints of sweetness. I love hot, spicy sauces and this particular ‘extra spicy’ sauce made the meal apt. And oh, it went well with my second serving of sweet, crimson sangria. Post this, I opted for prawns red chili; it was spicy as expected and the prawns were soft and well-cooked. Lastly, my super appetizing ‘starter’s’ expedition concluded with a serving of traditional fish fingers.

Mint and lemon chicken

Moving on to the main course, I ordered for a nice serving of grilled chicken breast with mushroom and peppercorn sauce. The chicken breast straight out of a charcoal grill was crisp on the topmost layer and juicy in the center. This was accompanied by a small portion of grilled seasonal veggies and cheddar mashed potatoes. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. The lunch ended on happy, wintry notes with a large slice of tiramisu cake. Did someone say #awsomesauce? Well, I did!

FIsh and chips

Recommendations: The crew here is extremely polite and well-versed with the menu. Ask them for specials or maybe let them know your ‘taste’ and they sure will help you zero down upon the best delicacies the restaurant has to offer, suited best for your palate. Also, if you are a fan of seesha, ask your steward to guide you with the flavours available. Personally, I would recommend a rich and mild blend of paan masala and green apple. This place has something for everyone—be it brunch with the ladies or a bachelorette party, a boys night out or lunch with family, you will have a great time; I can vouch for it.

Find them at: F 60, Connaught Place, New Delhi

Call them at: 011-33105674

 

 

Hidesign presents the Icon Exhibition

A rebel is born – Hidesign

Hidesign, India’s leading luxury leather brand celebrates 35 years of heritage and craftsmanship. To commemorate this occasion, Hidesign launches the ‘Icon Exhibition’ in partnership with Select City Walk in Delhi.

Beauty is natural – Hidesign

Hidesign attempts to create a window to the brand’s formative years through the ‘Icon Exhibition’ showcasing images of the company’s journey so far and key styles from its archives. With some of the best fashion and luxury brands being housed at Select City Walk, the exhibition will cater to its niche audience in the region. It is first of a kind exhibition in any mall.

Hidesign

Hidesign which was started as a two-man workshop in 1978 has turned into a company of 3000 spread all over the world today. The history of Hidesign has been defined by the rebellion against uniformity and synthetic flatness of the mass market. Hidesign has always stood out for the sensuous naturalness of its high quality leather and the smooth soft glow of its solid brass fitting in the leather good.

Sasha original 1983 – Hidesign

As a part of the celebrations, Hidesign launches its Icon Collection, which showcases some of the earliest bags. Dilip Kapur, President, Hidesign while talking about the bags says, “Hidesign’s earliest bags were a small range of our innovative bags that were a pure expression of our values and what we loved best- adventure, travel, clean design, wonderful materials that felt good, and a non-conformity that was stamped throughout the collection. As we have grown, with large collections and teams of marketing and design professionals, we still look back at our icon bags with great love as being the purest Hidesign bags. The Icon Collection re-launches the earliest bags, maintaining the same purity reflected in the original bags: vegetable-tanned leathers, solid brass, cotton and leather lining and designs that have stood the test of time for the last 35 years.”

The Boxy Big and Small – Hidesign

The collection boasts of eleven classic bags such as doctor bags, briefcases, satchels and duffel. The adventure and romance of travel is a great inspiration for Hidesign, and the same spirit is captured in the icon bags. The Hidesign lifestyle is full of travel, both for business and leisure. The passion for travel is still visible in the rugged leathers and solid brass buckles with which the brand originally started.

Baroque – creating bags of your dreams

Baroque – Bespoke Process

Baroque is all about simplicity, elegance in design, effectiveness in use and adding fun to functionality. Their products stress on utility and the growing need for fashion to translate through the day.

Baroque – Woven Duffle

Baroque brings to you customization at a whole new, resourceful level. They work with you and help you create the bag (or book or case) you’ve always dreamt of having, with keen attention to personal details, wants and needs.

Baroque – Bespoke Process

They design, customise and personalise the product to be just as you want it. You choose everything—from the leather to the pockets, and to the words embossed. However, if you don’t require such an order, they are always happy to tweak an existing design to make it uniquely ‘you’ by accommodating personal taste or necessity, including, altering the colour or embossing your initials.

Baroque-Bespoke Suitcase

They have four different lines: Professional, Travel & Weekend, Casual and Small Accessories, along with a seasonal collection. In these different collections you can find, briefcases, weekend bags, gym bags, laptop bags, shoulder bags, sling bags, iPad covers/sleeves, travel kits, tie cases, garment bags, passport holders, visiting cards & credit card holders to suit all tastes and style. Every Baroque piece goes through a rigorous design process with an eye towards the smallest of details.