Out of my Closet: Komal Mirchandani

With a personal touch
A mini version of her boutique, the wardrobe of Komal Mirchandani, the stylish owner of Sanskrit on Lyndhurst Terrace, is immaculately organized.

Areas of her cupboard are cordoned off for her Western outfits, her shimmering saris, designer bags and bejeweled shoes. And there's a small area reserved for her husband to hang his shirts. "Otherwise, the place is all mine," she says with a laugh.

"I know where every single item is. I hate a messy environment and thankfully my kids have inherited that from me. Well, my son has. My daughter is studying in Britain now and when she comes home, it's like typhoon has hit the room."

The clothes are a reflection of her identity as a Hong Kong Indian. "I've lived in Hong Kong for five decades and it is really my home. I go to India often and have been to many of the fashion weeks that are held in Delhi and Mumbai, and I pick up pieces that suit my lifestyle."

She likes pieces that have a Western silhouette with an Indian touch. "It isn't practical in the heat and humidity of Hong Kong to wear traditional saris all the time or a shalwar kameez, so we - and I can speak for many Indian ladies in Hong Kong - wear them for special occasions only. I try to remember how my mum taught me to wear a sari, but now there are many ready-made saris I can just zip into."

For her daily wear, Mirchandani goes for comfort with a splash of style. "I pick up outfits with little Indian embellishments, like a sparkling arabesque pattern at the collar, or a print that's colorful."

She often wears Indian designer shoes, but also has a collection of Jimmy Choo, Giuseppe Zanotti and one pair of Christian Louboutins. "His shoes are gorgeous, but they are so painful after 10 minutes. I'm sure many women secretly agree with me."

For Mirchandani, a personal touch is important in fashion. "There are are some designers who  I won't work with or buy from as they are difficult for no reason. It's really important for me to like them, that we have an understanding and a connection.

"Not only do I wear the designs of Satya Paul, Rina Dhaka, Rabani and Rakha, and Anjalee and Arjun Kapoor, I sell their pieces in my shop. I knew Anjalee and Arjun before all the Bollywood stars started wearing their outfits - they're lovely, talented people, who understood that many of us non-resident Indians need to mix and match, it can't be too traditional or too Western. They have reconstructed pieces for me, to suit the weather and style here."

Mirchandani travels often, and prefers shopping in London to the US. "In the US, you see the same brands in every mall. You see them in Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, you'll find them all in Hong Kong too, so the temptation to shop there is limited. In London, it's great to find these off-the-beaten path boutiques in Marylebone Lane, and Marylebone High Street, Knightsbridge, New Bond Street and Notting Hill."

She prefers authentic jewels and stays away from costume jewelry. "My traditional sets of kundan or polki jewelry or the bigger diamond sets are locked away and come out only occasionally.

"I'm glad fashion evolves constantly, " she says. "Remember when people frowned if your bag didn't exactly match the colour of your outfit? Thank God, we've moved on from matchy matchy."



Text: P.Ramakrishnan (ramakrishnanp @ hotmail dot com)
All photos by Carmen Chan.

Essentially yours: David Oshry on his travel basics: South China Morning Post: photoshoot and column

Having modelled for more than a decade in New York, Paris and Beijing, Hong Kong-based model David Oshry has a portfolio that's a veritable catalogue of menswear. But his wardrobe reveals a few surprises (including his cat, Hobbes, snuggled between rows of Calvin Klein and Jack 5 underwear). You might expect to see a rackful of monogrammed swag, but Oshry’s collection is surprisingly modest.

“Sometimes we do get to keep the clothes, but it is not as often as people think,” he says. “What’s more surprising are the things that I have been asked to give back. Like designer underwear that I wore for a couple of hours, running around on the beach and swimming in the ocean. Not sure what they plan to do with them.”

Oshry has worked with most of the major brands in the world, and his personal favourites include multiple shiny acronyms. “I love the greats, like CK, LV [Louis Vuitton], D&G [Dolce & Gabbana], and Boss,”he says. “But a funny thing happens to models: we get a bit desensitised to brands. Ultimately, I prefer simple clothes that fit well and don’t cost a fortune.”

Instead of glistening accessories, his cupboard is full of sentimentally gilded trinkets and tokens. “The Skagen watch I have is from my father,” he says. “Actually, it is not typical of my sort of style, but it has sentimental value, and that’s more important than how it looks. All my most treasured things are the ones that my favourite people gave me. Things don’t have to be expensive to have value.”

But there is one item worth its weight in gold that Oshry always wears. “My wedding ring – a simple white band, made of yellow gold, coated in white gold. As time passes the white gold wears away, and the ring turns more and more golden in colour. The longer the commitment, the more golden the ring becomes. It’s very romantic.”

As someone who’s on a plane more often than not, he invests in travel gear. “I can live without clothes – as long as I have my iPad. And noise-cancelling headphones. The cheaper you travel, the more expensive your headphones should be. There is nothing like being able to turn down the volume on the world around you.”

One fashion capital that has inspired him is Paris. “To be truly chic, you shouldn’t seem like you are trying too hard. Things should just seem to come together effortlessly. I have never seen this done better than in Paris. People look like they have just stepped off a film set, and yet it all seems completely unforced,” he says. “I have seen many outfits where a beautiful design has been carried past perfection with one or two unnecessary accessories. It’s like an artist who’s finished his masterpiece, but feels compelled to just add one or two more brushstrokes.”

When it comes to clothes, Oshry likes to keep it simple. “Calvin Klein got it right over four decades ago with simple jeans and a tee [T-shirt]. I have many plain shirts, and I’m not afraid of colour.”

One thing that does stay white in his wardrobe, however, is his sneakers. Even so, just because they’re white doesn’t mean he wants them to look pristine. “I was born in the ’80s, I grew up in the ’80s and I’m a product of the ’80s,” Oshry says. “I get a new pair every few months. When I get them, I make sure to scuff them up a bit, though: brand new, shiny white sneakers are just not cool.”

There’s one more thing Oshry says he always carries with him: “My blue swimming trunks from Zara. Great, lightweight fabric that dries in an instant. They have saved me more than once when a client decides they want a ‘creative’ shot of me running through the waves or diving into a pool, and I realise that I am going to have to spend the next few hours travelling in wet underwear.”

David Oshry, outtakes by Carmen Chan

Words: P.Ramakrishnan
Photography: Carmen Chan
25th May 2012
South China Morning Post

Aliya Zaidi: Beauty and the East

As you might expect of a former model who strutted the catwalks from New York to Lahore in the early 1990s, Aliya Zaidi's wardrobe is a festival of colour, embracing both the styles of the wild West and the conservative East.

"I am a big fan of Dolce & Gabbana, the clothes fit like a glove and remain classics in my opinion," says the mother of two. "I also love the over-the-top drama of Alexander McQueen and Jean Paul Gaultier. I adore Tom Ford's design sense and the attitude that he has brought to fashion."

She reels off a list of those behind the seams in Karachi and Lahore. "Pakistani designers like Umar Sayeed, Faiza Samee, Shamaeel, Ayesha Farook Hashwani star in my cupboards. And I love long, printed saris from Indian designer Satya Paul," she says.

"Pakistani fashion stems from heavy and ornate bridal pieces. Weddings are decadent and the bride and groom are outfitted in the finest silks, embroidery and jewellery. A mother works on a daughter's trousseau for years. Intricate handmade embroidery has been part of our fashion culture for hundreds of years and has trickled down from the royals to the masses. People in Karachi and Lahore will dish out thousands of dollars on couture."

The shimmer of Zaidi's rhinestone-studded shoes - the trinity of Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo and Giuseppe Zanotti - lines multiple-tiered shelves.

"I love colour. A bright dress not only brightens up your day, but also lifts your spirit. There is nothing like rolling out of the house in a bright fuchsia number on a dull, rainy Hong Kong morning. I love Missoni, Milly and Pucci for statement pieces."

Her favourite accessories are trinkets that carry sentimental value, including a Tiffany pendant her husband gave her on their first anniversary. She also has a soft spot for everyday silver hoops. "I have been wearing hoops since middle school. My Rolex means a lot to me, as my mother wore it every day until she passed away. She also gave me her gold coin earrings, which I think are classic. Passing down jewellery is part of my culture, and I plan to do the same for my daughter."

For the New York fashionista in her, she has monogrammed necklaces from Chanel, shades from Tom Ford, perfumes by Jean Paul Gaultier and handbags from Bottega Veneta.

But having risen to fame in Pakistan, where she was voted one of the nation's most fashionable people by the local press earlier this year, Zaidi carries the Eastern aesthetic with ease. She marries ethnic jewellery with Western ensembles. It is an art she has perfected with time.

"I've been heavily into gold accessories for the past two years. I love old school Kundan and polki jewellery [large, chunky Southeast Asian pieces]. It can dress up a Western outfit or enhance traditional gear.

"I am infamous for changing outfits at my parties," she adds with a laugh. "I am very much into drama. I like to have one dress for receiving the guests and one for enjoying the party. Clothes are my passion, and I have no qualms admitting it. My closet consists of items I fell in love with 20 years ago. And I still love them."

To Zaidi, wardrobe is the ultimate personal statement. "What you wear should reflect you - an outfit should complement your personality," she says. "A loud and busy print is so not becoming on a woman with a quiet disposition. You should be able to guess what I'm like from what I wear."

Caption: Aliya Zaidi's closet is bursting with bright colours (top); part of her jewellery collection (above).
Photos: Sabrina Sikora



NOTES:

Though we met thanks to a truly awful person in Hong Kong, the silver lining remains, till date, the grand introduction to the ever-stunning Aliya Zaidi. I remain in constant delight in the presence of the gorgeous Aliya who stays in a perpetual state of grace.


Along with my other tall-drinka-water, model-turned-photographer Sabrina Sikora (aka gorgeous-much?), we spent a delightful afternoon chatting and snapping away. And this feature came about for Lifestyle, last week in South China Morning Post.

Even before I arose from the dead (magazine finally went to print and I slept for 14 blissful hours), I knew the feature had hit newsstands by the innumerable missed calls and msgs. The brown contingent maybe small in Hong Kong, but they are frightfully media-aware! Aliya and family were out of town the day the paper came out with the feature, am hoping all those who matter like it!

We shot Aliya Zaidi in Western (D&G) and Eastern outfits (AFH) but the powers-that-be-chose this look.

Now the big q; what to do next year? Hmm.

Meanwhile, outtakes below.
And the feature on the left was mine too. I really did have a Good Friday. ha.