Behind The Scenes at India Bridal Fashion Week 2013

As promised, here’s a look at what went on Behind The Scenes at IBFW – in pictures!

This was the first fashion show I attended, like, ever! It was a first for my husband as well.

This was where the guests and the media mingled with each other over drinks and finger food. The food reached us very rarely, and the show was between 8 pm to 11 pm (or 12.30 am, depending on how late it started). Smack during dinner time! There was some time between 2 shows to grab a bite – my husband & I had dinner at The Grand on 2 days, till we started caring less about food and more about getting a good seat at each show. I later heard that Media also received a coupon for food, but I never found one! The hotel staff also had no clue, so we just paid for our own food on those 2 days. Note: If you enjoy pita bread and hummus, you’ll enjoy the Mezze Platter here! And inevitably, by the time the second show would start, I’d curse myself for having yet again forgotten to shove a nutribar in my bag. We’d be so hungry post the show that we had a McDonald’s burger one night and a butter chicken & naan dinner at Hyatt on another night at 11.30 pm. Well, I should count these as dinner dates I guess and feel elated 😉

She NEVER stops working! *bows down to her*

YES! I met Suneet Varma! I’m not as brave as Roli (of CrazyIndianWedding.com) to go up and introduce myself to designers. I keep thinking “but what will *I* say?!” One of my husband’s friends very sweetly introduced us to Suneet Varma, and I knew what to say to him! I LOVE his designs! And of course, him being such a sweet guy really helped! It was so, so, SO nice meeting him.

After the chaos that ensued on Day 1, they organized the entry to the show a little better – clearly marked separate entries for media & the rest of the audience. That guy on the left was there every single day. He had a really tough job of answering the question “when will the show start yaar?” about a 100 times before each show.

You’ve already seen the post on my favourite celebrity crush, but here’s yet another picture of him from my Instagram feed just because I like him so much.

For Day 3, I got my hair styled at Monsoon Salon, South Ex (courtesy: Rod Anker!). Ugen was my hairstylist, and he was AWESOME. I have, what is called, “a sensitive scalp” so you can imagine how much I wince in pain when getting my hair done. Yes, even while they’re getting blow dried. In fact, for a few years I used to not get my hair blow dried after a haircut just because I hated all the tugging and pulling that goes on. So Ugen had a challenge in front of him – to not pull too much while styling, and I also insisted that my hair shouldn’t feel heavy after it’s done. I needed to be in it all night, and I couldn’t risk wanting to open it in the middle of a show. Comfort was of utmost importance! And no, the pins should definitely not be poking my scalp in any place, and should make it easy to move around. Ugen did it!!! It was so comfortable, and I think it looked great! I never wear my hair up, because I don’t think it suits me. But I love what Ugen did! I’d love to have this hairstyle done again. But only by Ugen, mind you!

My husband sat amidst THAT. Yes! It was also the best seat in the house. All the energy and the buzz is located right here. So if you want to have fun, like really have some fun, at a fashion show, you know where to sit! They’re all buddies, chatting and having a good time with each other.

They’re also the only group in the show that is allowed to make noise. When the lighting is crap, they start shouting “LIGHT! LIIIIIIIGHT!” hoping the guys controlling the lighting will hear them – and all this happens while the models are on the runway! The shows I loved the most were the ones where I got to sit amongst this crowd. However, a lot of them will look at you disapprovingly if you take their spot with just a phone camera in hand. No, it doesn’t matter that you got there first. What matters is that you’re taking a prime spot to get low-res pictures, which they make you feel shameful about! Bhaiya, bloggers ko live-coverage (on Twitter & Facebook) ke liye bhi achhe shots chahiye hote hain! Can’t get those shots sitting on the side of the runway. But they’re also the sweetest. They HAVE to cooperate with each other so that everyone gets good shots. Nobody comes in each other’s way. Except for this ONE girl and guy who sat in front of a group of us during a particular show….I refuse to divulge any more information.

I know I’ve already shared this one, but it was so exciting! Awesome to meet other wedding bloggers, and fellow Delhi bloggers as well! You know who you are, Miss Lawyer by day Blogger by night!

Here’s a shot of the Hubby & I on Day…4, was it? I put on a shiny jacket that’s actually a part of an anarkali Mansi made for me as part of my trousseau. Must get a better white top to pair it with.

I wore this anarkali by Astha & Siddharth of Aumbre on day 2. Those are my new black heels btw – from Clark’s and SO comfortable! I’ve never worn a more comfy pair of heels in my LIFE!

Husband’s shirt is a designer-shirt from RAS! He’s rolled up his sleeves but the cuffs also have that blue line going across them.

The new jewellery company – AZVA – had an area in the lounge where they showcased a few of their gold jewellery designs. I quite like what they have to offer, since it’s gold jewellery in a mix of traditional and non-traditional designs.

My SIL also joined us on Day 6 for the AZVA show. We both liked some of their designs! Considering doing a post on them also (Alia Bhatt was their showstopper). On Day 6, IBFW ended with Tarun Tahiliani’s show, that we didn’t attend. If you’re interested in the outfits from that show, you should go to the post I did on the Tarun Tahiliani Couture exposition over 2 weeks ago – it was the same collection, and I’ve already gone through the dozens of designs and picked out the best ones for you.

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I loved covering India Bridal Fashion Week, yes, despite the crowd, the heat (what was up with the air-conditioning system in there?!), the long waits, the hunger pangs, the standing for hours, the pushing & the shoving. It was all very fabulous, getting to dine at the same place as TT, meeting Sunny and watching the models so many times, it feels like we know them now! As if 🙂 I’m sure my husband also enjoyed the show thoroughly, what with his wife letting his only task be photographing hot models! :p While I don’t have an official comment from him yet, I’m sure he’s pretty happy about it 🙂

I do have another piece of news for you – I have not received any invite to Delhi Couture Week, which began yesterday. So no live-coverage for you 😦 I don’t know if I should just share press releases with you, as those will be all over the blogging world anyway.

Leave a comment with what you think I should blog about from Delhi Couture Week?

And do let me know your thoughts on this Behind The Scenes in Pictures post on IBFW 2013!