There was swag, oozing elegance and style, and impeccable confidence when members of The Bengal Rowing Club walked the ramp at BRC Shaam E Adaa in association with The Telegraph. Held for the first time, it witnessed around 50 fashionistas participating in the members’ fashion saga wowing everyone in the audience. Choreographed by Jessica Gomes, the walk was beautifully punctuated by kathak exponent Shinjini Kulkarni’s graceful moves. Live Sufi music accentuated the mood to a different level with numbers like Saiyaan, Khwaja mere Khwaja and more. Feted fashion designers Harmeet Bajaj, Simran Dugal, Divya Sheth and Arjan Dugal displayed their beautiful ethnic collections and Sawansukha Jewellers completed the looks. Snapshots.
The show segued gracefully from a fashion walk to a live kathak performance accompanied by live Sufi music, and Shinjini Kulkarni, granddaughter of the Kathak maestro Pt. Birjuji Maharaj had a hypnotic effect on the audience every time she stepped on the floor and showed her moves.
The third and final round saw members waltzing in Simar and Arjan Dugal’s edgy and fun collection. Replete with heavy detailing over luxurious fabrics, the collection was a nice balance of classics as well as contemporary fashion.
Munish Jhajharia, honorary secretary (left) and Rohit Bihani, chairman, entertainment committee, walk with show choreographer Jessica Gomes. Jessica said, “Working with first-timers is initially challenging but the end result is the most satisfying because you see them from point A to point Z and they were just fantastic. Everyone performed with perfection.”
Sabina Rungta, convener of the BRC Shaam E Adaa, said, “Everyone is very excited; we have a live performance and not a DJ performing. Around 55 members are walking with a men’s line and three women’s line and they are all very keen to do it.”
Homegrown label Bunka by Harmeet Bajaj set the show rolling with their collection that was marked by elegance and nazakat. Heavily into traditional wear, their Jashn E Heer collection gravitated towards pastel shades and light detailing, making it wearable and fashionable.
The fashion parade ended with some fireworks.
Siddharth and Niki Sawansukha of Sawansukha Jewellers displayed their new collection that added to the ensembles on the ramp. Siddharth said, “It was a great show. We worked very hard on all three segments — diamond, jadau and gold. So every single piece was in layers, which is in trend and resonates with everyone. Again, colours have added glory to the collection. Blue is one of the most fascinating colours that’s coming out, opals are doing fantastic... This time we saw all the fathers wanting to deck up. They are bored wearing just brooches. So panna kannthas, mother-of-pearls have come in.”
Deepak Jalan, president of the club, looked excited when we caught up with him backstage, before the show. He said, “It’s my first time ever. I have never walked the ramp in school or college either. So, yes I am a bit nervous and excited as well but we all have practised hard and we now know the tropes.”