Payal Khandwala: Designer Spotlight

Images by Prutha Raithatha 

Full Outfit: Payal Khandwala 

If you have been following my blog for a while and my facebook page and my twitter, you've heard me harp about designer-artist Payal Khandwala's work. Well I finally got to meet her in person today while she was visiting NYC on a short trip from India. The great thing about meeting creative people who's aesthetic you genuinely like is that you feel at ease around them that probably comes from just knowing that they are your kinda people. Based purely on their design aesthetic, you feel comfortable and connected with them. We spent a lovely morning sipping on organic juices and talking about everything under the sun but shop. And I got to meet her lovely family and adorable little daughter Meera. 

If you don't know her work yet, you can get an sample of it from these pictures. Yes, she is wearing her own designs. Check out her latest collection here. And this is a post of me wearing one of her designs from a couple of months ago. If you did like to buy any of her designs you can just email her or me and we can make it happen for you.

EXP DATE: 7/7 - Personal Fashion

Images by Hrishikesh Vimadalal 

Pants: Comme Des Garcons; Tee: J.Crew; Shoes: Underground UK 

 In British English [which is what I grew up learning] when someone dies, a polite way to say that is, "he/she expired today". I know the rest of the world finds this phrase to be funny or impersonal but that is not the intention. However the idea of us as humans having a pre-set expiration date of survival [like milk or fruits] is quite surreal. If you asked my mom she would say she believed we came into this world with our destiny pre-decided with an exact date of expiration. I think a lot of us believe that. But what about some times during our course of life when we die a little. And then that happens again and we die a little inside again. And then over and over again at multiple times during the course of an entire lifetime? Is life a slow death?

Too Tall to Ride: Personal Fashion

Images by Myriam Abdelaziz 

[first image edited by me for fun]

Pants + Top: Comme Des Garcons, Shoes: Underground UK 

When you go to an amusement park there are limits to who can ride the rides, like here at coney island, where there was a sign that said "too tall to ride"? I wish there were signs like that for this roller-coaster of a life too. Too tall to ride or too fat to fit or too broke to bribe, etc. Wouldn't it just make it easier? Some people [and all the cheeky hollywood movies] say there are always signs, you just have to look carefully. But in this fast track life of top speed and smog, there is only so far the eye can see. What about the signs for the times beyond that?

Lazy Sunday: Personal Fashion

Images by Alison Wynn 

Dress: Kallol Dutta; Sweater: All Saints; Scarf: Diesel; Shoes: Underground UK; Ring: Manish Arora for Amrapali Jewels; Socks: Target

 Kallol Dutta is a young Indian Fashion Designer who has a mouthful to say about all things fashion. He likes breaking rules [more like not following them] and speaking his mind about things that upset him about the industry. Luckily his designs are strong enough in their statement, creativity and originality that they support all his opinions about fashion in general and you can tell where he's coming from and what he means. 

 When I went to Indian in February I finally got a chance to meet him in person and place a couple of orders for clothes I had been eyeing from his previous collections. This white dress is one of them. It is already a spring/ summer staple and it is utterly befitting to my fashion aesthetic.

False Projections: Personal Fashion

Images by Jackie Russo 

Dress: Givenchy; Shoes: Sam Edelman 

In an attempt to try something different, which doesn't always work out, this was one of the times when I am not sure it did. We used my roommates projector to project a video I took on my iphone at a club one night on a wall and attempted to make a video of my self in front of the projection. We even added original music made by my friend DJ Miriam Rosas to the video. But it didn't really work out like we wanted to entirely. Mostly because we were just winging this huge process without much preparation and hoped it would turn out great. The final outcome wasn't bad, just not upto our standards so we decided to hold off on the video. In the meanwhile here are some of the glimpses from behind the scene.

When Two Cooks Spoil the Broth: Styling

Images by Prutha Raithatha 

Hrishi and I recently did an engagement shoot for Hrishi's friends Ben and Lavi. In the hopes to not make it super cliched, this is one series I came up with. Did the styling, concept and shoot. I was too excited with the result so had to share on the blog :) 

What do you guys think?