Manish wakes up to desi grandeur

Gilded India has stirred the imagination of globally acclaimed Indian fashion designer Manish Arora like never before.

Gilded India has stirred the imagination of globally acclaimed Indian fashion designer Manish Arora like never before. The designer, whose silhouettes have so far been high on quirk and drama, went completely desi, finding inspiration in Indian jewellery for his Spring/Summer 2013 collection at the ongoing Paris Fashion Week.

Unleashing gilded tigers, panthers and antelopes, Arora paid a bejewelled tribute to his homeland. “Suddenly it struck me, I have never had Indian silhouettes in my collections,” he was quoted as saying. Drawing heavily from Rajasthan, the collection showcased kurtas with geometric prints that had images of tigers woven into them, angrakhas with churidaars and sequinned jackets with gota patti.

However, it was the striking regal jewellery that was the highlight of his collection. He said, “This year I was very attracted towards jewellery: Is there a better place to draw inspiration from?” Fierce gold, spiked face-bands that circled the bottom of the eyes, beaded maang tikaas with antelopes and roaring panthers, kamar bandhs with mirrorwork, ghungroos and haath phool brought drama on the ramp. “May be Manish decided to do an India-inspired collection because he not only wants to focus on global markets where desi influence is big right now, but on Indian market too,” says designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee.

....with inputs from Arpita Kala