By Surender Bhutani, IANS
Muscat : Delhi-based fashion designer Sonia Kumar wants to visit Oman again after her collection displayed here was greeted enthusiastically.
Her outfits were displayed in a catwalk featuring 20 models at the Shangri-La amphitheatre in the outskirts of the Omani capital. The show titled “Colours of India-Oman” coincided with India’s Republic Day Jan 26.
“I am very happy with the response in Oman and it has encouraged me visit the country again,” Kumar told IANS.
Congratulating her, Indian ambassador to Oman Anil Wadhwa said: “Your fashion extravaganza has opened a new chapter in the Indo-Omani relations.
“Until now the Gulf countries were not regarded that receptive to new fashion trends because of the traditional lifestyle. But with the presence of the sizeable Indian community of more than 600,000 people, an attractive market has opened up not only for expats, but for natives too,” he said.
Wadhwa hoped that Muscat would get to see more such events in the near future.The event was widely publicised in the Omani media.
The collection comprised a range of elaborate evening and daywear and trousseau outfits with heavy zardosi embroidery, embellished with crystals and sequins. The designer drew inspiration from Mughal motifs and cuts.
The embroidery, fabrics, cuts and the drapes of the heavy silks created a flutter in the Omani capital that is gradually opening up to colourful fashion.
Sonia’s labels are branded under the name “Silver Tulip” that was set up in 1986. The designer specialises in salwar-kameez, embroidered saris and cholis and lehenga-cholis.
She has won several awards, including the National Mahila Excellence Award of the Indian Solidarity Council in 1996, for successful entrepreneurship.
Sonia has displayed her collections in the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Pakistan and Australia.
Vinay Gupta choreographed the 90-minute show, supervised by a local event management firm, Light and Shadow, owned by Rajiv Chowdhary. Indian pianist Brian Silas was especially flown from Delhi for a recital at the event.