First ever fashion week dedicated to Bridal Couture: Aamby Valley India Bridal Week

Mumbai celebrated the Aamby Valley City India Bridal Week, showcasing bridal wear from the most coveted designers in the country. Held at the Sahara Star, Mumbai, it kicked off the wedding season with a one-of-a-kind fashion week dedicated solely to bridal couture from the October 29 to November 2, 2010.

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Aamby Valley City India Bridal Week 2010 focused on wedding and special occasion clothing, jewelry and accessories. With 'by invitation only' fashion shows in the evening and a consumer driven exhibition during the day, IBW aimed to be the country's most anticipated fashion week. Defining the future of bridal wear, IBW celebrated the works of renowned designers such as Ashima Leena, Falguni & Shane Peacock, Manish Arora, Manish Malhotra, Neeta Lulla, Rocky S and Shantanu & Nikhil, to name a few.

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Weddings today are easily the most extravagant occasions in India. With destination venues, choreographed events and designer clothing, celebrations encompass not only the couple, but the entire family and friends. With an array of designers, the consumer has the advantage of picking a different designer for each function, be it a cocktail party or a mehendi ceremony. The concept behind India Bridal Week 2010 was to offer 360o wedding solutions for a joyful celebration of the special couple surrounded by family and friends. Targeting core consumers, the event aimed to satisfy the requirements of a luxurious wedding.

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Ace designer Manish Arora kickstarted the new Aamby Valley India Bridal Week here and his unconventional collection had lots of color - right from the clothes, hairdo and make-up.

Very unlike a bridal show, Arora's line was a compilation of his designs from 2008-10. A spin down memory lane with ensembles from his past collections, the themes of the garments varied from Pop Art to Circus and Space age to Art Deco.

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Talking about the unconventional garments considering it was a bridal show, Arora said: "This was the best of Manish Arora. According to me a bride is somebody who should be happy in what she is wearing. What's important to them should be that they are personally happy. You necessarily don't have to wear conventional clothes."

"When I'll get married, I'll wear what makes me happy. I won't care about what people think about me," he said.

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Shimmer and shine was what it was at the Rocky S show that concluded Day 1. Finely crafted lehengas, splendid saris, striking contemporary kurtas and feminine gowns along with sharply cut sherwanis, suits and Jodhpuri jackets were on view.

It was a story of silk, chiffon, satin, net and georgette with generous touches of velvet and a color palette that ranged from old rose to military green, enticing nude, sinful chocolate, marvelous maroon, stark black, immaculate ivory, grey and beige. In this collection called 'The Tribal Shock' you saw a profusion of digital prints blended skillfully with floral and leopard motifs with embellishments selected keeping in mind the bridal season.

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Opulent lehengas and saris have always been Neeta Lulla’s strength, and this time around for Aamby Valley Bridal Week 2010, the designer plays to her forte to create a collection inspired by the Nawabi ambience. From double saris to evening gowns in rich fabrics such as silk, brocade, tulle, lace and velvet, Lulla’s bridal wear was Bollywood glamour at its best. Complete with Swarovski crystals and heavy embroidery in a range of colours from pastels to jewelled tones, the ensembles were a medley of textures perfect for the traditional bride and all the pre-wedding occasions such as mehendi and sangeet. Neeta Lulla also kept the bridal party in mind, creating less dramatic pieces for the best friend and sister. Overall, a collection that fits easily into a bridal wardrobe.

Zeenat Aman accompanied by Arjun Bajwa the star of ‘Fashion’ for Riyaz-Gangji

The 3rd day of Aamby Valley India Bridal Week saw an electric mix of ethnic and contemporary bridal wear. Falguni & Shane showcased their bridal collection. The show was attended by Michelle Poonawala, Namrata Barua, Sammer and Palak Seth, Ekta Raheja, Shonali Shroff amongst others.

Prachi Desai started the show and Neha Dhupia, in a stunning red and gold outfit was the show stopper.

It was all glitz and glamour, style and drama as celebrated couturier to the stars, Manish Malhotra, had the many models walk across the black acrylic ramp.

From ruby red, blue sapphire and emerald green jewel tones for men's and women's wear, Manish moved to the final fashion accent with pink tourmaline. For the finale the designer had leggy model Candice Pinto in a stunning green longsleeved velvet heavily encrusted crystal and zardosi jacket, teamed with a layered lehenga.

Looking like a blushing bride was Amrita Rao who was the showstopper for Archana Kochhar's beautiful bridal wear collection, presented by Giantti in aid of the Nanhi Kali project.

Young designer Sounia Gohil opted to start her show with the graceful Geeta Basra in a red crystal work lehenga with a red odhani and a stylish velvet choli. The beautiful showstopper Zarine Khan in an opulent white fully ornate lehenga with a maroon silk dupatta and a crystal choli. Jaya Misra, on the other hand, opened her show with Kashmira Shah in a delicate pale pink lehenga with a blue net dupatta. In between, she had Shibani Kashyap walk the ramp in a red ornate lehenga with a green velvet choli and odhani. And ending the show was showstopper Tulip Joshi wearing a luxuriously embellished red lehenga with a wine velvet choli and net dupatta. Jaya unveiled her 'Utsav' collection inspired by the movie Utsav.