It was a star-studded affair down at celebrity-haunt Hype this evening when the rich, famous and beautiful of Mumbai descended in droves to meet, greet and be photographed with the legendary Professor Jimmy Choo OBE at the inaugural Mercedes-Benz STYLO Fashion GP in the run-up to the Airtel Indian Grand Prix.

Jimmy Choo, shoe couturier to the late Princess Diana and a host of iconic stars flew in to support the Indian debut of STYLO; an initiative he launched in 2008.  AirAsia X, STYLO’s global airline partner flew the designer extraordinaire from London to Mumbai along with 150kgs of recycled wastes from Kuala Lumpur to stage what is to be the biggest fashion GP fringe party in the city.

STYLO, a London-based Asian fashion entertainment concept created to engage international audiences of world class sporting events was launched in Kuala Lumpur by Jimmy Choo, Her Majesty the Queen of Malaysia and Mercedes-Benz to celebrate the 10^th Malaysian Formula 1 GP. It went on to become the only official Asian fringe event presented by the Singapore Tourism Board when it held its inaugural F1 night race the same year.

Utilising the tagline ‘fashion’s merely the excuse’, it provides the much-needed entertainment and social platform for international audiences and locals to integrate and network by combining fashion, supermodels, art and the arts, sporting enthusiasts, the rich, the beautiful and the famous under its one red STYLO roof. A typical STYLO event involves a short fashion presentation and an extended session of themed fashion after-parties in bold and sometimes decadent style which has made the by-invitation STYLO a much-coveted VIP invitation during the F1 season of recent years.

It currently holds the record of having created the world’s most expensive gown ensemble to date with its 2010 commission of “The Nightingale” valued at USD30million. The collaboration comprised a gown by Jendela KL and matching shoes by Jimmy Choo Couture studded with 751 Mouawad diamonds; the largest weighing 69 carats.  Mouawad are the Swiss jewellers who created the diamond-studded Victoria’s Secret multi-million dollar bra ensemble worn by Heidi Klum and Tyra Banks.

Managing Director & CEO of Mercedes-Benz India Peter Honegg said, “We welcome STYLO to India and believe this fashion accompaniment will make our party unique, relevant and exciting. Not only is Mercedes-Benz a major player in the F1 race but also a big voice in fashion on a worldwide level.”

Mercedes-Benz whose engines are used to power 3 F1 teams; MercedesGP Petronas, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes & Sahara Force India will be bringing 300 of its top Indian customers to the STYLO bash; the only event it is hosting for the inaugural Grand Prix celebrations in Mumbai.

For the Indian debut STYLO introduced “The 7 Deadly Sins: Recycling is the new Black”; a recycling theme launched with much success during the London Fashion Week season last month.  Greed, Pride, Lust, Sloth, Envy, Gluttony and Wrath which have contributed significantly to the deterioration of Mother Earth were made into avant-garde items created out of 150kg of recycled wastes.

The fashion ‘garments’ utilised recycled tin cans, bottles, old newspapers, cardboard boxes, car tyres, kitchen rolls, garbage bags, mosquito nets, vintage clothes, lantern paper, combined with 3D and 2D body art as well as wastes from the streets of Mumbai itself.

“The London success is one we hope to repeat here except that the volume of wastes utilised will double that amount as the fashion collection will be twice that size.” said Nancy Yeoh, President & CEO of STYLO International who was dressed in “The Garbage Rose” by Bill Keith.  “The Garbage Rose” is the epitome of recycling being the new black as it was created out of black garbage bags artfully complemented by recycled black velvet and swarovski crystals. The gown comes with matching fascinator in the form of a big black giant garbage rose.

“We hope to entertain, excite and disseminate messages of conservation to this sophisticated audience via fashion,” said Yeoh.

Also featured in the show were Mercedes-Benz STYLO’s Emerging Designer of the Year 2011 Lorenzo Peh, and Malaysia’s top hairstylist Winnie Loo and her A Cut Above team who flew in directly from London to create the over-the-top matching hair creations. Make-up and body art was commissioned to Pick a Brush whose team completed the avant-garde looks.

One of the main highlights of the event was India’s top DJ, DJ Aqeel who is the owner of Hype. Aqeel is India’s number one DJ for the second year running and is married to celebrity jewellery designer wife Farah Khan Ali, daughter of movie producer Sanjay Khan who has designed for Beyonce and India’s rich and famous is part of Bollywood’s blueblood.  Her sister Suzanne is married to Bollywood heartthrob Hritik Roshan.

Aqeel and his wife were responsible for pulling in all the big names for the STYLO bash.

AirAsia X represented by its Head of Commercial, Darren Wright flies from Kuala Lumpur to Mumbai 4 times a week was responsible for bringing in 8 of the reigning Ford Supermodels of the World, Malaysia 2011 finalists  led by Supermodel of the Year, Atikah and runners-up Gabrielle Boudville and Karen Lugun.

The legendary Choo who is Malaysia’s Tourism Ambassador said “I am delighted that STYLO has finally come to India and to the city of Mumbai. I was here several months ago and was so impressed by Mumbai and its people that when Nancy invited me back here again I of course immediately said yes!”.

A sentiment shared by Yeoh who further added that India is a key destination for STYLO and hopes to be a regular feature on its annual social and fashion circuit. “Besides Mumbai, we are also exploring Delhi and Chennai with tremendous interest”, she said.

For more information, contact Ms. Urmi Wadhawan, Mileage Communications, on [email protected] or [email protected]