The stage is being set for a drama of the visual senses as Vogue, the bible of fashion, unfolds its first issue in India against the art deco Umaid Bhawan Palace here Saturday. The scale of the event seems like a Hollywood production.

Paola Ricotti, a creative director, has been brought in from Milan. The talented Sumant Jaikrishnan, a production designer, will work on enhancing an already imposing palace. His brief: use simplicity and style for Vogue’s debut.

And event manager Vandana Mohan will deftly manage the mayhem with her team backstage to bring in guests from Delhi and Mumbai on charter flights.

Spunk and bold moves. That’s the new mantra of the Pakistani ramp. Models from Lahore and Karachi are wooing the world of international fashion.

Meet Neha Ahmed. At 23, she’s already catwalked in Paris and Dubai. Next month, she’ll do a show in London for designer Hasan Sheriyar. “We’re getting a lot more international exposure now. I’m listed with agents in Paris and Dubai and keep going for shows there,” says Ahmed. But entry into modelling wasn’t easy. “My father, an armyman, was furious. But that was then. Now, he’s cool about it.”

Sunita Marshall, having done ramp shows in London, Sri Lanka, India, Singapore and Dubai, is one of the most sought-after models on the Pakistani ramp. “Though modeling is seen as a short-term profession in Pakistan, there’s a lot happening in the industry: we’re looked upon with respect and the money is amazing,” says Marshall, set to make her acting debut in the play Sukhay Patay, which has been shot in Canada and co-stars Suresh Oberoi.

As the heads of India and Pakistan prepare for a meeting in New York that is expected to boost peace talks, a wedding show back home is propelling people-to-people contact — often cited by analysts as the bulwark of any permanent peace deal.

In its sixth year, Bridal Asia is more an India-Pakistan bonhomie forum than deal-snapping trade fair.

“We believe in people and spreading love between them,” smiled Divya Gurwara, who has got a 40-member delegation from across the border at her three-day exhibition at the Indian capital’s Taj Palace Hotel.

“The commerce happens,” Gurwara told IANS.

The fourth Lakme India Fashion Week in association with Liberty started here on Friday with great pomp and show but there were only a few catwalks — the fashion industry is focusing on how to get corporatised.

Fifty-eight designers showcased their work to 350 Indian and foreign buyers at the industry’s annual trade fair.

International buyers such as Selfridges, Celine, Marks and Spencers, Shoppers Stop and BE are watching the show from the sidelines.

This year, deals have been struck for an estimated Rs 25 crore, 25 per cent more than last year’s Rs 20 crore