Vogue India Wedding Show 2016, Delhi

{Written after re-watching The Devil Wears Prada and reviewing all of today’s Insta-worthy photos with haute couture designers}

A page brims with power and allure the moment the word Vogue blesses it. Known as the “fashion bible,” this cherished magazine and its collaborators have inspired millions across the chic continents. If you’re as perplexed as Andrea Sachs about this universal rule to bow down in the name of Runway – I mean Vogue – I recommend keeping mum about it in front of your friends who worship and quote Miranda Priestly on a regular basis until you’re certain of the spelling to fill in Dolce & _____­­_ (I’m sure at least one aficionado who can assist comes to mind.)

We entered the opulent Taj Palace Hotel to a botanical garden foyer of illuminated paper and candles. Brides and socialites of New Delhi’s elite society greeted one another with air kisses, as models – or rather walking mannequins as they were called at this event – came down the stairs to mingle with the crowd, their designer finery trailing the gleaming black marble floors. Paparazzi fluttered between the five ballrooms, which had been converted into the grounds for the Vogue Show where India’s top haute couture and jewelry designers showcased the best of their Autumn/Winter 2016 collections for the start of India’s wedding and party season.

Bollywood celebrities had already graced the opening of the three-day invitation-only event the day before: their support for their favorite designers like Manish Malhotra, Sabyasachi, and Tarun Tahiliani was already documented on the front page of the Times of India newspaper. This fourth year of the annual Vogue Wedding Show also featured other big names in Indian fashion such as Anita Dongre, Manish Arora, Gaurang, Shantanu & Nikhil, Gaurav Gupta, Payal Singhal, Falguni & Shane Peacock and even Pakistani designer Misha Pakhani.

Making my way past the brides and grooms discussing looks with some of the world’s most coveted wedding planners, photographers, and makeup artists, I entered a ballroom that I can only describe as couture’s wonderland. Each stall boasted its own cosmos in-keeping with the designer’s creative vision for the season. Champagne flutes sparkled past, as I moved from one couturier’s dreamscape to the next runway worthy showroom. Diamonds, emeralds, and rubies glittered against the light as women and men tried on exquisite jewelry from the top jewelry houses of India. Attendants assisted us with regal headpieces, necklaces, and other Indian ethnic and modern bridal jewelry from Hazoorilal by Sandeep Narang, Bvlgari, Amrapali, and many more.

Awe-inspiringly detailed embroidery and jewels decked each outfit, and as I admired the creations, the designer’s assistants offered further custom-order options revealing even more ornate lehengas and saris from trunks. I was at the Varun Bahl Couture stall admiring his Vintage Garden Collection aloud, when a girl nearby tapped me on the shoulder and laughed that I obviously hadn’t noticed the designer himself was just behind us.

And sure enough I soon realized that the designers themselves were serenely greeting their fans and clients, going over the couture collections with them. It felt unreal to go from speaking with Varun Bahl {check out his interview with #nikitalyfe} to taking photos with Manish Malhotra, and then crossing over to meet Tarun Tahiliani all within the scope of the same event. The Vogue promo video went on to say how this event of the year was ideal for a couple to design the look for their wedding in its entirety, as the finest minds for anything and everything to do with creating a statement wedding event “were right here under one roof.”

Returning to the main foyer of the Taj Palace Hotel, I strolled through other sections of the Vogue event, where I’ve got to chuckle and say I’ve never felt as short as I did around the statuesque 5”11 models who glided past the Belvedere sponsored bar at the cross-paths of the ballrooms. And while I’m a long way from doing any wedding planning of my own, I did absolutely love every glamorous minute of being a part of Vogue Wedding Show 2016’s haute couture wonderland, and feeling like I was in a scene of the Devil Wears Prada. In the eternal words of our queen and savior, Miranda Priestly, “That’s all.”

(Cover Photo PC: Vogue India)