Indian Designers first appearance at Fashion Forward Dubai: 6Degree enters into an exclusive partnership

After signing a two-year deal with Lakmé Fashion Week as its official partner, 6Degree, India’s leading fashion talent and tech platform is now going global. 6Degree has exclusively partnered with Fashion Forward Dubai (FFWD), the  definitive fashion platform for Dubai and the Middle East that provides a progressive direction for fashion in the region. For the first time, 6Degree will open the doors for Indian designers to showcase their signature collections at the highly anticipated fashion event-from October20^th – 23^rd, 2016.

Only three designers selected by the eminent jury in the fashion industry stand a chance to showcase their creations at FFWD. After the designers submit their application along with their lookbook and designer profile, the 6Degree team willconducta primary screening and shortlist 10 designers. The top three couturiers will work with 18 international models and showcase 11 looks on the runway. The collaboration entails vast exposure toglobal media and placement of design images on WGSN.comand NOWFASHION.The selected designers will be provided with showroom facilities and networking opportunities with buyers and industry experts.

Nikhil Hegde, CEO & Co-Founder, 6Degree, said, “We are highly pleased to enter into an exclusive partnership with the prestigiousFFWD. Apart from consolidating our position in India as the largest fashion talent platform, we are sure that through this collaboration, 6Degree will carve a niche for itself in international markets as well. FFWDis certainly one of the best avenues for new and talented fashion designers to showcase their creations to the world, earn recognition and get access to high-quality industry exposure.”

Ramzi Nakad, COO and co-founder of FFWD said, “We are delighted to partner with 6Degree for the eighth edition of Fashion Forward and look forward to welcoming the three selected designers to our runways. This strategic partnership demonstrates our commitment to continuously develop the platform each season by debuting new elements at the bi-annual event. The introduction of designers from beyond the region is testament to FFWD’s position as we aim to spearhead the fashion landscape in the Middle East alongside organisations such as Dubai Design District and the Dubai Design and Fashion Council. We believe 6Degree offers the best representation of new and emerging talent from India and we are excited to build a long-term relationship with them.”

FFWD is held twice a year, each April and October at the bespoke location, Hai d3, in partnership with Dubai Design and Fashion Council (DDFC)& Dubai Design District (d3). The key components of the upcoming edition include catwalk shows and presentations by the best couture, ready-to-wear and accessories designers in the Middle East. Additionally, FFWD will host d3 fashion talks, a series of inspiring seminars and panel discussions led by global industry experts and fashion academia. 6Degree was launched in 2014 by Nikhil Hegde and Amit Bhardwaj to connect like-minded people across the global fashion community. By joining forces with FFWD, 6Degree promises to give the emerging fashion designers the opportunity to enter the Middle East market as well as gain international visibility. 

About 6Degree

6Degree is one of India’s first fashion talent and tech company that provides opportunities for fashion professionals to showcase their talent. It unifies individuals related to the fashion domain such as fashion designers, bloggers, brands, models and photographers on a single common platform. The fashion tech firm aims to connect like–minded people across the global fashion community. It has very soundly blended technology with fashion to create a portal suitable for networking, associations and consultation.

About Fashion Forward Dubai (FFWD)

Fashion Forward Dubai (FFWD) is the definitive fashion platform for Dubai and the Middle East which provides a progressive direction for fashion. Key components of FFWD include: catwalk shows and presentations by the best couture, ready-to-wear designers of Middle Eastern origin, or region based; The Showcase, a curated space dedicated to accessories designers; the d3 Fashion Talks, to foster industry discussion; and a dedicated day to connect buyers and industry professionals directly with the designers.

www.fashionforward.ae

Cult Classic ‘Mughal-E-Azam’ To Now Be A Broadway-Style Musical Play

K. Asif’s ‘Mughal-E-Azam’ starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala, which was the most expensive film made at the time (in 1960), is still considered the greatest Indian motion picture ever and now, we have some good news for fans of the eternal love story.

Acclaimed director Feroz Abbas Khan, known for his award-winning film ‘Gandhi, My Father’ and successful plays like ‘Tumhari Amrita’, ‘Salesman Ramlal’ and ‘Mahatma VS Gandhi’, will soon helm ‘Mughal-E-Azam’, a Broadway-style musical play, which will be a tribute to the original film and is being prepared on a grand scale to be performed at the NCPA (National Centre For Performing Arts), where it will play daily from October 21 till first week of November for a limited engagement of two weeks followed by the staging in end November for another two weeks into December at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi.

Readers will be delighted to know that the musical play will not only be made on a grand scale like the film, but will also feature eight songs from the film to be performed as part of the narrative! Needless to say, this project will be the grandest musical live theatrical production witnessed in India and is expected to set a new benchmark for Indian theatre.

Feroz Abbas Khan says, “Mughal-E-Azam is apt because even the film was inspired by a play, Anarkali, which K Asif saw and borrowed passages of dialogue from. It's a dramatic father-son story with the nation at stake. In its writing skills and mounting, it was close to perfection with great dialogues and emotional story-telling, complemented by eye-catching visuals and a terrific score."

The upcoming musical has another connection with the original cult classic- the musical play will be co-produced by none other than Shapoorji Palanji, the 150-year old business conglomerate that had funded K. Asif’s ‘Mughal-E-Azam’ with a budget of three million dollars in 1960, making it the most expensive film made at the time.

Apart from Feroz Abbas Khan, other names attached to this ambitious project are costume designer Manish Malhotra, award-winning lighting designer David Lander, Emmy award nominee projection designer John Narun, production designer Neil Patel and choreographer Mayuri Upadhya.

SEAN PAUL NEW SINGLE CRICK NECK

Dancehall legend, Grammy Award winner and much loved hit maker extraordinaire Sean Paul marks his debut on legendary record label Island Records with the release of his new single “Crick Neck”. The single, follows Sean’s recent Sia collaboration Cheap Thrills which hit number 1 on the Billboard and no. 2 on the UK charts, and sees Sean, together with rising Jamaican star Chi Ching Ching, unleashing a bona fide dancehall banger. Speaking about the inspiration behind the song Paul had this to say : 

“Crickneck is a fun song me an my bredrin chi Ching did 2 show our love 4 the ladies an their sexiness!!! It says we appreciate all that they go thru 2 look good, so much so that we go thru physical pain such as suffering a crickneck jus because the ladies are hard 2 take our eyes off.” . 🏽🏽 #duttysteppinz

For those of you wishing to try out the specific moves look no further than the accompanying video shot in Kingston earlier this year. “So many dance hall tracks in Jamaica have unique dance moves that everyone knows and dances to. The concept behind the video was to document the creation of a new move, created especially by Sean and Ching and watch it spread around the Island. The opening scene shows Sean and Ching discussing what ‘Crick Neck’ actually means - You see a beautiful girl walk past you and you can’t help but look at her, you Crick your neck to look at her – hence the creation of the Crick Neck move”.  The pair worked very closely with Sean’s long-term collaborator & legendary chorographer Tanisha Scott (Rihanna, Beyonce, Alicia Keyes) to come up with the move and dancer Nerita McFarlane helped the move spread around the island amongst the local Islanders.

Sean Paul is without doubt one of the most instantly recognisable voices in music and he   has continued his remarkable strike rate over the last year with a string of hits including Cheap Thrills: 76 Million StreamsOn Spotify + over 1.3m Sales on iTunes, Cheap Thrills – No. 1 on the US Chart | No. 2 on the UK Chart (In chart for 23 weeks), Jay Sean (feat. Sean Paul) – Make My Love Go: 39 Million Streams On Spotify, Little Mix (feat. Sean Paul) – Hair: 25 Million Streams On Spotify, Matoma & Sean Paul – Paradise: 7 Million Streams on Spotify (inc. various appearances on major Dance Playlists e.g. “Massive Dance Hits” & “UK House Music”, Sak Noel & Sean Paul – Trumpets: 4 Million Streams on Spotify, Strong Social Presence with8.9m YouTube Views, 1.33m Instagram Followers & 11m Facebook Likes. 

In 2002 “Dutty Rock” (fuelled by the massive hit singles “Gimme The Light “ and “Get Busy”) went double Platinum in US & UK with worldwide sales of 3,400,000+ while 2006’s “Temperature” reached x4 Platinum in US with sales of over 4m. Over the span of his career, Sean Paul has worked with some of the world’s biggest artists including Beyonce, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Busta Rhymes, Sia, Kelly Rowland, Enrique Iglesiasand 2Chainz, and has also partnered with reggae and dancehall acts such as Damian ‘Junior Gong’ Marley,Mr. Vegas, Beenie Man, Ding Dong, Future Fambo, Tami Chynn, and long-time acquaintances Dutty Cup. Aside from being a top-notch performer, Sean Paul is a much sought after music producer and has created music with a number of top Jamaican artistes. 

UK Fans will be able to witness the goodness live when Sean Paul lands in the UK this weekend to headline Bestival on September 11^th. Sean has also added an exclusive one-off show at the Electric Ballroom in Camden on Tuesday September 13^th.  The show sold out in a matter of minutes and promises to be a night to remember with a host of special guests lined up.

WATCH HERE- 

Mira Nair's son Gives Soundtrack for Queen Of Katwe

Internationally acclaimed filmmaker, Mira Nair's forthcoming drama, Disney's Queen of Katwe is all set to release in India on 7^th October, 2016. The movie will premiere at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival in September, 2016.

Like Nair’s previous films, Queen of Katwe is a heartwarming and riveting drama. Based on real-life events, the film chronicles the inspiring story of an underdog from the streets of rural Uganda. She’s a young girl whose world rapidly changes when she is introduced to the game of chess; as a result of the support from her family and community she develops confidence and determination to pursue her dream to become an international chess champion.The film stars Oscar® winner Lupita Nyong’o, Golden Globe® nominee David Oyelowo and newcomer Madina Nalwanga…and has a splendid musical team coming together for the soundtrack! It was already announced that the makers are partnering with 15-time GRAMMY® Award-winning recording artist Alicia Keys (“Girl on Fire,” “No One”) The multi-talented singer/songwriter/producer’s new original song, “Back to Life,” appears in the film.Well we have stumbled upon the fact that the film features a cutting-edge Afrobeat soundtrack curated by the Ugandan rapper Young Cardamom (aka Zohran Kwame Mamdani), the co-music supervisor, who took inspiration on from the Katwe streets to immerse the audience in the modern sound of today’s Kampala. And Zohran Mamdani is none other than Mira Nair’s son with her professor husband, Mahmood Mamdani (a Ugandan who teaches mainly in Kampala)!!He is the music supervisor on Queen Of Katwe along with Linda Cohen.“Queen of Katwe,” which will have its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on September 10, is directed by Nair from a screenplay by William Wheeler and stars Golden Globe® nominee David Oyelowo, Oscar winner and Tony nominee Lupita Nyong’o and newcomer Madina Nalwanga. The film is based on the vibrant true story of Phiona Mutesi, a young girl from the streets of rural Uganda who is introduced to the game of chess by Robert Katende, a former missionary and soccer coach, and goes on to become an international chess champion.

An exclusive first preview was held just for B-Town's female personalities (in pics)