By RANJIT RODRICKS (for StyleKandy on-site print edition, Lakme Fashion Week, Sept. 2010)

Fashion Weeks around the world see the most celebrated stylish and eclectic people sitting pretty in the much-coveted front row seats and living it up at the various lounges in-between showings. Among them, you’d spot the hottest Hollywood glamazons (like Scarlet Johannsen), society divas (like Jemima Goldsmith) and pedigreed party-girls (like Paris Hilton). In fact so loyal are these fashionistas to their designer, that, if it’s a Versace show, most of the label’s glamorous devotees (like Liz Hurley) will only wear Versace to the showing.

This time around at Lakme Fashion Week, I was pleasantly surprised to see our Indian stars take this style-tip from their firang counterparts by wearing clothes by the designer whose show they came to watch.

Sultry seductress Mallika Sherawat made a dazzling appearance for designer Anita Dongreand sported a sensual, strappy dress in buttercup yellow from Anita’s Fall-Winter line. Expectedly, the outfit emphasized her ample bust and clinched in her waist, making this sexy lady look like Barbie Doll ever boy would want to play with.

Another stunner to pay tribute to the designer whose show she came to watch (Nachiket Barve) was singer / actress Sophie Choudhury.

Sophie looked resplendent in a top made from triangular cutouts in different colours, resembling a stained-glass window from an ancient chapel. She teamed it with a dual-layered skirt, also by Nachiket.

However, even though Sophie looked like she’d dropped out from the pages of a fashion bible, all eyes were on Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who came along with wife Jaya (wearing a black saree with a red and gold border) to cheer Nachiket. Of course, since this relatively reclusive designer does not dabble in men’s wear, Mr. Bachchan played safeit safe by wearing a pin-striped double breasted suit.

But it was Shazahn Padamsee (the female lead in the film Rocket Singh) who did the most justice to her talented designer friend Swapnil Shinde by wearing one of his elaborately engineered bandage dresses on the forth day of LFW.

Shazahn’s peaches and cream complexion had a luminous glow while her hour-glass figure was sculpted to perfection in this lime-green ensemble.

However, it was Manish Malhotra’s showing on Day 4 of LFW that had an expectedly lavish line-up of lovelies in the front row.

Gossip and whispers in the Kingfisher Lounge (where all the celebs and party-hearty people hung-out between shows) had us believe that Malhotra wanted to be one-up on the Bachchan appearance for Nachiket, and hence he called in as many of his glamour gals as he possibly could to fill-up his front row seats.

If that was really his plan, the maverick designer succeeded pretty well for the shutterbugs went into a frenzy when his loyal followers like Preity Zinta, Sangeeta Bijlani, Urmila Matondkar, Rani Mukherjee, Sameera Reddy and Priyanka Chopra turned-up for his showing.

We don’t know if any of them wore his creations but Piggy Chops played it painfully safe in a little black dress with cut-work at the neckline while Sangeeta Bijlani wore an extremely uninspiring black gown. Was she mourning Azhar’s alleged link-up with a younger woman..???

Preity Zinta (dimples firmly in place) looked candy-floss fresh in a pink one-shoulder dress in three tiers and Urmila wore a colourful slim-fit ensemble which emphasized her svelte figure.

Probably the only person who looked out of place at Manish’s show was actress Poonam Dhillon. The star of yester years wore an outfit which fitted badly and made her look frumpy. Clearly not a Manish original!

And so, as yet another fashion week comes to a close, we discover fashion’s newest trend –Designer Loyalty.

And in the front row at your local fashion week is where you’ll find it…..!!!!