Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2018 i Harper's Bazaar India

Elton Fernandez is a Mumbai-based makeup artist who has worked with actors like Karishma Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, and Parineeti Chopra, to name a few. In this issue, he works his magic on cover star Aditi Rao Hydari in ‘The making Of A Muse’, pg 128. “For me, it’s important to have a well-researched and well-produced shoot. The best part was working with stalwarts like Nonita Kalra, Porus Vimadalal, Edward Lalrempuia, and Parul Menezes, who know what Bazaar stands for.” Karan Singh Parmar and Amit Lata met while working at a boutique design firm in Delhi. After almost 20 years of combined experience in events, graphic and floral design, and fashion, they decided to collaborate and work together. Here, they demonstrate their interpretation of the new style of flower arrangement, freakebana,…

The BAG Christian Louboutin’s jewelled shoulder bag is perfect for eveningwear sparkle. The FLATS Stride confidently into the future with Pierre Hardy’s supple leather sandals in versatile burgundy. The JUMPSUIT Comfort dressing gets a glamorous spin with Amrita Khanna and Gursi Singh’s tailored one-piece wonder. The DRESS Your summer dress should be short, sharp, and joyful, just like Rimzim Dadu’s floral mini.…

FOR OVER FIVE DECADES, DESIGNER RITU KUMAR has travelled the world, fuelled by a passion for studying textiles and the cultures they represent. These journeys involved deep research and reflection on the arts and unique histories of specific regions. In an upcoming series of publications, Kumar presents her travelogues that are both in the form of professional memoirs and personal musings. A precursor to their release is the exhibition Crossroads: Textile Journeys with Ritu Kumar that brings alive these journeys using archival images, vintage textiles, collages, paintings, and memorabilia. In an exclusive, Bazaar presents excerpts from her personal diaries. The exhibition is on at the Visual Art Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, till April 5, 2018. UZBEKISTAN “...the fertile oases across Uzbekistan have attracted the greatest travellers and conquerors…

INDIAN IN PARIS Mumbai-born painter Rithika Merchant is the most recent artist to be tapped by an international fashion house. Chloé’s creative director, Natacha Ramsay-Levi, discovered Merchant’s work online and commissioned her to create a series of prints for the French label. We spoke to the Barcelona-based artist about the collaboration. Tell us about the drawings you created for Chloé’s Spring 2018 line. For this collection there are a lot of esoteric and spiritual symbols as well as botanical imagery. It is much bolder than the work I typically make, and every print was adapted to fit each garment uniquely. What was your biggest learning from the experience? I’m used to working all day in my studio so it was a nice change to be a part of a team…

PIECE OF MY HEART Tangible reminders of family heritage reveal values of inheritance that cannot be quantified SIDDHARTH DHANVANT SHANGHVI Author and photographer Toward the end of her time in Africa, Isak Dinesen, the Danish writer, had lost her farm to locusts and her lover to a tragic flying accident. Penniless and bereft, she must leave the continent beloved to her heart. An estate sale, to defray costs, results in the sale of her china—her Limoges. But in the middle of the night she changes her mind; she must have the china back. Remembering her many dear friends who had eaten off those beautiful plates, remembering the conversations she’d had over those dinners, she drives through seething black to retrieve these objects, keepers of memory and time, custodians of personal…

AT FIRST OR EVEN SECOND GLANCE, IT’S EASY TO PIN DOWN ARTIST ANJANEYULU GUNDU’S PAINTINGS AS THE MUSINGS OF AN OBJECT FETISHIST. There is intense technical deliberation that borders on perfectionism. Not an ounce of matter is out of place, and the content comprising this matter is deceptively relatable: A cycle, a lantern, a cot, a cart... You see the image and your brain immediately registers its ontology. The technique, frequently referred to as hyperreal, collapses the difference between signifier and signified. A cot is a cot is a cot. But between the cot and its uncanny, warp-and-weft shadow bearing traces of the live chicken atop it lies the secretive region of the unspoken, that which the object evokes. Had it been a sculpture or a photograph, you wouldn’t have…

“What does your hair look like?” As a Muslim woman who wears a headscarf, it’s a question I get asked a lot. In a world of adverts, where models shake their glossy tresses, people wonder, often to the point of obsession, why one would choose to cover their locks. After all, we are in the fourth wave of feminism, with many patriarchal blocks slowly tumbling down. And of course, hair is pretty. The headscarf has become a symbol of controversy: An icon for banning burkinis on beaches, a war over Muslim women’s bodies by oppressive Daesh and Taliban types, and equally by those who want to ‘free’ Muslim women from their alleged religious oppression, and see no irony in forcing women to do this. It has come to have many…

ART Imagine the rooftop of The Met, one of the United States’s most prestigious museums, transformed into a landing pad for not-quite human or quasi-alien beings. This is precisely the dramatic, sci-fi-inspired mise-en-scène that Karachi-born artist Huma Bhabha hopes to evoke when her sculptural grouping, We Come in Peace, is unveiled this month. Bhabha was selected by The Met to create a site-specific installation for its Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, making hers the sixth in a series of commissions for the outdoor space since 1987. “It’s my first commission,” Bhabha says over email. “I was thinking about the roof as a stage, a landing pad or a gigantic plinth for visitors in the guise of monumental sculptures. I make figurative sculpture and am always considering how the…

“Critics across the country fell over themselves trying to find synonyms for ‘luminous’ just so they could do Hydari justice.”—Raja Sen The first time we meet the heroine in a Mani Ratnam romance, she doesn’t appear on the screen as much as she flashes suddenly and all-conqueringly across it, all eyes and energy and unlikely grace, a lyrical bolt of lightning. She is often surrounded by a dour world, one markedly duller than she is, though in time it is evident that most worlds will pale in contrast with the incandescence of this modern fairy tale heroine. And I mean modern. She has verve and spirit and agency, and a Ratnam fairy tale is almost always the fairy’s tale, with doomed men helplessly at sea, often led there by that…

The Park Hyatt Chennai and Bazaar played host to an elegant preview of Louis Vuitton’s Spring Summer 2018 men’ s and women’s collections. The curated guest list included Chennai’s models, influencers, and celebrities all of whom came to get a closer look at the brand’s newest designs, including the Duffle handbag inspired by the House’s iconic bucket shape, as well as other luxurious pieces by Nicolas Ghesquière. Guests Rakul Preet Singh, Regina Cassandra, Vivek Karunakarn, and Osman Abdul Razak, to name a few mingled over champagne, canapés, and delicate rose macaroons at the glamorous late-night fête.…

FROM THE EDITOR It’s a story that my mother loved to tell. During a trip to Muzaffarnagar, my three-year-old self saw neon-green Kolhapuris, embellished with tinsel, at a local market. It immediately became a must-have and I was intractable until I had a pair. I don’t remember the moment or the tantrum but I do recognise the strong will. And I also recall the chappals. They stayed in my cupboard long after I outgrew them, because they reminded me of an intangibly special time. Each time I looked at them I could almost hear my mother’s voice. Her tone had a particular tenderness when she recalled stories of our childhood. I could hear her younger self. I could see myself in her arms. In fact, as I write this, I…

WHILE WORKING ON my new book, Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon, I learned that I have more than 7,50,000 Instagram followers, which is quite amazing, as I’ve never even gotten an email address. ‘My’ account is run by a woman named Paris who lives in Vienna, and I’m not quite sure where she gets the photos she posts of me. But I’m very happy if I can be of some help, because I think young people today need direction. They have to learn to be themselves, to develop a sense of curiosity, and to not live vicariously through these characters with no personality who they follow on social media. You have a good pair of eyes; I’m sure you see the same things I do, Linda. Do you like it? Most…

THE ACCESSORY: WAIST BELTS The cinched waist has made a comeback. There are two key ways to get it—with broad obi-style belts from Rara Avis and 431-88, or the skinny metal and leather ties at Ritu Kumar and Shantanu & Nikhil. THE COLOUR: RED From scarlet to burgundy, explore all the nuances of this dramatic hue. Take a cue from Ka-Sha by Karishma Shahani Khan, Tilla, or Lovebirds on all the ways to fire up your wardrobe. THE NEW FACE: ARADHANA BURAGOHAIN Buragohain came out on top in this season’s Lakmé Fashion Week model auditions. The girl from Assam walked for everyone from Gaurang to Ritu Kumar. THE KEY PIECE: THE TRENCH COAT The classic summer jacket was re-invented this season. Look to Saaksha and Kinni’s version with rivets, Amrich’s…

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A SHOW OF HANDS A master knifemaker (Gustafsson) and watchmaker (Sjögren) come together to create unique watches with a Scandinavian aesthetic in GoS. Bazaar loves their Sarek Midnight Blue which features asymmetrical curves, a play on texture, and an exclusive dial which changes colour depending on the lighting. This objet d’art is a timepiece to be treasured. RISE AND SHINE Federica Imperiali, head of new product development at Forevermark, on the latest trends in diamond jewellery. What should we look out for this season? There are two main trends: The colour pink and summer florals. The first is a celebration of femininity and the second includes a selection of flowers. We want to highlight the character of each blossom and the personality of the wearer. Is there a new launch…

What do you look to capture through ‘stolen moments’? There is an instinctive gesture, a spontaneous act that we all have: When we see a door just ajar, an open window, a slightly drawn curtain we just peek inside. A stolen glance to discover what is behind, a brief look into a place to see someone or something. Out of curiosity for sure, but basically we do it to look at ourselves, to recognise ourselves, to admit ourselves. Those stolen instants become the improvised stage of moments of intimacy. Our intimacy. How does your memory of a moment change when you look at your images later? I tend to remember the situation with extreme clarity. Only small details escape me, and that’s when I add nuances and small variations to…

In the absolutely heart-wrenching poem, So Many Ways Our Fathers Mark Us by Alvin Pang, an excerpt tugs at your heart and with the force of that tug, it tears it. He says: “each year he takes one more step into the storehouse of imageshe takes his place among the harried shopkeepers, the angelsand fallen kings, the sleeping heroes and carpentersoften we mark our fathers downwe put down the book and he is thereeyes on an elsewhere outside of youonly when you nudge the door open on an empty roomdo you truly hear himthe dust whispers it; your footsteps form the vowelsevery day you relearn his nameas you clear your throat to speak” MY MEMORIES OF MY FATHER are linked to a staggering set of subjects. But food is one…

THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT Gurmehar Kaur on how her first haircut became a source of strength THE FIRST TIME I REALISED I loved my hair was when I was eight years old. I was sitting on a hairdresser’s chair, my legs dangling, staring at my reflection as tears fell from my swollen eyes. The hairdresser snipped away at my long, wavy locks. Next in line was my sister, who was six at the time. That day we left the salon with fresh cuts—a bob for me and a ‘boy cut’ with bangs for my sister—and headaches from all the crying. Back then I didn’t realise that this one trip to the salon would be pivotal to who I was eventually going to become. My mother did not hate…

OUR SKIN PUTS UP WITH A LOT—SUNLIGHT, STRESS, AND CHEMICALS. Finding products that are effective enough to get their jobs done but gentle enough to nourish and heal is essential. “Whatever you put on your skin gets absorbed into it and ultimately reaches your blood stream, within seconds. Hence it is so important to also feed your skin the right [products],” says 29-year-old Rubeina Karachiwalla of Ruby’s Organics. She has taken matters into her own hands with her brand, as has 33-year-old Deepshikha Deshmukh of Love Organically. Both approach beauty with a great deal of thought and conscience to offer better, more natural and organic solutions for sensitive skin. RUBY’S ORGANICS “Most cosmetics contain alcohol-based humectants and petroleum-based derivates such as glycol,” says Karachiwalla. So every time you ingest your…

What inspired you to start this project, and what’s different about this beauty line? I have always loved the M.A.C range, but I wanted a larger selection of colours that were better suited to a medium-toned complexion. When we designed the products, I wanted to include some vibrant shades, because darker skin can take more saturated pigments. At the same time though, we needed to make sure that you didn’t look too made up. So it was about striking a balance between those two goals. I’ve also tried to develop colours that would not only look good on darker complexions but on all skin tones. What does the range include? While it has six really beautiful lip colours and one lip gloss, it’s really focused on the eyes. There are…

BOOK Amy Chua has built a brand—not by design, but by inadvertently provoking global uproar. She is Tiger Mom, author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, a parenting memoir cataloguing her many controversial techniques for instilling discipline. The mother who threatened to, piece by piece, donate her daughter’s dollhouse if she could not master a particular piano piece by the following day. The mother who considers an A- to be a bad grade, who deems a gold to be the only medal worth having. But the 2011 release overshadows her many accomplishments in her real area of expertise. Chua is a Harvard graduate, a professor at Yale Law School, and also the author of bestselling political books like World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred…

When Bea Feitler became co-art director of Bazaar (along with Ruth Ansel) in 1963, she was 25 years old. She was also provocative, inspiring, political, and came with a clear intent to embed fashion into the landscape of culture, art, and life. The 1960s was the time of moon rockets, the Vietnam War, and women’s liberation movement. Feitler, in her 10 years at Bazaar, created some of the most iconic editorials of the time, including the space helmet. Her use of illustration, pop art, and graphic design to create a narrative set the publication apart. “A magazine should flow. It should have rhythm. You can’t look at one page alone, you have to visualise what comes before and after,” she had said, each time relentlessly connecting high fashion to what…

The BELT BAG Alessandro Michele’s quilted fanny pack is a luxe option for those seeking a hands-free life.…

All products available at Bergdorf Goodman SEE WHERE TO BUY FOR DETAILS…

Since the start of her tenure at Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri has made the runway an arena for conversations about feminism and art. Her latest Spring 2018 collection is no different. This time, the designer dug into the brand’s archives and emerged with photographs of artist Niki de Saint Phalle, a French-American painter and sculptor who was a close friend of Marc Bohan, creative director of Dior from 1961 to 1989. Her paintings and sculptures of vibrant, fantastical reptiles, animals, and bulbous female forms were translated in the collection as prints, embellishments, knits, or as a rainbow of colours on a bag strap. Chiuri balanced the artist’s forceful works by referencing Bohan’s clean, tailored aesthetic and his penchant for checks and polka dots. Chiuri started the show with a question…

NO 1 understated elegance The subtle patterns of handwoven ikat stand out against an ivory blouse NO 2 true definilion A drawstring tie adds shape to a voluminous shirt NO 3 in the blue Ocean shades and light neutral tones are the perfect way to ease into summer NO 4 stand tall Pleat details add depth to a Habotai silk shirtdress NO 5 thrice as nice The key to hot-weather layering is to opt for breathable fabrics in cooling pastel hues NO 6 racing stripes Blocks of coloured, appliqué embroidery can elevate a co-ord set…

HANUT SINGH IS ALWAYS OF THE MOMENT, usually dressed in all-black, engaging with the gushing crowd that throngs to his jewellery exhibition. With his laser sharp gaze and quick wit, he rarely misses a beat. For the past 14 years, this one-man-show has been making jewelry for “no one but everyone”, though his clients happen to include Carolina Herrera, Tory Burch, and Beyoncé, to name a few. He believes his designs are for creative people like himself, who wish to express a point of view and enjoy wearing creations that are contemporary and discreet. One will always find his jewels to be symmetrical and linear. His work is deeply influenced by the Art Deco aesthetic of the 1920s both in terms of their designs and proportions. And then there is…

“I WAS BARELY SIX MONTHS OLD WHEN HE DIED,” my grandmother’s sister tells me of their father, “The only way I have known him is through this photograph.” She holds out a rectangular sepia print of a man with dark skin and sharp features, sitting imposingly in a western coat and white turban. “I have only seen two things that belong to him in my life and those have, for me, come to define him—a letter he had written in dark green ink, and one bottle of ittar that my mother always kept with her after his death. The youngest of four brothers, Hari Chand Gulyani, a whole father built only from second-hand memories and these odd, erratic objects.” She smiles sadly and moves on to other topics, but her…

Thrust and parry, slash and burn in the place I once called home. Turn out, leaf through, cut loose. Sort, pile, chuck. A bonfire of old papers, a garbage bag of broken things, a full sack for the recycling man. Tear up, push aside, throw away. Reams of paper in a hand that will never write again, shelves of saris redolent with the fragrance of long-ago evenings. A diamond earring that had rolled into a corner of the cupboard and was never found, a wedding poem from the days when it was the done thing. Crayon sketches, love letters tied up in a pink ribbon, wooden moulds for home-made sweets. The stuff of life, patiently gathered, carefully nurtured over 60 years. Edit, excise, eradicate. Exorcise. I started awake in a…

Every time I go to the beauty parlour for a head massage, my hair ends up in a choti (braid). Typically, most women keep their hair in this style only for the duration of their parlour-time, despite knowing that the treatment is most effective when the oil is left on for a few hours, if not overnight. However, I’ve recently gained the courage to break this choti-indoors-only rule, and leave the salon with a fully oiled plait. I justify it by telling myself that the specific single, long braid carries the code of just-oiled (not oily) hair, whereas an oiled topknot might raise alarms, suggesting greasy or unwashed locks. Still, it takes guts to be in public with the oiled plait and not all my friends are happy to meet…

CULTURE Year 2003. I was 23 and in Bangalore, three months from completing my undergraduate studies in art and design. It’s long ago enough for ‘street harassment’ to not have been a term but an unarticulated phenomenon that revealed itself in the way women and girls walked: Folded arms, purposeful gait or invisible, with piercing death stares, blinkers, or eyes that didn’t rise above the ground, bags and books in front, safety pins, red chilli powder. Most women I knew walked only in groups, or in twos, and alone only if they had to. We were warned. Prepared. (We soon learned that there was no such thing as being ‘prepared enough’. Sexual assault and harassment occurred any way, any time, any place, by anyone). Yet no one really spoke about…

7:10 A.M. Every day that I can wake up surrounded by nature in my own home [in Montecito, California] is a perfect one. I call it the ‘Promised Land’ because it feels like a spiritual gift from all the forces of life. It makes me think of The Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy is asked what she’s learned and she replies, “I won’t look any further than my own backyard.” This morning, when I hit the blackout shades just after seven, the light was casting its golden glow over the green lawn, with the clouds and ocean in the distance. I watched three geese fly over the backyard and land in the pond. I hadn’t even had a sip of coffee, but it was already a perfect day. [After her…

ARIES MARCH 21-APRIL 20 Those insisting that you take steps to ensure your own success within a challenging area know what they’re talking about. But make sure you cannot be accused of being so self-seeking that some people give you a wide berth. If you’ve held back in the past rather than indulge your ambitious streak, it’s time to change. LUCKY DAY 14th—someone turns a potential disaster into a huge success. TAURUS APRIL 21-MAY 21 Rehearse a delicate speech that will soon need making, and strive to achieve a mix of optimism and pragmatism where you see a special relationship developing. Even with an audience of one it’s important that you receive a standing ovation. LUCKY DAY 2nd—your structured approach to problems wins bouquets. GEMINI MAY 22-JUNE 21 Put aside…

HISTORICAL GEMS A trip to this former French colony will not be complete without a visit to the French Quarter. Also spend time at the Aurobindo Ashram, the Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother [who founded Auroville]. In Auroville, the landmark that must not be missed is the Matrimandir. IN MY BEACH BAG Puducherry can be very hot so always carry an umbrella, a sarong, swimwear, sunglasses, and a book. And in my case, a fake name as well. WHOLESOME GOODNESS Bread & Chocolate in Auroville is my favourite café. I’d recommend their quinoa summer bowl with poached eggs, ricotta cheese, oven-roasted tomatoes, and marinated onions, topped with a house-made pesto. TAMIL INFLUENCE The Tamil fish curry and rice at the Villa Shanti is a must-have. The restaurant is…

CURRENTLY LIVING BETWEEN GOA AND PUDUCHERRY, I used to run a quaint café gallery in the French Quarter, where I spent most of my time. Born and raised in this town, there is nothing closer to my heart than riding through its lanes on an errand, or grabbing a coffee from the café down the road. Puducherry, though contained, is a melting pot of people from all over the world, dotted with small, individual-run businesses, each one with a story to tell. Here are some of my favourites: BREAD & CHOCOLATE Started by a baker and a chocolate maker (husband-wife duo Fabien and Jane Mason of Mason and Co, of artisanal chocolate fame), the handmade truffles and breads are the reason most people go here. This café and bakery has…