The designer who has emerged triumphant is Bengalibabu Sabyasachi and the Page three crowd had picked up a tip or two from the Lakme India Fashion Week (LIFW): Bare and figure hugging is in, pants ought to be embroidered and shoulders are meant to be seen, not covered.

There has also been the rise of the 'metrosexual' man, though only seven of the 55 shows had male models compared to 13 last year.

The new male dress code requires skirts hitched over shaved legs, sindoor screaming from the forehead and jewellery that would put a bride to shame.

Designer Rohit Bal stole the show by inaugurating the male emancipation movement: Men are as pretty as women, or even prettier! If women can wear pants, why can't men don skirts?

War made a splash on the ramp, with five designers - from Rohit Gandhi to Rina Dakha - making combat wear haute couture. Aki Narula models, however, preferred to 'make love' during wartime.

By far, the biggest row was created because of the front row seats. Everyone, who is a someone wanted a piece of the 74 coveted front seats, except that there were more than 74 somebodies.

Among the more vociferous were Gautam Sanghania and socialite Queenie Dhody. Not that the media created less of a flutter. Writers, photographers, anchors, cameramen and their helpers insisted on a frontal view to report who wore what, when and why.

This of course left the poor buyers - numbering a minuscule 300, of which only six were the imported variety -battling unsuccessfully for middle, back, media seats and even the floor.

Arun Nayar, better known as Liz Hurley's beau, stole the show by hanging around with friends and keeping a hungry media at bay.

Other newsmakers were Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his date Rani Mukherjee, who fuelled speculation on the latter replacing Kareena in Baji Rao Mastani and Leander Paes partying with girlfriend Mahima Choudhary, mooting rumours of a tragic breakup.

Now for the 'serious' news. The "shocking" theft of a Rs 3,200 outfit from the house of Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra which featured as a Krishna Mehta outfit.

The resulting "controversy" generated enough newsprint and reel to keep the hacks happy, which appeared to be the ultimate goal of the fashion fiesta.

There was such hype over the hype which the show created, that a the hassled avant garde designer Wendell Rodricks remarked, "Isn't there anything important happening in the country?"