Manish Mania

Arora is quite the phenomenon in France. Not only does he demand the best-placed mannequins at Maria Luisa,the super-chic Rue du Faubourg-St Honore boutique that has a wall dedicated to Manolo Blahnik and another rack to Balmain,his collaborations with some big-ticket retail brands are enviable. The Champs Elysees showroom of Nespresso — the hottest coffee-maker around — is dressed up by Arora,with credits on the glass pane that read ‘Manish Arora for Nespresso’. A few seasons ago,it was the MAC makeup store in Paris that had a promotion for him. And his designs for Reebok are available internationally.

All these ventures spell success for an Indian name,more so one that was relatively unrecognised outside the fashion world. How many times Arora has answered his phone and said,‘No,this is not Manish Malhotra’ is anybody’s guess. But to be chief designer for a big French house is a dream realised for any designer anywhere in the world. This is stardom.

Paco Rabanne is a fading label,say cynics. But when a still-alive designer gives way (and his name) for younger talent,only good things can be predicted. Rabanne and Arora have much in common. In his heydey in the 1960s,Rabanne was known as the enfant terrible of French fashion. He made unconventional clothes with metal,paper and plastic and was as outlandish as his new successor is.

Rabanne is not fait accompli for Arora as yet. (As it was for another Indian designer who headed a French house until she shut it down.) It is a start and a damn good one at that.

Before Arora,the chief designer at Paco Rabanne was Christophe Decarnin. Decarnin headed the almost-dead label for seven years before he moved to another fading name — Balmain — and turned it into the It-label it is today. Everything that’s fashionable now (power shoulders,sequins,rock T-shirts and ripped jeans) has come from Decarnin at Balmain. Balmain’s prices are couture-like,they run into four figures quite easily,but Balmain’s profits are immense.

Karl Lagerfeld,who now helms Chanel and Fendi,was the design head of Jean Patou first. Yves Saint Laurent’s first collection for Christian Dior,at age 21,saved the house from financial ruin. Rabanne himself worked with other French houses like Dior,Balenciaga and Givenchy before launching his own fashion house.

Hopefully Arora won’t be too bogged down by history,as most designers who lead heritage houses are,and will allow himself to push his own envelope. His sexy,glamorous,punk and even trashy style is the current fix for the fashion tribe. And Rabanne may just be his agent provocateur .

(namratanow@gmail.com)