Couture created @ Colaba, Mumbai
Nov 26, 2009 Fashion & Bridal Wear
The media (including our blog) devoted too much space on Shilpa Shetty’s wedding. Our Facebook friends and fans protested. One friend wrote “Shilpa, Shilpa, Shilpa. That’s all I see everywhere. Next what? Features on her new home and the color of her bathroom tiles?” So we take a break from Shilpa and bridal wear to talk about the creations worn by two famous ladies. At a state dinner hosted by the US first couple for Gursharan Kaur and Manmohan Singh, Michelle Obama wore a champagne-colored gown adorned with sterling silver-plated appliqués. It was created by Mumbai-bred designer Naeem Khan who is now based in New York. The full length strapless gown had a matching chiffon wrap providing formality appropriate for a State Dinner. This she teamed with stacked gold and diamond bangles and glamorous rose cut, amber and tourmaline pear-shaped earrings. Gursharan Kaur, much shorter and older to Michelle, looked equally elegant and smart in a heavy silk saree with classic contrast colors—black with a red and gold border. We asked our saree specialist friends and they aren’t hundred per cent sure if the saree is from Orissa or a Venkatagiri or a Modern Kanjeevaram—so we’d love to know where India’s first lady sources her beautiful sarees from!
Interestingly, Naeem Khan’s creation was stitched and embroidered at his family workshop– SU Zariwala located in Colaba, Mumbai’s old money zone. Naeem’s younger brother designer Azeem Khan operates from this workshop. While Naeem focuses on the international and Hollywood clientele, Azeem caters to wealthy Indians, NRIs and select Bollywood stars. Close to SU Zariwala’s workshop is Adity Designs. Run by Sumangali and Nitai Mehta, the embroidery house limits interaction with individual clients and prefers creating stuff for international couture houses. We heard one of their biggest clients is Versace and Liz Hurley’s Versace wedding gown was embroidered at their Colaba workshop— but the low-profile house prefers to keep quiet about their prestigious clients or exquisitely crafted creations!
Tags: Adity Design, Aditya Designs, Gursharan Kaur, Liz Hurley, Michelle Obama, Naeem Khan, Nitai Mehta, SU Zariwala, Sumangali Mehta, Versace
