Payal Singhal at Lakme Fashion Week 2012 Winter Festive

Payal Singhal's "Bridal Fantasy" collection was one of my favourites from last year's Winter/Festive Lakme Fashion Week Event, and I really liked here 2012 collection too - entitled "India in Colour".

Here are some of the stand-out pieces for me:

This outfit is so simple and it I think it looks really pretty - vibrant block colours and the more detailed jacket.

I love the colour and simplicity of this next outfit too:

A lot of the outfits featured mirror work:

Online Indian fashion retailer Exclusively.in currently has pieces from this collection available to buy online. As you would expect, these outfits come with designer price tags, with the cheapest at £307 and the most expensive at £1565! If I had the budget I'd probably make an order, but for now I'll make do with looking at the pretty pictures!

Archana Kochhar at 2012 Lakme Fashion Week Winter Festive

Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2012 took place recently in Mumbai India, anybody who follows me on twitter (@nazma_afb) will have noticed I retweets a few outfits from the catwalk as and when the shows were happening, well here's a more comprehensive look at some of the designer collections, starting with Archana Kochhar!

The collection was called "Reto-Metric" and consisted of a mixture of saris and fusion pieces including mini dresses, lenghas and evening gowns. The stand-out pieces for me were definitely the printed saris

The show ended with a celebrity appearance - actress Sameera Reddy.

You can view more photos from the event on Lakme Fashion Week Facebook Page.

Yuvna Kim Collection Fashion Show

Model, actress and TV presenter, Yuvna Kim recently added "fashion designer" to her already bursting CV and here are the photos from her launch event fashion show.

The collection is inspired by 'The Sixteenth Century' a time of great change for women's Renaissance fashion in the Western world fused with 'The Mughal age'. 'The Mughal Age' not only witnessed the glorious achievements of its emperors and princes, but also that of the princesses, queens and other ladies of the royal Mughal harem and their dress sense.

I really like the red dress in the middle although not sure about the shiny metallic border.

As well as traditional asian outfits like saris, the show also included some western-style white bridal gowns.

These three outfits caught my eye the most and I'd probably wear the first two. I like the high-low (shorter at the front, longer at the back) design of the middle outfit.

Overall I wasn't immediately wowed by the photos of these outfits when I first saw them, the block colour choices aren't really to my taste right now - but on closer inspection I can see the appeal and can imagine these outfits would make an impact when worn off the catwalk.

Credits

Designer - Yuvna Kim
Hair & Make-up - Zen Bridal
Photography - Shahid Malik

Here's a video from the event:

FunkyAsian Kaftans from Anjalis Boutique

Anjalis Boutique have launched a new range of kaftan tops, branded "FunkyAsian". They sent me some sample pieces and here's my review!

There are over 50 different designs of these chiffon georgette tunic/kaftan tops and Anjali very kindly sent me three to try out.

My favourite was this bold animal-print kaftan - which I paired with black leggings and wore out to dinner that evening. This was a size small, which I think fit me just right without being too loose - I often find kaftan tops of this style drown me, but this one sit just right. Although you probably can't see in the photos, this kaftan is lightly embellished around the neck on the front and back which added a little something extra to the already funky print design.

The next kaftan was a more subtle/sultry choice in black with a bronze/gold design.

I don't really think my posing or my styling do these outfits justice, but I think if they can look good with boring straight hair and plain black leggings then they will definitely look amazing with a little bit of imagination and accessorising.

Here's the final look - another bright print, this time in orange!

Overall I was really impressed with the range. There are so many designs to choose from, you'll most likely find one to suit your personality (I'm giving the black and bronze one to my sister who much prefers dark sultry looks to bright bold prints). I wore mine out on a really warm day and it kept me cool whilst still keeping me largely covered up. I'll also definitely be taking them along with me on my next beach holiday too!

Anjalis Boutique is based in Glasgow, but the FunkyAsian range of kaftans is available by mail order. The print and embellished designs are £39.99 and the print-only designs are £24.99. You can view the full range and details of how to order on the Anjalis Boutique facebook page.

So you've seen my attempts, how would you style these?

Khubsoorat Collection 2012 Annual Sale

London's Khubsoorat Collection is launching their annual sale in store next week, with a special preview this Sunday 12th August.

The sale continues throughout August until the 13th September with up to 50% off bridalwear, womenswear - including saris, lenghas and suits, menswear and more.

View some of Khubsoorat Collection's outfits on the catwalk from a show last year here: Mani Kohli Khubsoorat Collection at Ardhanginni Indian Wedding Show.

Pakistan Fashion Week London 2012 - Highlights

Pakistan Fashion Week London 2012 took place at the end of May this year over three days. I'm a bit late with posting the photos, but here's a selection of outfits from the catwalk by designers including Maria B, Rana Noman, Zainab Sajid, Deepak Perwani and many more, plus links to where you can see the full collections.

Ammar Belal

This show had "signature pieces from Collections 2010 - 2012". I really liked this outfit and it's something I would wear. View more here: Ammar Belal at PFW London 2012.

Batur

Although you can't see it in the outfit above, the collection from Batur featured a lot of animals prints. View the full collection here: Batur at PFW London 2012.

Deepak Perwani

View more from the collection here: Deepak Perwani at PFW London 2012.

Designer Lounge UK

As you might be able to guess by their name, Designer Lounge UK stock a range of different Pakistani designer collections. You can view more from their catwalk show here: Designer Lounge UK at PFW London 2012.

Falknaz

I don't usually like floral prints, but I liked this outfit - it was the only floral print in the collection. View the rest of the outfits here: Falknaz at PFW London 2012.

Guls Style

Gul's Style are regulars in Asiana Wedding magazine, so you might have seen some of these outfits in their adverts. View more here: Guls Style at PFW London 2012.

Maria B

Maria B's collection started off with some stylish but very casual outfits, but she also had some formals in there too including a few very heavily embroidered bridals. I don't really like the messy hairstyling, I think there's a chic way to do a "messy" look and this isn't it! View more from the collection here: Maria B at PFW London 2012.

Nauman Arfeen

I really liked the styling of this collection, view more here: Nauman Arfeen at PFW London 2012.

Opera House

View more from the Opera House collection here: Opera House at PFW London 2012.

Rana Noman

The whole collection by Rana Noman was full of colours in very light shades like this, with just a hint of colour. View more here: Rana Noman at PFW London 2012.

Rizwan Ahmed

This was one of my favourite collections from the whole event, view more here: Rizwan Ahmed at PFW London 2012.

SRA by Sarah Rohale

View the complete collection here: SRA by Sarah Rohale

Waseem Noor

View more from the collection here: Waseem Noor at PFW London 2012.

Zainab Sajid

A visual treat for everybody who attended this event for the bridal fashion element, this collection was full of heavily embroidered bridal outfits. View more here: Zainab Sajid at PFW London 2012.

Photography by Shahid Malik

Raishma Ready To Wear Launch Party

Last month I posted a sneak preview of the Raishma Ready To Wear collection, well, the launch party itself took place last month and here are some of the models from the event showing off the collection:

Raishma is a campaign ambassador for International charity Hashoo Foundation and its 500 for 500 Appeal and 10% of all sales from the Ready To Wear collection at the launch event were donated to the appeal.

I didn't attend the event personally, but I visited Raishma after the event to see the collection for myself. I really liked what I saw and whilst I didn't get anything for myself, my sister bought the outfit below on the far left in the picture:

Following on from the donations made to the Hashoo Foundation on the launch event, Raishma will be donating a percentage from sales of the collection throughout Ramadan and after Eid. She is also stocking a range of scarves for £10 each of which profits are donated to the charity. We bought one of these too:

Here are some more outfits from the collection and Raishma's ad in the latest Asiana Wedding Magazine: