VERVE and FENDI
Luxury label, Fendi, opened its Peter Marino-conceptualised store in Mumbai, at the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower with Verve editor and publisher, Anuradha Mahindra doing the honours. As a special guest, she cut the yellow ribbon, cheered on by Michael Burke, CEO, Fendi worldwide and Silvia Fendi, granddaughter of the pioneering duo and presently, designer of accessories and menswear. The Fendi boutique, first in the line of similar stores to open in the country shortly, offers a delectable mix of Italian-crafted ensembles, sunglasses, the famed handbags and footwear to kill for. All for the well travelled and well-heeled, naturally.

VERVE and FASHION WEEK
The recently concluded Lakmé Fashion Week received an extra edge this year with the Verve Fashion Hour. Slotted in between ramp shows, it lured curious invitees and fashion buffs, who draped themselves over bar stools at the NCPA Café to participate in an interactive section with designers, over coffee and sandwiches. Fashion writer, Bandana Tewari, moderated the events, gently steering the question and answer sessions with Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Narendra Kumar Ahmed and Nandita Mahtani, the three designers who have created a buzz at recently held international Fashion Weeks.

Most absorbed guest: Fern Mallis, President, 7th on Sixth.

VERVE and THANKS
All routes led to Worli as Verve and Thanks, the luxury store, got together to celebrate as India's premium bimonthly, went monthly from November 2006, with a preview of the Thanks Fall/Winter 2006 Designer collections of brands like Dolce and Gabbana, Etro, Chloe, Van Cleef & Arpels, Fendi and more. What better reason for Verve's circle of friends to lunch together and also raise funds for Breast Cancer Awareness at a silent auction of high-end luxury items, the proceeds of which were channelled to The Woman's Cancer Initiative Tata Memorial Hospital.
It was an afternoon of warmth, bonding and understanding the importance of "looking good from the inside", as Devieka Bhojwani, Vice President, The Woman's Cancer Initiative Tata Memorial Hospital and crusader for the cause, so aptly put it.
All eyes and ears were trained attentively on Verve's affable host Devieka, who took the mike to talk about a disease that targets millions of women around the world, irrespective of caste and creed, and the importance of being vigilant about it.
Artist, Kahini Arte-Merchant took time off from her creative pursuits to lend her support to the afternoon, as did Simone Singh, former Verve cover girl and talk show host.
Lunch at the lounge upstairs to the soothing notes of instrumental music, an excellent menu consisting of a delicious Mediterranean salad, an array of crisply tossed garden greens, conjured up by Chef Max Orlati of Olive Bar and Kitchen, with some absolutely divine tiramisu, made for the perfect afternoon when luxury went all out for a cause.

VERVE and ASIA SOCIETY
A vibrant panel discussion in New York, on Indian fashion is a 'sold out'event!
Verve sponsored a panel discussion at the Asia Society in New York City on the much debated, 'Beyond Kurtis and Kaftans - Can Indian Fashion Walk the Global Runway?'
Gina Lin Chu, a trustee of Asia Society and wife of David Chu, founder of Nautica International, gave a wonderful introduction, welcoming and thanking Verve's generosity for hosting this panel with Asia Society. She introduced Avantika Madan, Verve correspondent in New York, who spoke on behalf of the magazine and welcomed the speakers and the audience present.
The moderator for the evening was Laird Borrelli, senior features editor of Style.com. The other panelists were Fern Mallis, executive director of 7th on Sixth and VP of IMG, LaVelle Olexa, Lord and Taylor's senior vice president of advertising and sales promotion, Naeem Khan, a successful New York-based fashion designer and Payal Singhal, our very own designer from Mumbai who retails in New York as well now. This exciting event was covered by Time Magazine, Vogue, WWD, W Magazine, Indian Express, Forbes, BBC amongst other media.
The stimulating talks were followed by a super reception (it was a sold out event!) with Champagne Lager flowing through the ultra-chic crowd. LaVelle Olexa spoke on Lord and Taylor's promotion of India, the first ever done by any store, and how well it was received by its customers but felt that the merchandise still had potential to go forward. Naeem Khan said that Indian fashion is changing tremendously; the collections today are becoming much more international. It is only a matter of time when it will all mingle into the international calendars. Indian designers, as proud as they might be of India, want now to be called 'international' designers and not to be labelled in the 'Indian box' since their collections represent just that.
Fern Mallis personally sees the excitement in India during her visits. She emphasised how extraordinarily talented we are but Indian designers need more strong desi business partners to launch in the West.
Hopefully, our designers can gather more business partners, perfect their retail organisation and be able to still preserve the wonderful craftsmanship that the globe looks to India for and then we would certainly walk and stay on the global runway.