Posts in category: Life Style

Whenever I think of the relationship between food and fashion, I think of the scene from Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) in which Alette Naylor, editor of the eponymous magazine Alette, acquiesces to being served cake by Rebecca’s mum. When a small piece is cut, Alette screams “Tiny!” until the piece in her plate has been reduced to a crumb of cake. She smiles happily as she looks at the speck on her plate. It’s a short scene in a gorgeous movie but it’s very telling of how food has always been demonised. Less than two decades ago, in 2009, Kate Moss said her infamous mantra: “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.”

Though it took an American drag queen to unleash the maximalism in me, India has always had a dyed-in-the-wool affinity for maximalism. Think heavily embroidered charhvan juttis from the Mughal era, intricately wrought gold kanpashas (large ear studs) from Bengal or the revived omnipresence of the Punjabi parandi (hair ornament). Elaborate accents infused in clothing and accessories have survived the test of time and escaped bridal trousseaus and festive occasions of late to make their way into everyday closets. From Bollywood celebrities like Ranveer Singh, who recently told me how much he loves wearing his grandmother’s diamonds with his silk shirts, to my friend who pairs her denims with her father’s chikankari kurtas, we are finding our way back to rich adornments. But it’s not just desis who are eager to rebuild a maximalist vision for the future.

Ornate bag charms and embellished sneaker heels are adventuring from international runways to the streets. Swipe through your favourite fashion editorials and style blogs and you’ll find almost everyone is on board with piling gold jewellery on top of antique silver or decorating their everyday neutrals with audacious brooches. Alessandro Michele’s debut at Valentino, bathed in polka dots, brocade and ruffles galore, was another sign that the dominion of quiet luxury is diminishing. Recall Marc Jacobs’s autumn 2024-25 collection featuring structured jackets dunked in assorted buttons and Prada’s BDSM details, trompe l’oeil belts and UFO-shaped straw visors (thank you, Raf Simons) in its spring/summer 2025 ready-to-wear show, and it is safe to say that this tide will continue to swell.

White button-up shirt, Rosani. ‘Oversized Tulle T-shirt with Acrylic Stars’, NIKHIL Kolhe. ‘Loubipoupi 100’ heels, Christian Louboutin.

“Why do you always scold me like a teacher?” asks the husband, defeated.

“This is the voice of a frustrated woman,” replies the wife brusquely.

In Sister Midnight, it’s clear that Uma (Radhika Apte) and Gopal (Ashok Pathak) love each other. An extraordinarily chaotic couple, they embody German philosopher Martin Heidegger’s concept of ‘thrownness.’ This idea suggests that humans are ‘thrown’ into the world with no say in their existence and must now make sense of it. Uma and Gopal are similarly thrown into the bowels of Mumbai with distinct ideas of life: he, measured and controlled; she, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake.

If I were to take out a personal ad, it might read like this: I am a 26-year-old New Yorker who enjoys solo dinner dates with a cocktail and my Kindle, rewatching Anthony Bourdain and making the occasional ill-advised credit card purchase. Adorable, no? Only there is one wrinkle in this rom-com-ready brief: I am also a non-practising dater. I like to say I observe dating culturally, meaning I have many thoughts and feelings about dating—the politics of ghostability; the balancing act of wanting a partner but not, like, in an embarrassing way; the fickle nature of desire. I pay my romantic penance by going on a handful of dates a year, enough to feel like I’m not a social recluse, but not enough to be truly invested.

So far, this status has suited me well. I very much enjoy my no-strings-attached life. But we are challenged often in life and my challenge this winter came in the form of an assignment: Dating the least compatible zodiac signs—astrological signs that, purportedly, are terrible for me. As a student of astrology and as a Gemini sun—curious, quick-witted, charming with a penchant for dialectical analysis—who better to engage in this purely scientific endeavour?

In order to complete my assignment, I relied on my fairly substantial knowledge of astrology, for which I will not apologise. For those less familiar, here is a quick cheat sheet to the basic facts of each element in the zodiac: air signs are the intellects, water signs are emoters, fire signs are (go figure) fiery and earth signs are grounded. I am an air sign and, as far as dating goes, I’ve experienced difficulties with water sign men, and by “difficulties” I mean an unspeakable emotional intensity worthy of Sylvia Plath. So, in the interest of science, my first date had to be with perhaps the most watery of all water signs: a Cancer. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Date 1: Cancer

We’ll call my first date Cicero, the Cancer. Cancers, symbolised by the crab, are notorious for being nurturing, protective and moody. Their soft-heartedness is not meant to gel with the logical, oft-aloof Gemini.

After a hasty application of lip-liner and blush at my desk, I met up with Cicero at a popular bar in Bed-Stuy. I sat on my stool in the corner and pondered the menu as if I hadn’t looked at it at work before. Cicero came in a few minutes later, standing next to me while wrapping up a phone call with his sister. The sign is known for its attachment to their loved ones. A point toward the Cancerian tendency towards home and family, I suppose, but not the best way to begin a date. We greeted one another with a hug and placed orders for drinks. Him: a beer-and-shot combo, me: some mezcal fruity thing. His drink order recalled the messiness of a college night out. Cancers are notoriously nostalgic but this to me felt like a cry for help; you don’t take shots alone.

Beyond the glass beads and naked dresses seen on the Oscars 2025 red-carpet, Indian designers had their moment under the sun too. From Blackpink’s Lisa in custom Rahul Mishra for her performance to Karan Johar in a Gaurav Gupta blazer set—Indian artistry took centre stage. Ahead, we curate a list of all the Indian Designers seen during Oscars 2025 week.

Lisa in Rahul Mishra

Singer, actor, and model Lisa made history as the first K-Pop artist to perform at Oscars 2025. For this moment, she chose to take centre stage in Rahul Mishra couture. She wore the ‘Gaian Genesis’ black tonal velvet dress, with black embroidery and a slit on one side, from the designer’s Spring Couture 2025 collection, ‘The Pale Blue Dot’.

Mindy Kaling in Rahul Mishra

“I’ve been a collector for many years,” said Natasha Poonawalla in Vogue India’s cover story from December 2021. When not working or parenting, Natasha Poonawalla still takes refuge in fashion. And, her recent look is proof. Last night in Los Angeles, the philanthropist and fashion enthusiast wore a look from Karl Lagerfeld‘s Haute Couture, Autumn-Winter 1983-84 collection for the annual Chanel and Charles Finch dinner.

This evening ensemble takes us back to Lagerfeld’s first collection in 1983. The outfit features work by Lesage, an off-the-shoulder black and gold sequined jacket embellished with gold metal thread and sable fur, and is complemented by a black silk faille full skirt. The jacket also boasts a three-dimensional sun-face design at the rear neck.

Everyone has a wind-down ritual: habits or routines that help them transition out of the chaos of the day. For me, Friday evenings were centred around a seven-step skincare routine to decompress after a demanding workweek. On one such day, I was especially eager for step two: exfoliation. Surely, that new Korean AHA-BHA toner would banish the stubborn breakout dotting my left cheek, an unwelcome precursor to my period. So I cleansed my face, soaked a cotton pad with the solution and pressed it firmly against the offending area for a full minute—in hindsight, a step I should have approached with more caution. The result? A chemical burn that left me with a hard brown scab the size of a fifty-paisa coin for an entire week.

Humbled, I turned to the bottom shelf of my dresser for help. It is the unassuming home of my no-nonsense skincare staples that have served me reliably for years. Out came the Cetaphil cleansing lotion and Soframycin, a dependable duo that promises healing and comfort. Neither of them has the sleek packaging of their trendier counterparts, but they offer exactly what my inflamed skin needed: gentleness and consistency. Incidents like these are reminders of the value of ‘tried and tested products, the original stalwarts of skincare that consistently deliver without drama. While the thrill of innovation is hard to resist, there’s an unquestionable reassurance in the reliability of the already proven and familiar.

If you look up the term evolution, one definition calls it the gradual development of something. The concept holds for almost everything—how we think, what we wear, what we eat or the things that capture our fancy. My interest has always been piqued by evolution in the world of beauty. A salicylic acid under-eye roller? Sign me up. A red-light mask that combats inflammation? Irresistible. An aromatherapy body scrub that guarantees baby-soft skin? Just take my money already. But if my experiences have taught me anything, it’s that experimenting too much can be a double-edged sword. Do too much, and you risk undoing the very results you hoped to achieve. The beauty industry is a playground of constant innovation, churning out skincare, makeup and hybrids that promise to solve every woe. And thanks to social media, many of these products go viral overnight—some for their eye-catching packaging, others for their promising formulas. But not everything is worth the hype.

If there is one tradition that is an inextricable part of the Indian wedding machinery, it’s the meticulous art of warding off nazar. This full-fledged operation has everyone from pandits and Pinky Maasi to your first-grade teacher moonlighting as security guards against the evil eye.

In this realm of DIY spiritual defence, even a stray compliment can be interpreted as an act of aggression. Just a week before my wedding, the designer who was creating my outfit innocently posted a sneak peek of my bridal ensemble on Instagram. The DMs came flooding in: “Make her take it down immediately!” Cue panic. By the time of my next fitting, the dress had to be let out. Whether the culprit was the evil eye or PMS bloat remains a mystery to this day. But I’ll tell you this: nothing humbles a bride faster than realising that the universe has teamed up with her waistline to make a point.

It would seem that envy fuels this cosmic mischief, and nothing attracts envy like things going well. Weddings, of course, are evil-eye magnets—grand spectacles of joy practically begging for the poisoned arrow of nazar to hit them. That’s why our ancestors (and their cousins and neighbours) devised strategies as elaborate as the weddings themselves to keep the thing at bay. After all, before any auspicious occasion, there is a lot of energy coming your way, positive or suspect. And if carrying out simple rituals can give you a little peace of mind, then why not? If you could devise a first line of defence against ill will, why wouldn’t you?

Of course, everyone’s talismans take different shapes. The Greeks have blue beads. In the Middle East, it’s the hamsa. Italy has the cornicello. Egypt flashes the eye of Horus to ill-wishers. Indians sport the black dot or nazar battu. Turkey and the tiny tattoo on my right arm both have the ever- ever-so-ubiquitous evil eye. And let me tell you, the haters don’t stand a chance.

From fiery nimboo-mirchi garlands to the occasional smudge of soot on your cheek, nazar rituals are a mix of ancient wisdom and everyday absurdity. But just how absurd are we talking? “My grandmother made me carry a lemon for 15 days, starting from the day I got engaged, all the way until the final day. That poor lemon went with me everywhere—inside my purse, my laptop bag, my tote when I went to the mall, even tucked into my pocket during my evening walks,” Nikita Desai, 34, a Gujarati bride from Mumbai, recounts. Manisha Rai, 29, a Bengali bride, reminisces: “I remember a ritual from my haldi where I was given a small yellow coin pouch filled with mustard seeds and salt and told to keep it with me until the wedding day. I was also prohibited from going out or being in public.”The condition was put on her by her grandmother and designed to keep unwanted gazes away.

The last two months have given us an Oscar season like no other—so, it’s only right that the Oscars 2025 match that (frankly extreme) level of drama. Going into Hollywood’s biggest night of the year, tensions and anxieties seemed to be at an all-time high: what would become of the acting and Best Picture races which still felt too close to call? How would producers balance the need for a fast-paced, entertaining ceremony with honouring those who were on the frontlines of the devastating LA wildfires and striking an appropriately sombre note, too? And how on earth would the show deal with the presence of Emilia Pérez’s Karla Sofía Gascón, whose Best Actress campaign imploded in the midst of a shocking scandal, but who will now be returning to the spotlight after a strategic pause?

From the viral red-carpet outings and showstopping musical performances to the most emotional speeches and jaw-dropping twists, these are all the moments you might have missed from the Oscars 2025.

Sequins reigned supreme

JC Olivera/Getty Images

Frazer Harrison

Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Savion Washington/Getty Images

From the more subtle embellishments on Ariana Grande’s Glinda-inspired tulle (not to mention her body glitter) and Zoe Saldaña’s strapless Saint Laurent, to Rachel Sennott’s all-out, Barbie-pink ball gown, Lupita Nyong’o in pearl-encrusted white, Selena Gomez and Emma Stone dripping with crystals, Joe Locke’s embellished waistcoat, Cynthia Erivo’s incredible nails, Coralie Fargeat’s shimmering black frock, Mindy Kaling’s silver floor-skimmer, Halle Berry in a mirrored work of art and Wicked star Marissa Bode’s red-hot number, A-listers dazzled on the step and repeat.

Women over 50 didn’t hold back

Christina House/Getty Images

Christina House/Getty Images

Frazer Harrison

Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Fernanda Torres shimmied in her feathered showstopper, Whoopi Goldberg showed up in retina-searing electric blue, 79-year-old Goldie Hawn wore gold and Demi Moore shut down the red carpet in a silver, sculpted stunner. While many younger starlets (Elle Fanning, Blackpink’s Lisa, Margaret Qualley et al) underplayed it with more classic looks, their more experienced colleagues, thankfully, did the opposite.