Ethereal. Languid moving into playful and culminating in the languid again. And one that left you with goosebumps. Manish Malhotra’s sweeping showcase at FDCI X Lakme Fashion Week. The moment Deepti Gujral walked out in a golden ensemble, the veil so fairy-romantic, you knew it would be special. And what a treat it was. The really long carpet of a ramp, white orbs swaying in the wind, girls walking in demure-dramatic creations, hauntingly beautiful music, a sense of anticipation, the experience was almost magical. Manish transported the audience to a sensual paradise laced with vintage-modern vibes, celebrating the bride-to-be, like only he can. In this t2 chat, Manish decoded the show.

Manish Malhotra took a bow with his showstoppers — Kiara Advani and Kartik Aaryan

Congratulations on a stunning FDCI X Lakme Fashion Week showcase! It’s probably one of your best collections. Would you agree?

Well, all collections are special to me, considering the amount of time and effort that goes into making it. However, I understand that some collections resonate well with the audience and I’m glad to see this kind of an encouraging reception from everyone.

How much time did you take to put it together?

Probably four months in production but the ideation begun way before. Design is a continuous process, and we are always ideating and creating new things at my workshop. At Manish Malhotra, we keep the newness at the centre of focus and hence, something new is always in the making.

The opening look of the night featuring Deepti Gujral was straight out of a fairy tale

We know you would like to direct a film someday. And, you’ve mounted this one on similar lines. Tell us about putting the show together.

Everyone knows about my love for films. I still can spend a whole day just watching movies and doing nothing else. In fact, this has always been my alternate career. When I entered films in the ’90s (as a costume designer), I wanted to change the way movies looked. I introduced structured role of costume, from the place when costume wasn’t even given any importance. This was not just a job for me as a costumer then, but my overall love for films, scripts and storytelling. I wanted to make characters that are relatable and ones that have some realness in them. As a child, I’ve always been fond of movies and some of my fondest memories of childhood are going in and out of theatres more than thrice in a day. Practically, I’ve grown in theatres.

So, today runways bring me the same madness, I always love directing it. The rehearsals, fittings, choreography, stage and everything. It’s so surreal to direct a show and it always feels like the first time. And seeing the show finally, is the biggest treat to the designer himself.

Well, so cut to today, I’m seriously thinking of direction, and you can expect an announcement. My team is working on it, and I’m also discussing a few things in terms of operations and logistics. Stay tuned for more on this front.

The never-ending carpet seemed to be shimmering with a thousand dreams

The shimmery carpet added to the character of the show as much as the clothes. We are curious to know how long was it?!

It was 100metre. Again, I always like things that are larger than life. So, we created a runway that was big and added all the sparkles at the carpet.

Can you tell us about the music which was old-world?

So, the music was hand-picked by me. We’ve collaborated with various artistes over the last year for our couture fashion films, and in a way emboldened a community of our local singers. Through our digital expanse, we’ve managed to create a very robust interaction spots for these emerging and established artistes across the world. Our couture films were critically received and the singers were given due credits and have got an equally good response from our fans and loyalists worldwide. The songs we chose for our FDCI X LFW showcase reverberates with the essence of our collection.

The decor was so romantic!

The decor was collaboratively decided by NEXA and us. It had to be black, gold and silver and it so happened that I was already thinking of introducing black to the summer wedding so it felt like all our like-mindedness came together.

Manish Malhotra picked up Kiara’s long train, adding to the fun mood of the show

Of course there were your saris and lehngas, but it was the cholis that caught our eye! So hot!

Our bridal offering has always pushed the creative limits of bridal couture and this season it was fashion forward, we did oversized jackets and colour-blocked lehngas. Keeping the traditional couples also happy with some timeless heritage offerings, we did our ever-popular kalidar kurtas, the diaphanous lehngas, dramatic gowns, swirling shararas, kurtas, palazzos, striking jackets and, of course, the much sought-after traditional dupattas.

Besides that, we had silver and gold gowns, backless and button-less cholis, while the magnificent lehnga, choli and dupatta trios were creations that brides always want. We paired it with mini capes. There were floor-kissing ornate robes, swirling kurtas and kurtis with cropped and flowing pants.

To complete the bridalwear looks, the collection was aptly accessorised by Manish Malhotra Jewellery. Handcrafted completely in pure gold, the jewellery dazzled with flat-cut diamonds, gorgeous rubies, majestic pearls and magnificent Russian and Zambian emeralds.

The men were mostly in monochromes...

We offered a variety of jackets with beaded lapels or silver shawl collars, and teamed the conventional or Jodhpuri jackets with kurtas and added discreet, animal-motif embroidery for the sherwanis. Kartik’s (Aaryan) was a black, smart-cut bandhgala jacket with three silver reindeers embroidered, which was perfectly teamed with a non-linear self-blue kurta and slim pants.

Men generally don’t like embroidery so we concentrate on such embroidery techniques which are light, easy to wear and breathable. Not hard or stiff. All our groom sherwanis are very light and breathable. We like to keep the cuts clean and sharp, we want our grooms to look sharp and neat.

Talking about trends, some grooms really want OTT sherwanis, wedding-day sherwanis are also extravagant. Men are experimental today, they want to go all out and they want to match up to the bride’s outfit and they are so very certain of their style.

Kiara Advani

We loved how yours was a grand entry!

Thank you. It always feels special to close a show. Every show is like a first show, even though I couldn’t keep a count of the number of runways I’ve done in my life.

Also, how you lifted Kiara Advani’s train! So hands-on!

Well, that’s just my love for my own outfit. And Kiara, it’s commendable that she did walk thrice on that long runway in that outfit, ’cause let me tell you, that was not easy.

What do you love about Kartik and Kiara?

Kartik adds charm to the outfit. His humbleness and honesty double the overall impact, and it’s fun to work with someone you know well. Kiara is one of the most beautiful actresses we’ve in the industry today, and she also puts her soul to work, which reflects in the final result. It was heart-warming to have them for my latest collection showcase.

Finally, how have intimate weddings changed bridal shopping forever?

So, the pandemic and lockdown has really changed the preference. Nowadays, people weigh quality more than quantity. The pandemic-induced preferences are conscious, and strictly individualistic. For most of us, our favourite apparel has become the extensions of our personality, and we feel our essence in it. With a few calls I’ve received during the lockdown from the brides who expressed their childlike interest to wear their going-to-be-prized possession, I’ve been happily awestruck. What more can one ask for, than customers who swear by your creations and want to have it in their life’s biggest celebrations?

The collection largely pushes the rigid boundaries of traditional wedding couture and flex with rather more fashion-forward materials, silhouettes, and patterns in oversized jackets, colour-blocked lehngas, and sculptured gowns in pure two-tone silks, dupion silks, gold silks, organzas, crepes, and tissue fabrics.

We’ve strategically kept the range expansive so it goes beyond trend. It travels from deftly embroidered pieces to two-toned colour-blocked silhouettes that journey from staid classic aesthetics to a more dynamic new-age look of the contemporary times. Our world is full of variety and fashion must mirror that. So, I would say all fashion trends must run in parallel — no superior trend, no singular aesthetic and no ultimate design.

Pictures: Sandip Das and courtesy Manish Malhotra