Thanks to designer Manish Malhotra, even Mrs Khanna can dress up like Kareena! You have to give it to him. For 18 years he’s made the leading ladies of Bollywood look the way they looked - glamorous and beautiful. Be it Urmila’s flirty costumes in ‘Rangeela’ or Kajol’s stunning sarees in ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ or Preity’s very-Oxford wardrobe in ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ to his latest, Priyanka Chopra in ‘Dostana’, Manish Malhotra has been Bollywood’s leading designer. For someone who “never studied design professionally”, Malhotra today is a brand in his own. One, that’s brought Bollywood dressing closer home. “My style is glamorous as I design for the stars, but I also make that collection available for the lady next door so that she can feel like a star as well,” remarked Manish who was in the city to unveil his ‘Cocktail & Couture’ collection at the all-designer showcase ‘Samsaara’, tucked away in the Taj’s shopping arcade this Saturday evening.Given that the wedding season has officially begun, it’s well-timed. “The collection is something not just a bride can wear, but anyone participating in a wedding. The colours are very jewel-toned, be it the emerald green or aquamarine blue,” Manish elaborated as we eyed the lineup that brought in lehengas, sarees, suits and even some menswear. As far as the theme goes, he’s sticking to “Moghul yet modern”. But with slimming silhouettes and back-baring bustiers, does the designer find that the Indian bride has evolved? “Not just the Indian bride, but I find India has evolved. Internationally as well, India and its fashion is in focus,” asserts Manish who was rather taken by surprise when he saw colours such as purple being flaunted at a recent show in Milan. “For the West, winter till now has been all about black but this season has been different,” the designer offers a quick update.As for his own assignments for the year, it seems like a full house. “I left Sheetal Design Studio and progressed with my own label hoping to make a movie somewhere in the middle but there’s so much work that for now the movie is on a back-burner,” tells Manish who has designed an all-new “sexy” look for Amrita Rao in her film ‘Shortcut’. Then he’s working with SRK and Kajol for ‘I am Khan’, Rani Mukherjee for ‘Hrippa’ and with Aishwariya and Rajnikant for ‘Robot’. But it’s his recent ‘Dostana’ that’s got him rave reviews for Priyanka’s very resort wear wardrobe. “The shooting location was Miami, so I gave her a minimalist look. Accessories were missing. But since the character was working for a fashion magazine, her clothes were chic too,” tells Malhotra who found it hard to convince Chopra to go for bolder colours. “It’s presumed that a dusky complexion can’t carry off colour. That’s not true anymore,” the fashion guru advices. Speaking of colours, Malhotra has been off late stocking up on art. “While I might not understand the sensibilities of it all, I often go in for the colours. I am very fond of vibrant ones,” chuckles Manish who is also slipping into his own Sherwanis for dos. “Indian designs are so contemporary now. In fact our bandhgalas work well as dinner jackets,” he smiles to say. We’ll credit him with that as well!
