Karan Johar to host the 4th 'LYCRA ® MTV Style Awards'

The one and only event of its kind that creates a unique fusion of fashion, style and music, the LYCRA® MTV Style Awards will be held on 14 October 2006 at the MMRDA Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai.

Commenting on his association with the event, Karan Johar said, "I'm expecting kutting edge style, a riot of kolours, kritikally akklaimed designers, desi kool, krazy stunts… all in signature MTV-style. But I'm still working on how to make the event my own – any idea how I can do that?"

After 'Desi Cool' in 2003, 'Circus' in 2004 and 'Military' in 2005, the theme for LYCRA ® MTV Style Awards 2006 is 'Celebrating Style'.

In keeping with the theme, this year's function will feature an explosion of colour with the year's chosen designers - Neeta Lulla, Ritu Kumar, JJ Valaya, and Rohit Gandhi-Rahul Khanna presenting their lines. Creating exclusive designs solely for the awards, each style-setting designer will team up with an equally formidable music performer, to present a unique fusion of fashion, music and unpredictably cool style!

Additionally, critically acclaimed designer Suneet Verma will create a special line for the opening sequence that will set the tone for the glamorous evening. The fashion and music extravaganza on stage will be interspersed with awards being presented to the most stylish people in India across different walks of life.

Divided into three broad categories – Popular, Technical and Honours, the awards will zero in on the most stylish people in fashion, films, sports, television, business, politics and music — be it the suave Abhishek Bachchan, the sprightly Preity Zinta, the latest singing sensation Himesh Reshammiya or Television's sizzling host, Mandira Bedi. So all you fashionistas, get ready to vote for your style icon of the year as the LYCRA® MTV Style Awards honours trendsetters across various categories, with 'Style' being the common denominator.

Leading up to the final night of the awards is a comprehensive process that has been instituted this year. An exclusive panel of 29 judges comprising style gurus and divas across different walks of life like Arjun Rampal, Ashok Salian, Manish Malhotra, Malaika Arora Khan, Mehr Jessia, AD Singh, Prahlad Kakkar and Deepika Govind amongst others will finalise the nominees in the three categories - Popular, Technical and Honours.

Shortlisted nominees in the Popular category will then be up on-air as well as www.mtvindia.com where the fashionistas of the world can log in, cast their votes and decide the winners. Alternatively, they could message STYLE ____ (option) to 6882 to vote for their favourites. The winners in the Technical and Honors categories will be decided by the panelists.

What's new this year at LYCRA® MTV Style Awards 2006? Well, quite a few things – besides this year's celebrity host – Karan Johar, for the first time the awards go outdoors that will make it bigger in terms of scale and size. Secondly, the size of the panel has been broadened to 29, instead of 8 (which has been the case for the last three years) to include more style gurus and divas as panelists from all walks of life.

Further, taking MTV style concept outside Mumbai, this year LYCRA ® MTV Style Awards extends itself to two more cities – Bangalore and Kolkata. In each of these cities, the awards will recognise and felicitate the 'Most Stylish Place' – a place that has a distinct character of its own, a place that has withstood the vagaries of time and last but not least, a place that has been a breeding ground for style and stylish people.

The awards will also be promoted through an extensive campaign running across print, outdoor, on-air, mobile and online via mtvindia.com. Media partners on the event include RED FM and Marie Claire. The sponsors for these awards are Brylcreem, Magic Moments Cassettes & CDs and L'Oreal.