Lisa Ray & Soha Ali Khan bring Indian Fashion to New York

Indian Fashion with Lisa Ray & Soha Ali Khan

New Yorkers are getting thoroughly pampered – if they can’t get to India to catch the latest Indian fashion, topnotch Indian designers with celebrity models are coming to New York! You had the gorgeous Lisa Ray walking the ramp for Satya Paul, and the equally eye-catching Soha Ali Khan for the designer Joy Mitra.

And so it was that some of India’s hottest fashions came to New York in a space which is the only neo-Gothic Reformist Synagogue built back in 1849. The surreal internal architecture of this space, now known as the Angel Orensanz Foundation for the Performing Arts,  really added to the atmosphere.

The event was The Splendid Indian Closet, which is part of India Unlimited, organized by Evolve and presented by Ethiad Airways. Here two very different fashion stories unfolded.

Joy Mitra Pays Tribute to Rituparno Ghosh

One was the tribute to the late great film director Rituparno Ghosh, designed by Joy Mitra and inspired by Ghosh’s film ‘Chokher Bal’. Mitra, after designing costumes for some of Ghosh’s films like ‘Khela’ and ‘Dosar’, he was inspired by the late actor/director/producer’s provocative vision of a new world of cinema and a new language of fashion. He recalled, “Interacting with him on many occasions, I would travel to a new world of literature, poetry, art and music. I consider myself immensely lucky to have got the opportunity to enrich myself.”

Set against the backdrop of Kolkota, Mitra’s couture evoked the memories of a bygone era. Bollywood actress and India’s “What Not to Wear” host, Soha Ali Khan was the  showstopper for the “Chokher Bali” line. The striking, simple yet very definitive touches of old Calcutta materialized on the runway, with ornate zardozi, jacket tops and dhoti bottoms, evoking a beautiful  lost world in stark shades of cream, black and gold.

Rituparno Ghosh would have loved it.

Lisa’s Ray of Hope Collection

‘Ray of Hope’, Lisa Ray’s collection of saris for Satya Paul, brought another world to life – a world of hope.  The beautiful, courageous actor and activist who’s fought Multiple Myeloma (cancer of the plasma cells) brought the spirit of hope and positive thinking to this collection, with words like ‘hope’, ‘faith’ and ‘love ‘ blazoned across the sarees. This wearable art is on bright colors showing her optimistic beliefs. She herself walked the runway in a beautiful silver and gold outfit which merged the worlds of east and west – her two worlds. As a prelude to Ray’s collection, modern dancers re-created a battle between the forces of darkness and light to symbolize Ray’s battle with cancer. The fashion show was produced by Ayesha Hakki.

“We want Americans to learn about our beautiful land, its achievements, festivals, culture and royal traditions, while experiencing some of our rituals first-hand,” said Sapna M Vats, co-founder of Evolve, which will be taking several events to different cities in the US. This fashion show will travel to Dallas, TX on Nov. 15^th, and Houston on Nov.16.

Indian fashion, Bollywood stars, top designers and America – a great mix of style and chutzpah!