Fashion for a Cause
BOLLYWOOD CUTTING EDGE FASHION SHOW AND GALA DINNER
The fragrance of jasmine wafted through the foyer of the Sheraton Towers Singapore ballroom, its heady scent weaving through the steady stream of some 300 guests arriving at the Bollywood Cutting Edge gala dinner. Delighted ladies dressed in their finest and brightly coloured saris were promptly accosted and cheerfully adorned with a bracelet of jasmine buds and a tikka on the forehead, with the sisterly chiding, “You won’t be allowed in if you don’t have these!” Of course, the dinner was more than just about beautifully turned out guests. Co-chaired by Maniza Jumabhoy and Joy Tan, the fundraising gala, now in its fourth year, is in support of the Singapore Indian Development Association (Sinda) as well as needy families in the Henderson-dawson constituency, with programmes such as scholarships, bursaries and even food coupons for children and residents in the community.
Over an excellent Indian-themed dinner, guests were entertained with performances by children from the Henderson-dawson constituency. Highly anticipated that evening was a resounding fashion show featuring some of the top names in the Indian fashion industry such as Nikasha, Anushree Reddy, Jayanti Reddy, Kavita Bhartia, Rohit Gandhi, Rahul Khanna and Antar-agni. The latter closed the show on a high as some of society’s best men including Piyush Gupta and Iqbal Jumabhoy proudly walked the runway to wolf whistles and shouts of encouragement from their friends and families. But guests saved their best applause for the performances by MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, Joan Pereira, and senior minister of state for Law and Finance, Indranee Rajah. Pereira accompanied the Henderson-dawson kids in the opening performance, showing off her nifty dance moves and setting the fun and inclusive mood of the event perfectly. As a finale and to the delight of the audience, Indranee belted out four songs—a Bollywood favourite, a Tamil tune, a Cantonese ditty and finally, an English number, Johnny Angel. Over $300,000 was raised, and for the droves who flocked to an adjoining room to shop the outfits after the show, the dinner ended on yet another high.