pink rickshaw

india fashion week: part 1

"A woman's dress should be like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view."-Sophia Loren

 

It can get a little difficult to keep up with all fashion weeks around the world. I usually start losing interest early in "fashion month" somewhere between London and Paris. But after a bit of a runway slumber, I do make sure to mark my calendar for India's two fashion weeks in Mumbai and New Delhi. In the past, it was one of the only ways to get a glimpse of the latest in ethnic Indian wear (saris, lehngas, bridal wear) from well-established Indian designers and a chance to see the hottest Bollywood celebs walking the ramps. But over the years, both cities' fashion weeks are showcasing younger, edgier and new Indian designers who are not just showing their modern takes on traditional wear but also contemporary styles. (Interestingly, one thing that has not changed is the number of celebs that still walk the shows).

Indian designers are getting international recognition and it is no surprise when you take a peek at some of these inventive lines.  Today in Part 1, is a  recap of  the Summer-Resort edition of Mumbai's Lakmé Fashion Week. (Later this week in Part 2, will be a look at Amazon India Fashion Week that just wrapped up Sunday in New Delhi.) 

The contemporary lines really showcased some of the budding creativity amongst Indian fashion designers. One of the highlights was Jatin Varma's line of  bold hued, structured dresses with beautiful laser cutwork. (The dresses are made of the it-material: neoprene). Also, notable were the fun designs from Pankaj and Nidhi whose line can be found here in the US at Anthropologie. Pankaj and Nidhi's fall line shown in New Delhi is amazing (more on that in Part 2). The crop top trend was also very prominent in numerous lines. (This actually made me think : Duh! Of course, Indian designers would embrace the crop top. After all, wasn't the sari blouse like the world's first crop top?!?)  
Pictured above: 
1. Ridhi Mehra 2. Harpar's Bazar Inspires Mulmul show (various designers) 3. Jatin Varma 4. Mirage by Parul Bhargava 5. MadSam TinZin 6. Pankaj and Nidhi 7. Sahil Aneja (Reboot by Anuj Bhutani and Dhruv Kapoor and Sahil Aneja show) 8. Pankaj and Nidhi 9. Babita M 10. Sahil Aneja (Reboot by Anuj Bhutani and Dhruv Kapoor and Sahil Aneja show); Inset: Sabyasachi Mukherjee

vietnamese coffee ice cream

“My love is a flower shaped like a snowflake. It won’t melt, so perhaps ice cream should be made out of it.”-Jarod Kintz

It has been an especially harsh and long winter for most of the country (you know things are especially bad when even folks like us in Texas are over the snow and low temps). But you know what that say, when life gives you snow...make snow ice cream. Well, at least that's what this Missouri reporter suggests. When I came across this video, I thought, "wow, what a novel, albeit, crazy idea." But turns out snow ice cream is a traditional treat that has been enjoyed for generations. Just take fresh snow, mix with condensed milk (or milk) and vanilla extract and voila!  I cannot vouch for how this tastes (or the sanitary aspect of it) but if you are need of an alternative winter ice cream fix, I can suggest one of my favorite ice cream recipes. It also uses condensed milk, is rich in flavor, and is delicious. No snow required.

Ice cream in the winter is a wonderful time to try some of the deeper and richer flavors that might seem too heavy in the warm, summer months. I absolutely love rich and sweet Vietnamese coffee, so I was super excited to try the ice cream version. This easy recipe from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz (aka the ice cream bible. If you make ice cream at all, this book is fail proof and the best. You will notice almost every ice cream recipe on Pink Rickshaw is from Lebovitz's amazing book)

Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream (Makes about 1 quart)
1 1/2 cups sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups brewed espresso (or very strongly brewed coffee, preferably brewed in a French Press)  (I used this instant espresso coffee  and it was excellent)
1/2 cup half-and-half (or whole milk if you prefer)
Pinch (I used about 1 teaspoon) finely ground dark roast coffee

Whisk together the condensed milk, espresso, half-and-half and ground coffee. Chill the mixture thoroughly (took about a couple of hours) and then throw it in the ice cream maker. 

image source: SD

-SD