Mary Kom, Priyanka, Imran: Celebs catwalk for a cause!

We bring you glimpses of Shabana Azmi and Manish Malhotra's annual fund-raising fashion show Mijwan -- Sonnets in Fabric, which saw a huge star turnout again this year. Photographs: Hitesh Harisinghani

For the third year in a row, Shabana Azmi and veteran designer Manish Malhotra collaborated on a fashion event to raise funds for the Mijwan Welfare Society, an NGO established by the former's father, the late poet Kaifi Azmi.

The Society works towards empowering the girl child in Mijwan, Azmi's native village located in the Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh.

The 2012 edition of Mijwan -- Sonnets in Fabric was held in Mumbai last night and saw 30 big celebrities and 20 supermodels take to the runway showcasing the best of ethnic formalwear by Malhotra.

What's more, the embroidery on all the ensembles is exclusively the work of women from Mijwan. Take a look.

The philanthropic Nita Ambani, patron of many charities, opened the show, escorting two young girls from the village down the runway, reminding the audience of the NGO's purpose.

Catwalk queens Surjeet Kaur, Shruti Agarwal, Candice Pinto, Sucheta Sharma and Kavita Kharayat make a glamorous entrance in an array of anarkali dresses featuring deep, rich hues.

While Deepti Gujral and Shruti Agarwal model long, swirling designs, Gaurav Arora showcases a pristine floral kurta and rich shawl for the men.

Kavita Kharayat and Alesia Raut strike poses in rosy tones, and Sucheta Sharma channels ivory elegance.

Upcoming B-Town starlet Parineeti Chopra looked delighted to be taking part, strutting her stuff in a delicately embroidered gold and white creation.

Dia Mirza was a vision in a stunning fuschia and gold bridal lehenga.

Young director Punit Malhotra and actors Arjun Kapoor and Rohit Roy looked dashing in high-collared formal jackets.

Red and gold came to the fore once more as Shraddha Kapoor took a turn in this signature Malhotra lehenga and contrast choli.

Dapper dude Prateik looked relaxed and confident in a black embossed jacket and dhoti pants.

Kalki Koechlin had jaws dropping when she took to the ramp in this gorgeous white and gold affair, which complemented her slimline figure.

Mesmerising the flashbulbs we see Neha Dhupia, in a cascading ivory and pink ensemble with sheer sleeves and sides.

In a sexy deep-green choli and pale yellow lehenga, Ankita Shorey looked like a million bucks.

Shazahn Padamsee is confident in a simple but beautiful peach ghagra and contrast blouse.

The designer offers up a burst of bright neon with this fuschia silk affair modelled by Shahana Goswami.

Chirag Paswan walks the ramp in a silk kurta and sharp quilted jacket.

Flashing her pearly-whites, Sameera Reddy twirls in a pink and gold design featuring sheer netted panels.

As usual, Malaika Arora Khan was the cynosure of all eyes when she took centre stage in this gorgeous lehenga and see-through jacket.

It was a surprise to see Indian boxer and Olympic bronze medallist Mary Kom among the glitterati -- and didn't she look lovely!

Shruti Agarwal, Kriti Sanon and Alesia Raut are seen in an assortment of elegant ethnics.

Returning to her modelling roots, Diana Penty mesmerises in an orange and salmon pink number.

The sultry Candice Pinto shows off an exquisite plunging kurti with sheer detailing and embroidery on the back.

Bollywood biggie directors Imtiaz Ali, Prabhudeva and Rohit Shetty are all decked up to the nines in couture menswear by Malhotra.

Deepti Gujral, Anjali Lavania and Parvathy Omanakuttan strut their stuff in sheer, sensual creations.

The effervescent Chitrangada Singh dominates the runway in a white outfit with tasteful gold embroidery.

The designer's BFF and hotshot filmmaker Karan Johar wore a rich red sherwani to go with his colourful personality.

Sonakshi Sinha showed off the pink and gold deep back anarkali dress she wore to perfection.

Heartthrob Imran Khan looked positively dashing in a black sherwani with border embroidery and a dupatta.

And finally, the showstopper among showstoppers Priyanka Chopra dazzled in the piece de resistance, a coral bridal lehenga.

Amidst thundering applause, Manish Malhotra escorted his celebrity muses onto the ramp.

And finally, Shabana Azmi stepped out to offer her accolades, as Malhotra's muses lined up for a final photocall.