Androgynous look catches on



KATHMANDU: Colours and style knew no limits on the second day of The Himalayan Times TGIF Nepal Fashion Week 2010 as most themes had one or two pieces that completely stood out and caught the attention of the audience. The Megha Malhar hall at the Soaltee Crowne Plaza was filled with celebrities and corporate honchos who looked at the designs that models displayed on the ramp with keen interest on September 14.

Altogether 10 sequences by talented young designers were showcased on the runway. Every theme was personified in the look, attitude and clothes on the ramp by the models. The entire ambience transformed into a sizzling and mind boggling fashion gala. The audience were seen busy photographing their favourite attires on the catwalk.



The most dominant theme of the evening was J’adore meaning ‘I adore you’ and which was indeed adored by all. Here the designers successfully brought the androgynous style in all their designs without losing the feminine touch. A lot of cotton, cotton mix and velvet had been used with great detailing and refined finish. The colourful Mayfair style spectacles added spunk to the whole look.

Taking back to the era of 1960’s, the Hippie Dream was another collection that was completely out of the box. Creating a happy-go-lucky mood, the unique, comfortable and of course funky designs of trousers made big strides. Accessories made of felt were very innovative and eye-catching colours and prints were the soul the collection.

The show actually started with a shining silver and bold black in Kajal and Diamond collection. The sequins dazzled in many designs be it long flowing gowns or short dresses.

Of course! Office! had corporate look bouncing down the ramp. Raw fabrics, crepe and silk with a complete nude make up by make-up artist Sakil Kunwar in coordination with the colours of the range balanced the whole office look. Varieties of Timex watches accentuated this collection.

Thunder bolt was all about subdued hues of blue, black and brown in satin. The dresses had interesting and innovative necklines which did highlight the entire ensemble. Out of all the dresses in Break Free, the white dress with the Audrey Hepburn print on it did make a mark on the audience. The theme also had used a lot of contrast colours.

Both Indian and nepali models took the ramp to glamorous heights with the choreography done by Ayushi Shah in collections like Vivacious, Cocktail, Sexy Bold and Sari.

The Himalayan Times TGIF Nepal Fashion Week 2010 is organised by IEC in association with Diva and Chivas Regal, supported by San Miguel, Invenio Wine and Timex with Kingfisher Airlines as the official carrier and Soaltee Crowne Plaza as the hospitality partner. The magazine partners are

FHM and Andpersand while the brand alliance partners are Mudra Max and Shrinne Entertainment. The creative partner is Echoad and sound design and after parties are done by PartyNepal.

Glitz and glam rule TGIF-NFW Day

KATHMANDU; The shutterbugs went wild and Soaltee Crowne Plaza’s Megha Malhar hall was filled with blinding flashes. Matching their steps to the booming music well known national and international models strutted down the runway wearing some of the best designs of the year by talented, imaginative and creative designers of Nepal. The most awaited and anticipated day had come — The Himalayan Times TGIF Nepal Fashion Week (NFW) ’10 started on September 13. Day-1 of the fashion extravaganza was attended by the who’s-who of Kathmandu.

The collection Shaadi Mahal kicked off the show with elegant bridal saris in colours like green, orange, and
unconventional black. Heavily embroidered glittering borders and interesting designs of blouses caught veryone’s attention.

And as the elegant drapes left the ramp, flowing and frilled chic gowns representing Vintage, the first collection from Neelima Fashion Studio took over the ramp. Accessorised with hats and gloves, the collection in mostly nude colours and lots of pleats, layering, and flower accentuates and empire waist emoted the 40’s romantic feel.Dominated by black and white the Casual — second collection from Neelima — celebrated 60’s style with polka dots and stripes. It had jumpers, rompers and short dresses. From 60’s the ramp went on to the disco 80s as Neelima’s Seqiun garments glittered on the ramp. This collection was followed by Saree-Kurta-Lehenaga by the same designer where anarkali-style kurta-salwar in vibrant colour combination and detailed hand work stood out.

After all the glam and glitter, it was time for some subtle and suave look for the guys with two collections by
Monalisa. Shiny and shimmery suits and semi-casual jackets in prints and bold colours made their way to the ramp.The Nepali touch came in the name of Dhaka Delights where garments in different lengths and innovative cuts with mix of different fabrics with Dhaka were seen in the designs.

Printed short dresses meant for cocktail parties didn’t present anything new.

Bohemian cuts and retro prints with cool colours like blue, light pink celebrated Last Summer. Teen style shared the limelight with shorts, mini skirts, shirt dresses and dresses with interesting backs in mostly combination of printed fabrics with satin.

Though titled Prints, the last collection of the day didn’t go overboard with prints but rather incorporated floral
and animal prints in interesting ways.

Asymmetrical cuts — be it on the neckline or the hem — and variety of trousers like Jodhpuri and harem pants were part of almost all the collections.

The celebrity quotient wasn’t missing as cricketer Paras Khadka, Miss Nepal 2010 Sadichha Shrestha and Miss India International 2010 Neha Hinge walked the ramp.

The Himalayan Times TGIF Nepal Fashion Week 2010 is organised by IEC in association with Chivas Regal and supported by San Miguel, Invenio Wines, Diva and Timex, with Kingfisher Airlines as the official carrier and Soaltee Crowne Plaza as the hospitality partner. The creative partner is Echoad, and FHM and Andpersand are the magazine partner, with Mudra Max as brand alliance partner. Sound design and after parties are done by PartyNepal.

TGIF Nepal Fashion Week stuns the senses in resplendent finery

KATHMANDU: The highly anticipated fashion event of the year off with a resounding bang as The Himalayan Times TGIF Nepal Fashion Week 2010 took off to a scintillating start at the Soaltee Crown Plaza on Monday at 7pm.

From casual chic to drop dead party wear and traditional panache to corporate crispness, the first day offered an abundant of variations that the nation’s biggest fashion spectacle has come to be synonymous with. Lovely lasses from Nepal and abroad and homegrown hunks hit the ramp in designs and fabrics that startled, delighted, intrigued and fascinated the fashion connoisseur.

A staggering variety of styles, fads, experiments, fabrics, combinations and deviations were in ample display as the who’s who of the capital’s glitterati turned up in droves to be a part of the no-holds-barred haute couture “do” that had the rest of the population green with sheer envy.

From new twists to age old lehengas to resplendent rejuvenation of classic favourites, the variety on display titillated the eye and stirred the consciousness of every style aficionado in the audience.

Star names lit up the ramp with incandescent names from the sporting field to the business elite as the likes of Paras Khadka to Miss India preened under the magnificent arc lights for an experience to savour and relish in every consciousness.

The event also marked the first public appearance of the newly crowned Miss Nepal Sadiccha Shrestha, who shimmered and radiated ethereal beauty in her shimmering ethnic wear.

The walk

Models are an integral part of the fashion industry. Without a model, a designer’s creation will not get the life it gets on the ramp.

Training and grooming is a big part of a model’s life. And even for TGIF-NFW, the training of the models for the week began on August 29.

Choreographer Ayushi Shah is busy as the D-day approaches more near.

Shah, who is working with her assistant Bikash Khatiwada, is a familiar face in the Nepal fashion industry. Shah started her career as a model in 2000 and has to her credit around 15 music videos and many ramp walks. She took up choreography in 2008 and has a number of solo works to her credit with IEC Saptahik Designer Contest 2009 and IEC Designer Contest 2010 being the prominent ones.

Of TGIF-NFW, she says, “Altogether there are five sequences and we have planned accordingly and arranged everything with the designers, models and music.”

She is training eight female and 10 male models.

The ramp is 60 feet which is “pretty long”.

The biggest challenge for Shah is “less Nepali models, while coordinating with the international models at the last hour will be a big challenge!”

Preference this year has been given to “good performance and good height”. Shah revealed, “We have laid more emphasis on the stance and posture of the models. So their grooming is more focused on the posture and expression in a more theatrical style.”

When style becomes you

There is no stopping to the fashion extravaganza called TGIF Nepal Fashion Week '10 that is going to start on September 13 at the Soaltee Crowne Plaza. On the very first day audience will get a taste of varied style and designs that will go from casual to trendy to traditional. There is something for women and girls with different style sensi bilities. From vintage en semble to light summer dresses to bridal wear to cocktail dresses, the mod els will walk the ramp draped is creative expres sions on fabrics.

The Himalayan Times TGIF Nepal Fashion Week 2010 is being organised by IEC in association with Chivas Regal and supported by San Miguel,Inve nio Wines, Diva and Timex. The creative partner is Echoad, the hospitality partner is Soal tee Crowne Plaza, while the official carrier is Kingfisher Airlines.

Magazine partner is FHM and Andpersand brand alliance part ner is Mudra Max.

Sound design and after parties are done by PartyNepal.

Biggest fashion fiesta is back

The time of the year when all you will hear people talk about is colour, fab rics, cuts and styles has arrived. It's the time to get up and notice the fashion scene of Nepal, the creativity flow and make everything fashionable. Get ready to celebrate fashion and style as the biggest fashion extravaganza of the year -The Himalayan Times TGIF Fashion Week 10 is here.

With the same magic and opulence as last year there is something new and exciting for all those fans of fashion during the four-day-long glamorous event that will take place from September 13 to 16 at the Soaltee Crowne Plaza. While last year TGIF Fashion Week focused only on Pret-aporter (ready to wear collection), this year the fashion week will be showcasing two collections Pret a-porter and Diffusion (a mixture of ready to wear and haute couture). With the benchmark being raised higher one can expect precise cuts, exquisite materials, details on every finishing.

"We have higher expectation from the designers for this year's TGIF Fashion Week," says Shailaja Adhikari, Managing Director of IEC, which has been organising Nepal Fashion Week since 2004.

“Unlike last time we have very varied themes and we have tried our best to move the focus of the designers and buyers from IndoWestern styles to more of Western trends,” she adds. To ensure the designs have expected touch of western style and fits two wellknown designers Monika Agrawal from India and Maja Soerensen from Denmark have selected the designs, insists Adhikari. This year will be more precise western cuts and subtle style and accessories which will scream oomph and elegance at the same time.

Making this event more couture oriented was a conscious effort made by IEC as they have seen drastic growth in designer wear in past few years and another reason why couture is being introduced on the ramp is “the spectators”, “this year the show will only have invitees, which

means most of our targeted customers will be checking out the designs so thus the couture is being stressed,” says Adhikari.

Along with some of the best students of IEC from Kathmandu, Dharan, Butwal and Pokhara, various boutiques will also participate in the fashion week. And a guest designer from Bangladesh, Ameela Haq will also be showcasing her creations to the delight of all fashionistas.

More than 20 Nepali and international models will be sashaying on the ramp wearing some of the best creations of the year. And like last year there will be celebrity showstoppers.

As the hospitality partner Soaltee Crowne Plaza will be providing par excellence service as the name is known for. “We will be doing what we are known best for — providing world-class service and hospitality. From cocktail menus to comfort of every guest whether its venue or parking we will be paying attention to every small detail. Expected quality will be provided,” says Sony Chaudhary, Assistant Manager Marketing and Public Relations.

The Himalayan Times TGIF Nepal Fashion Week 2010 is being organised by IEC in association with Chivas Regal and supported by San Miguel and Invenio Wines.

The creative partner for the event is Echoad. The hospitality partner of the event is Soaltee Crowne Plaza while the official carrier is Kingfisher Airlines. Magazine partner is FHM and brand alliance partner is Mudra Max.

Colourful Interpretations

The last day of TGIF Nepal Fashion Week — September 16 — is going to be a grand one. Students of IEC as well as designers from different boutiques plus an international designer will make the hall at Soaltee Crowne Plaza sparkle and glitter with their exquisite collections.

Colours will definitely rule the day with the designers giving their visions a colourful interpretation.

The Himalayan Times TGIF Nepal Fashion Week 2010 is being organised by IEC in association with Chivas Regal and supported by San Miguel, Invenio Wines, Diva and Timex.

The creative partner for the event is Echoad. The hospitality partner of the event is Soaltee Crowne Plaza while the official carrier is Kingfisher Airlines.

Magazine partner is FHM and Andpersand, brand alliance partner is Mudra Max. Sound design and after parties are done by PartyNepal.