Celebration of style in Dubai with Mana Shetty

IT IS A big weekend in the Shetty household. Athiya Shetty, elder child and daughter of actor Suniel Shetty and style connoisseur Mana Shetty makes her film debut. Hero, a Nikhil Advani film which co-stars Aditya Pancholi's son Sooraj, opened to a warm reception on Thursday in the UAE. Athiya is already the talk of the town, thanks to her immaculate and always elegant style. She is yet to make a fashion faux pas on the red carpet. She can probably thank her fashion acumen to her mother Mana Shetty, who is in Dubai today.
Mana is one of the low profile "first wives of Bollywood" and for the past 25 years has been discreetly but successfully making her own mark in both fashion and décor. Starting by designing for her actor husband's retail boutique Mischief, which at its time was one of India's first high fashion stores. She then branched out starting her own label, Vivre, known for its understated, clean yet elegant easy to wear separates. "It was mostly a private label though we did retail at Ensemble. We never did any advertising but grew by word of mouth. Our clients were very low. I like keeping things low key," she says. From fashion Mana moved to décor as two years ago she opened the 15,000 square foot R House right in the heart of Mumbai, Worli. Coming from a family of architects she found décor, was something she both enjoyed and had an eye for.
Mana is in Dubai this week as she brings Araaish to Dubai for its 9th edition. It's a lifestyle exhibition that combines both style with substance. With the collections of Malini Ramani, Gaurav Gupta, Simar Dugal and Mandira Bedi on display there is plenty of "Made in India" style to choose from. Adding a touch of Middle Eastern elegance to the event will be local designer Essa, who has a loyal following in the region.
"Athiya is going to kill me. But we are so proud of her," says Mana, as she talks about being in Dubai during Hero's opening weekend. But her absence is for a good cause as this show supports P.R.I.D.E India, a non-governmental body that working towards empowering marginalised rural communities. Mana's mother Vipula Khadri who was in turn the reason behind Araaish set up this NGO. This is today one of fashion's most loved lifestyle exhibitions. It was first conceptualised after the death of Mana's mother in 2007 as a fundraiser to celebrate her mother, though the exhibition is best known today for being a celebration of style. "We curate each Araaish with the audience in mind. For Dubai we keep in mind the wide client base, and since our festival is timed before Eid and Diwali we keep it very festive." Among Mana's picks are Jewels by Queenie Singh Sethia as well Vikram Phadnis and Lotus Sutr's festive ensembles.
This is Araaish's 32nd show and has been curated by Sharmilla Khanna, who is the co-founder of Araaish along with Mana. A former model, a lifestyle and event consultant, Sharmilla is a well known name in Indian fashion. Adding the Dubai expertise is, Shefali Munshi also an event expert. With the next edition of Araaish dates already announced for February 13 2016, this exhibition has truly become a part of the Dubai's fashion calendar.
Araaish Dubai takes place today at The Opera Ballroom, Taj Dubai, Business Bay 11am-8pm.

Sujata Assomull is Consulting Fashion Editor with Khaleej Times. Follow her on Twitter @stylesuj, and on Instagram at instagram.com/sujstyle

Mana Shetty