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Meher Castelino

It happened in one day, at one stroke. The showrooms of Metro, Citywalk, Milano and Dawood were all closed down, under express orders from the authorities that be. The only people smiling in the face of this unexpected shoe crisis are the pavement shoe shops. Also joining the bandwagon are all those die-hard bargain hunters who will now be able to polish their claws in manner they never could in swanky department stores.

Meanwhile, fashion pundits and designers will have to keep the current crisis in mind while predicting and setting footwear trends. Till then, it's the turn of the corner mochi to make a quick buck or two. Otherwise, of course, one could go barefoot.

An Eternia garment

Talking of designers, they are facing a dismal season during their peak sales period. They just don't seem to attract the type of attention they used to. Neither are they able to attract good sponsors for fashion shows. The message from the buyer is loud and clear, "Give us good, affordable clothes or watch your designer garments turn into antiques."

Five figure price tags are no longer popular. Money is in short supply and the first item to be offloaded from individual budgets is designer garments. Though eating has become more important than dressing up, the look of the day is still pert. And everyone from designers Krishna Mehta and Shaina NC to upmarket stores like Ensemble, Melange and Glitterati have joined the bandwagon.

Sean Penn

Meanwhile, models Arjun Rampal, Milind Soman, Gautam Kapur, Rahul Deve, Inder Mohan Sudan are zoning onto a different track. They are concentrating all their attention on growing goatees on their chinny chin-chins. Which does not seem such a bad idea, after all. Errol Flynn looked spiffy with it. So did Cyrano de Bejerac (if you overlooked his nose). It made Nicholas Cage look deadly in Kiss of Death. Sean Penn, with his goatee, looked sexy in Dead Man Walking and Nicole Kidman loved to see husband Tom Cruise in one. And now, every teeny bopper with a hint of a hair on his chin is saving it, hoping it will turn into a flourishing hirsute triangle.

At the feminine end, a battle is ranging between demand and supply. We are talking about the numerous beauty and model contests cropping up all over the country. There are the big ones like Miss India, Glad Rags Manhunt, Elite Model and Super Model, Adonis Man of the Year and Ford Super Model. Then there are the little ones like - Miss Maharashtra, Bombay, Pune, Delhi, Suburban, etc. Followed by the teeny-weeny ones -- Miss Beautiful Hair, Skin, Teeth, Eyes, Ears, Nose, Different Parts Of The Body....

A successful contest needs good contestants and they aren't enough to go around. So each organiser is trying to hardsell his contest by presenting bigger and better prizes. And guess who's raking in the moolah?

Maybe, grooming potential beauty contestants, like they do in Venezuela where beauty is a major industry, is something ex-models should concentrate on. Then, maybe, we will have a winner in international contests every year and being beautiful won't be just a skin-deep gift.

Maureen Wadia

Which brings us to the two acknowledged faces on the beauty circuit. Between these two high-profile women, they have produced enough beauty queens to last us a life time. The press report their every move. Their parties are the talk of the town, with die-hard socialites hankering waiting for an invite.

We are referring to the indomitable Maureen Wadia and Parmeshwar Godrej. With their discerning eyes for detail and fashion, both ladies could head the beauty lists themselves. For they really have style, right down to their daintily manicured feet. Our Indian beauties will have to come a long way before they can match up to their mentors.