Designer Varija Bajaj celebrates womanhood with aplomb

Designer Varija Bajaj broke away from the mundane by making four faces from the media and fashion industry to showcase her creations that pay an ode to womanhood, rather than getting models to do their job. And she made the ladies wear 'pagdi' (turban).

'Pagdi' -- the traditional headgear -- was the highpoint of the show, as according to the designer, it's a symbol of honour, respect and responsibility in all the regions where it is a practice to wear them.

"From time immemorial, it is the men of the society who wear pagdis, which signifies their responsibility for the protection and welfare of the family. But Pagdi as the main theme of the show was an ode to womanhood," Bajaj said.

"Today, it is women who are actually responsible for laying a strong foundation not only for their family but society as a whole. The show was dedicated to these women who are today the drivers of growth and future," she added.

The show, which took place here on Wednesday night, saw Bajaj joining hands with popular footwear designer Swati Mehrotra of the Swati Modo brand to carry forward this spirit of womanhood.

The muses for this fashion evening were the former Miss India and Show Director Liza Verma; owner and editor of luxury style portal Explosive Fashion, Jasmeen Duggal; Luxe Point India and Wedding Fables Editorial Director Aarti Thapa, and IANS' Special Correspondent Nivedita, who took on the challenge of doing the catwalk.

Supporting the cause were choreographer Ketan Bhatia, designers Manish Gupta, Aakash Agarwal and Rahul Singh, enterpreneurs Jeetendra Dharewa, Avinash Pathania, Kiran Kheva, Nikita Arya, tarot reader Poonam Sethi and artists Gouri Sahni and Sunayan Malhotra among others.

--IANS

nv/rb/vt