(From top) A glimpse of Sabina Singh’s stall at the Stylefile exhibition; shoppers at another stall; Sabyasachi Mukherjee with a guest. Pictures by Bishwarup Datta

Date: December 3.

Time: 4 pm.

Venue: Pala, at ITC Sonar Bangla Sheraton & Towers.

Sabyasachi Mukherjee stretching his legs on the carpet, Kiran Uttam Ghosh and Raj Mahtani catching up, Gaurav Gupta on his cell phone urging a friend to drop in for coffee, Sabina Singh shopping at Anamika Khanna’s stall… Glimpses from the Stylefile exhibition on Sunday that followed the Stylefile Winter Show 2006.

The lull, post 2.30 pm on Sunday, was proof enough of the fashion storm that blew through the Sunderbans the previous night and continued right through the morning of the exhibition. With most designers all but ‘sold out’ by lunchtime, it was time to take the fashion foot off the pedal.

With a line-up that read Rohit Bal, Aki Narula, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Anamika Khanna, Raj Mahtani, Aparna Chandra, Kiran Uttam Ghosh, Shantanu & Nikhil, Vivek Narang, Gaurav Gupta and Sabina Singh, along with Amrish Kothari, Anjali Kalia, Pankaj Ahuja, Haresh Shah and Kokommo — the Sunday morning rush at Pala was only to be expected.

The pieces that were picked up first and fast, said most, were the show garments. “Visual impact lasts long. People have been trooping in right from 10.30 am, asking for my ramp ensembles. I have none of the pieces left,” smiled Sabina, whose Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani collection — very kitsch and very bright — went down well with the Calcutta crowd.

Aki sold many of his show “party pieces” in black, just right for the New Year season. “Calcutta has truly arrived on the fashion sense. The mindset has changed and people are experimenting with style. Ramp pieces flying off like this only establishes the fact further,” smiled Stylefile co-host Preeti Goenka.

In the jewellery segment, too, things moved fast. The price tags varied — from Raj’s couture collection tagged at multiple-zeroes to Kali Mehra’s (Kokommo) modest Rs 1,000-to-Rs 1,500 costume jewellery range.

Rohit’s bridal ensembles generated a buzz, as did his exhibition neighbour Pankaj’s pret (incidentally, Pankaj had headed Rohit’s design team for 10 years). “All we knew about Calcutta was that it was a price-conscious market. We priced our garments reasonably and it all worked out well,” smiled Pankaj, after selling “more than imagined”.

Young talent Gaurav agreed: “The clientele here is no different from Delhi and Mumbai. I was expecting conservatism, but was pleasantly surprised. My tops and skirts flew off faster than saris.”

Sumedha Saraogi, the other half of the Stylefile duo, summed it up: “We made sure we had something for everyone — men, women, younger girls and guys, and ample accessories to complete the style story. And, of course, it was planned on a Sunday to rope in all the men.” Quite a recipe for an exhibition that rocks!