eStylista

My Style: Summer in the city

Shorts: James Perse

Top: Comptoir des Cotonniers

Shoes: Alaia

For a few magical days in the year, the weather gods deign to shower their bounty upon London's characteristic grey climes - for that short time the city is transformed.

It's sunny, happy - people smile and make eye contact. Everyone empties into its gorgeous parks, onto the roads and walk around luxuriating in its luminescent glory.

Picnics, barbecues, kids playing in the parks - the outdoors are embraced with a feverish tenacity - we know all too well that all this is short lived!

Sartorially I revert to shorts and a tee - classic summer attire! These James Pearse ones are slightly girly, a subtle play on this season's neutral palette. I can see my self getting a lot of wear with them on a beach holiday or a sunny city break.

The holy grail of casual dressing for me is finding the perfect white tee. It has to be light but not too see-through. The cut around the arms should not be too deep - it camouflages the slight (impossible to shift) flab that is stubbornly lodged there. The neckline must not be too deep or it results in gaping when you are reaching over for that last bread roll across the table.

I think I am almost there with this one. 

Now only if I had the fore-sight to have bought a couple more of them!

My Style: the long and short of it..

Top and Shorts: Missoni SS2010

Shoes: Alaia

Shorts as cocktail-wear are a new twist to the LBD saga. I am victim to the 'dress' syndrome as an easy (lazy) solution for evening dos. It is the simplest thing in the world to slip on, a dress and a pair of high heels, the tricky part for me is mixing it up a little.

Shorts add an element of playfulness and fun - these Missoni ones are extremely versatile. The mini-length coupled with a dramatic over-sized top adds that smidgen of glamour that is perfect for Louis Vuitton's Fine Jewellery launch.

This particular Missoni collection has been one of my favourites - it's a departure from their usual knits with the added drama of embellishments and sequins. The colours are more vibrant, there is a slight tribal influence whilst still sticking to the Missoni ethos; it's good to see brands with such a strong 'look' innovate and come up with ways to ensure their client's continuing interest.

I extract maximum bang for the buck with my Alaia shoes - they continue to be my absolute favourites and perfect partners-in-crime for events where standing around in high heels is on the agenda.

Finally add to all this - an oversized bag. It makes for an interesting contrast with shorts, and you have (what is for me) a fun way to enjoy fashion and the oft-elusive and fleeting London summer.

Event: Louis Vuitton Fine Jewellery preview

It's not easy to resist an invitation to preview serious bling (not that I tried very hard!). Especially when the invitation is at Louis Vuitton, Bond Street's swanky 'Apartment'. A superb concept in client management - LV has managed to perfect its techniques in making its customers feel special.

Everything aside, the jewellery was achingly fabulous. Designed by the ultra-talented Lorenz Baumer (he led the Chanel Fine Jewellery design team before joining Louis Vuitton); it was a riot of colour, whimsy and inspiration. I tried on a couple of pieces and boy did they make you feel special.

LV intends to spin off its fine jewellery line with a stand alone boutique in Paris at Place Vendôme opening this winter. It will be a strong competitor to Chanel Fine Jewellery which currently corners the market.

One of my favourites was an emerald ring that was inspired by an aerial view of the rainforests. 

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But quite possibly the most amazing piece of jewellery I have ever tried on, was this necklace that celebrated Brazil - its carnival, samba and electrifying magnetism. 

Lots of other special bits made up the collection - like this pretty pink confection...

Louis Vuitton has pioneered the 'LV cut' - a new cut in diamonds that mirrors its iconic emblem. I am told that it is the most brilliant of all cuts - it did look rather spectacular. 

The attention to detail and quality of craftsmanship was second to none. Joyful opulence would be an apt descriptor of Baumer's designs. Obviously all this comes with an equally dramatic price tag - but such jewellery is what dreams are made of...

New York gets Blinked…..

London's very own Blink Brow Bar does a hop and a skip over the pond to open up its New York outpost at the oh-so-swanky Henri Bendel's.

Managing unruly brows and finding the elusive arch just became a lot simpler for all New York eStylistas - now they have a whole other task to add to their grooming must-dos…

Appointments begin at 10am on June 21 - go get your threading fix!

Camp Biche bootcamp: The results...

Numbers don't lie… (I will also put up a photo!)

6 days at Camp Biche. We walked 90 kms in total - 21 hours of walking. In addition to this another 4 hours of exercise every day!

The result? 

I lost 2 inches off my waist, 3 inches off my navel and 1.5 inches off the hips… pretty considerable for just 6 days!

Thankfully, I didn't have to starve myself to lose them. As you would have seen in the photos in the previous posts - the food was pretty good (and substantial).

More importantly, more than the inches - my strength and endurance has increased. 

It was a mental challenge as well. Waking up at 6.30 am every day. Doing the hike regardless of the weather, walking through the rain at times on muddy, slippery slopes - I was utterly out of my comfort zone. But I did it - (reluctantly at times) and am glad I finished. 

I am also glad to be back home!

Link: Tyeb Mehta painting scores big at the Saffron Art auction

Link to this article in Tehelka

17 JUNE 2011 FRIDAY

Tyeb Mehta’s works continue to score high with international buyers

After flooring the buyers at Christie’s auction, his work now fetches great price in online auction

Untitled, Kali

Priyanka Gill
London

Tyeb Mehta continues to rock the international art market. After the highest price his untitled work of a rickshaw puller fetched at Christie’s summer auction on 9 June, another untitled work by him fetched a high price in online auction.

His Untitled (Kali) was sold at the SaffronArt online auction on Thursday for $1,317,161, three times its high estimate. Measuring 30x24 inches, it is considerably smaller than the one sold at Christies, which measured 58¾x47 inches.

Untitled, rickshaw puller

This is one of the three Kali paintings by Mehta. It is interesting to note that despite its strong subject matter, as opposed to its rather beautiful counterpart at Christie’s, it still sold higher than any expectation.

An undisclosed bidder punted an unprecedented $1 million through a mobile phone, though he was not the winning bidder. In all, there were 23 bids on Mehta, whose reserve was $2,87,360 to $4,02,300.

Earlier, at the Christie’s auction, Mehta’s Untitled (rickshaw puller) sold for $3,238,103. It was sold to an ‘international’ first-time buyer, indicating that Western collectors may finally be awakening to the gap in the prices of paintings by Indian masters, as opposed to their counterparts in China.

This was the highest ever paid for a Mehta painting and the second highest paid for an Indian artist. That record is still held by SH Raza’s Saurashtra, which sold in the same sale last year for $3,486,965.

A healthy 52 per cent of lots in the SaffronArt sale went over high estimate, showing that the appetite of rich collectors is still strong. There is a growing sentiment that important pieces of Indian art are becoming a valuable asset class in themselves. Their soaring prices at international auctions continue to solidify their legitimacy as viable investment propositions.

Priyanka Gill is a freelance journalist and an avid art collector. She blogs at www.estylista.com
letters@tehelka.com

Camp Biche bootcamp: Day 2

Waking up to a gloomy sky is never fun but when you know there is a three hour hike in your near future - the grey cloudiness becomes more than just a mood dampener. 

My attempts to get Craig to cancel the hike clearly failed when I found myself setting off, the hood of my waterproof jacket securely fastened in an attempt to protect myself from the steady drizzle. 

This was post 416 crunches and an hour's workout, fortified with a bowl of (yummy) granola and yogurt.

If I were asked to make a list of things I would never voluntarily end up doing - hiking in the muddy countryside in the rain would probably make the list.

But as I walked, the simplicity of the experience took over. One foot after the other, you walk till the destination is reached. It may be raining or sunny - that is all incidental. It may take hours - but that too is of little consequence. The action becomes therapeutic.

If I were stuck in the city, in the rain - I would be hailing for a cab, taking steps to avoid even the notion of discomfort. But here in the French countryside, it doesn't matter, you walk through it!

Here is Elsa our guide - she does the hike 6 times a week!

Vistas...

We found cherries by the roadside - their sweetness was unsurpassed. Picking them from the trees and instantly eating them re-defined life's simplest pleasures.

A handful of cherries...

French capitalism at its best - an enterprising (and optimistic) soul left a tin for money and a few cherries for passers by. This was opposite a grove of cherry trees - we chose to go to the source!

Looking back at the path we walked upon...

A medieval church...

… for whom the bells still toll...

Alber - our hiking companion - full of boundless energy!

The greyness gives way...

… to startlingly blue skies!

Life lessons come in many forms. As grey gave way to blue, the triteness of truisms came to mind. 

Our destination - Lauzerte

We return to Camp Biche for lunch - on the menu today: a hearty minestrone with a slice of crusty french bread.

For dessert - it's summer fruits.

After lunch it's time to rest your oh-so-weary legs followed by a session of boxing before massage and a wonderful dinner. Tonight it's a bowl of celeriac soup with balsamic reduction followed by chickpea patties, guacamole, sautéed onions and home-made bar-be-que sauce - kind of a deconstructed burger.

The food is all vegan, but it's not something you are constantly conscious of - it simply tastes great.

For dessert its Libby's signature chocolate souffle - absolutely stunning!

It has been a long satisfying day. All the muscles in my weary body ache. Walking has become a challenge. I have no idea how I will make it through the day tomorrow - but Libby and Craig assure me I will!

Camp Biche bootcamp: Day 1

Situated in scenic Lauzerte, France Camp Biche is my final attempt to shed the last lingering bit of post-baby flab before my daughter's first birthday. Recommended by a dear friend, it will test my philosophy that I can do most things for a week!

"Biche" is French for doe. Its a luxury boot-camp promising (and delivering) comfortable beds, massages and gourmet food along with a punishing exercise regimen.

Run by queen-of-all-things-vegan Libby Pratt, its testimonials are filled with people who have lost an astounding amount of body-fat and inches in the 6 day programme. 

Hoping for a similar result, I board the plane for Toulouse - Camp Biche an hour or so away.

Today was day 1. 

Wake up was at 6.30 am, at 6.45 we head to Libby's signature abs class, run by Loic (he's a superb trainer and a national level martial arts expert) - apparently at the end of the week, clients do nearly 1000 crunches in 20 mins or so!

This is followed by a cardiovascular workout and a quick change into hiking clothes before a yummy breakfast of homemade granola, fruit compote and soy yogurt.

The menu is fully vegan and till now it's surprisingly tasty.

Daily three to four hour hikes form the central part of the Camp Biche philosophy. 

Accompanied by Loic and Libby's partner Craig, we begin with a stroll through the vibrant farmer's market.

The 15km hike takes 3 hours. It's through some beautiful terrain - the perfect antidote to city living. Surrounded by fields and trees, one hears birds twittering and oddly it is both meditative and relaxing..

After three long hours we reach the end of the hike. My shoes are killing me - its a really bad idea to wear new shoes for three hours, but there's a nice sense of accomplishment.

We come home to a delicious lunch - ravenous would be an apt description of our current state of being. Beans and salsa served with a tortilla really hit the spot.

 Dessert is a blueberry and banana 'milkshake'

Post lunch, we get an hours rest, followed by exercises in the pool and a yoga/pilates class. Thankfully there is a much needed massage thrown in the end before dinner. After nearly 7 hours of physical activity, my muscles are really sore.

Dinner is again very good. Soup followed by tofu and quinoa in a tangy lime glaze and end-of-seacon local cherries in lemon (tofu) curd for dessert.

One day down, 5 more to go. Im off to bed now, Have a 6.30 am start again tomorrow!!

The most expensive Tyeb Mehta ever sold (to date)...

June 9, 2011 was a poignant day in the history of India art. It lost one of its masters MF Husain. It also saw a new world record being set for one of its other masters - Tyeb Mehta at the Modern and Contemporary Indian art sale at Christies in London. 

The 'Untitled (Figure on Rickshaw)' fetched an impressive £1,973,250 ($3,238,103).

But it was telling that a number of major artists in the sale did not sell. The FN Souza landscape, an early Tyeb Mehta, a rather beautiful Akbar Padamsee, two Subodh Guptas, a Manjit Bawa and the pale Gaitonde from their New York sale - all failed to cross the finish line.

One of the curiosities of the sale were the french doors of FN Souza's New York apartment that he had painted with a series of his famed 'heads' - they will make a rather cool addition to the buyer's collection.

While the sale was a bit slow (I've been in more exciting auctions) - the bidding for the Tyeb Mehta was fast and furious. Christies tells me that it is a new undisclosed 'International' buyer who made the purchase on the phone , but for some reason the Indian art world remains unconvinced!

The market for important works by the masters remains strong. The others may be facing a slump and correction. But if international buyers and cash-rich families enter the fray - it may not be long before the prices of Indian art go the way of the Chinese bull run.

MF Husain: artist, genius, legend - passes away...

As I sit looking at the Husain painting I bought a couple of years ago, I am deeply saddened by the fact that its creator passed away on June 9 at 2.30am GMT. 

The word 'genius' is an oft mis-used epitaph, but for Husain Sahab (as he was fondly known) it is apt. He began his career as a painter of film hoardings and then went on to form the Progressive artists group with his peers like Francis Newton Souza, S. H. Raza and Tyeb Mehta among others.

He then went on to become one of India's leading Modern artists. Prolific, charismatic and the consummate salesman, Husain's paintings became emblematic of Indian art. His paintings became the ultimate symbol of having 'arrived'. Arun Vadhera, one of his first gallerists once told me of clients coming to his gallery and asking for the 'ghode-wali painting' (The horses painting). Husain's horses were iconic.

I first met Husain sahab in school - he came at the behest of the Jindals to paint one massive wall. We welcomed the barefoot, white bearded, softly spoken man - it was a sweltering 40 degrees celsius in the shade. He held a long paintbrush in one hand and what struck me then was that his hands almost touched his knees.

1000 school girls watched gob-smacked as he painted Goddess Saraswati with swift brushstrokes, covering the enormous wall in a few hours.

His detractors called such events stunts, but for a young impressionable girl - it was the beginning of my love affair and obsession with Indian art.

My next interaction with him was at the time of the Tehelka-Bonham's art auction in London. Husain sahab painted live with Shah Rukh Khan in front of London's glamorous glitteratti  - they too were equally mesmerised like the giggly school girls in small town India.

Such was the force of his personality.

Husain did not shy away from controversy - often angering the Hindu right with his sexual depiction of Hindu goddesses. So much so that he was prohibited from ever entering the country of his birth. 

Husain spent the last years of his life living in exile in Dubai. Its a tragedy for the world's largest democracy that we could not provide safe harbour to the man who was one of the leading lights in Modern Indian art.

RIP Maqbool Fida Husain. You were loved and you will always be remembered.

Restaurant review: Spuntino

Address: 61 Rupert Street, London W1D 7PW

Web: http://www.spuntino.co.uk/

RATING: 7/10

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Good things come to those who wait. This is the motto adopted by the new(ish) restaurant in town. Set in what could loosely be termed has SoHo's red light district, Spuntino takes no reservations. You just walk in, wait by a narrow ledge right behind diners seated on bar counters.

While you wait, you mentally will them to hurry up:  for goodness sake, can't you see we are salivating over what you are leisurely ingesting!

The website is equally bare. Just a background, name and address, no menu or photos.

Pre-warned by various (glowing) reviews we read on the net, we were mentally prepared to wait at least 40 minutes before we were seated. Luckily it was a respectable 20. It gave us ample time to admire the warehouse like feel that restaurants now pay good money to emulate. It attempted to be slightly grungy, very communal - the lighting was very, very dim (my apologies in advance for the photos that follow).

Statutory warning: Spuntino is carb central - it is not for those trying to avoid the dreaded c-word. The first dish we tried was their version of eggs and soldiers. Eggs crusted in a yummy batter and deep fried with perfect toast soldiers...

Olives were given the same treatment - didn't love them though...

The third fried small plate we tries was the eggplant with a yogurt dip, good enough but not memorable...

Sitting around the tables we had the yummy (free) chilli popcorn!! Slightly greasy, smothered in butter…. 

The coleslaw was much liked by Gurmit. The soft-shell crabs were eaten in a thrice!

The shoestring fries were delicious - light, non greasy and extremely addictive! Reminded me of the old jingle 'No on can eat just one….'

One of my favs was the calamari salad… the picture does not do it justice!

The star of the main courses was the mac and cheese - ultimate comfort food!! Again eating just one forkful was a master-class in self control!

The truffled egg on toast was smothered in cheese - just looking at it made me put on pounds but it smelt heavenly - I took one sinful bite and it was so worth it!

It is in the desserts where spuntino comes into its own… 

Their famous peanut butter dessert was sadly sold out !! So disappointing - but we had the cheesecake - utterly delish!!

Their coconut-pineapple eaton mess was probably the best eaton-mess I have ever tried! So much so the I didn't take a single bite of the chocolate brownie - but by all accounts it was really, really good...

Spuntino is American food served tapas-style. Hugely calorific, one place to avoid if you are on a diet! But if you are looking for comfort  food done decadently well, you should definitely go there! The staff are extremely friendly; it's interesting to sit around the bar and eat whilst watching the barmen and waiters do their thing. The bar stools and benches are not the most comfortable but you don't mind them. 

The one drink I didn't try was the 'Clover Club'. David of the Recipe tells me it is amazing - if there is one person to who knows his cocktails it is him! So do try it and let me know how it was.

I look forward to going back and having it with the peanut butter dessert I missed! I just need to get off my never ending diet first!!

My Style: Night out….

(photo credit: Abha Housego)

Dress: Missoni AW 2010

Shoes: Giuseppe Zanotti

As I get another year older - I have realised one of the best ways to begin celebrating is to do a small dinner with close girl-friends. I ended up at Zuma for one of the best night outs I have had in a while. There is something to be said about bringing in the birthday with a fun bunch of girls! 

If you follow my blog you know that Missoni is one design house I love. The affair (!) began as a practical option to pregnancy style - I spent almost one year exclusively in Missoni - the dresses stretched as my belly grew. Over that year - I got to know the wonderful staff at their Sloane Street boutique really well, which is the perfect recipe for inducing brand loyalty in clients.

There are intangible reasons why customers will spend their fashion bucks with one brand as opposed to another. Especially with the high spenders - being intimate with the store, the product lines and having an on-going relationship with the store associates is of paramount importance. 

I rarely shop in Selfridges or Harrods unless I'm in a hurry, I much prefer to walk into the store and buy, building relationships with brands - doing this as a client is better value for money as it comes with a whole host of benefits like invitations to special events, previews and fashion shows. The brand gets to know you and your preferences.

Smart brands realise that if they support the client, clients stay put. One of the classic ways is through charity causes that clients endorse. Charity galas are the sum total of relationships the organisers have with brands. Harnessing such relationships is a symbiotic win-win. 

Missoni is one such label. They support my charity Pratham UK and I continue to shop! Not only do I pick up great additions to my wardrobe but also pick up good karma points along the way.

They in turn get access to a whole host of wonderful women who are equally passionate about shopping and giving back through charitable causes. Creating 'stickiness' in clients is an art. Brands that do it well have customers for life...