By Joanna Hughes
LAST month, I went to a fashion show. Not unusual in my line of work, but a most unusual fashion show.
For one thing, it started on time.
From couture shows in Paris to humble mini shows in Singapore, no one starts on time. I suspect that even if they are ready, everyone waits until either all the VIPs (whoever they are) show up or until the invited audience is about to wander off.
But this one at Mumbai Se, the high-end Indian fashion house at Palais Renaissance, not only started on time, it began with a duet between a well-known Indian singer and her daughter.
Then the models came out, including 2001's The New Paper New Face runner-up Colleen Francisca (who, I will confess now, should have nabbed first place instead of second, at least in my opinion).
They wore modern Indian creations by designers and well-known names, including writer Shobha De.
The clothes were fabulous, with interesting takes on traditional handiwork and styling, but they were also clothes that would feel at home in New York, Paris or London.
Then the mood shifted. It was time for saris, some of the most magnificent and unusual saris I've seen outside of Mumbai.
But the models had been replaced - by Mumbai Se customers.
And young or old, thin or curvy, each woman looked like a goddess.
Which is another reason I loved the show - and the clothes - so much.
You don't have to be young, tall and skinny to look good in these clothes.
And unlike other fashion shows where you leave saying, 'Well, all those clothes look great if you're under 30' (age and waistline), the show at Mumbai Se made me want to dress up.
For once, the clothes weren't about having lots of money or being stick-thin or the darling of male designers. The clothes were about being a woman and looking good.
I found myself thinking, yes, yes, I can look like a goddess too, no matter what my age or my body shape or my skin colour.
This brings me to Mac, the cosmetics brand, which also subscribes to the same philosophy. It believes in beauty, however you want to define it, for all ages, genders and races.
It recently featured actresses Catherine Deneuve and Raquel Welch, both women of a certain age but still undeniably beautiful, at the centre of celebrity collections of makeup.
It has also featured transvestite RuPaul in ads for Viva Glam lipsticks and the company regularly donates proceeds from Viva Glam to help victims of Aids, particularly children.
Makeup comes in a range of colours, from fair to dark. And there are no ideal faces for you to live up to either.
When I was a budding teenager, my mother hauled me to a department store for a makeover. The woman scrutinised my spotty face and then proceeded to slap on not just a heavy, oily foundation, but ivory and brown face shaders and, heaven help me, green eye shadow.
'Your eyes are too small and too close together, your nose is too broad and flat, your face is too round, but you have nicely arched eyebrows.'
Thanks a lot, ma'am.
There is no need to pay money to feel bad. Fashion, makeup and beauty should be about fun and celebrating who you are.
Be a goddess (or a god). Enjoy your unique beauty. And don't let some fashion designer or a naturally-that-way skinny model get in your way
