Manish Malhotra on his ‘fashionable’ observations

B Town’s favourite designer, Manish Malhotra, talks about his love for Kashmir and other ‘fashionable’ observations…

Tell us about your show in Jaipur that was held recently…
The designs at the show were very me, very modern Indian in tone. I used the jewel tones, neon pink, classic ivory, tangerine... And then, there was the chikankari work done by the girls from Shabana Azmi’s foundation Mizwaan. And, there was a lot of Kashmir in my designs. I have 60 people in Kashmir who are working for me. The embroidery was all been done by them for me exclusively.

Why Kashmir?
While working on Nargis Fakhri’s look in Rockstar I went to Kashmir. It was my first time and I was completely entranced with its crafts! Yes, we all know about Kashmiri shawls, but, as far as fashion is concerned, the state had been forgotten. This year, I have mostly worked with just Kashmiri designs. And, it has been fantastic.

Do you think Indians, especially up in the North, could get away without going OTT in the wedding season?
We enjoy dressing up. We like going over the top, that’s just who we are! OTT is a style statement too. And, I think it should be celebrated.

You’re known to be one of Bollywood’s favourite designers. And you have styled almost all its A-listers. How different is film fashion from regular fashion?
It’s very different. When you are designing for a film you are creating a character. Their style statement would completely depend on who they are. For example, a Kareena in 3 Idiots is very different from Deepika in Om Shanti Om. And both of them will have very different wardrobes. However, when you are designing for people, the colours come from the season, but your inspiration could come from anywhere.

How important do you think it is to have a celeb walk the ramp?
If your designs are connected to the celeb and if that person knows both you and your designs, then it’s like a marriage of the two. It makes sense. Like, I’ve had Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Shah Rukh walk for me. It’s because I knew them and knew that they could relate to my designs. However, when there’s no such connection. There’s no point in inviting a star.

Your take on the biggest buzz in the industry right now — Vidya Balan’s look in The Dirty Picture?
It’s very sexy, very in your face. They have created the kind of effect that they wanted to. They’ve used cheap fabrics and bright colours to portray that particular era and it has worked. In fact, Vidya is a fantastic actor and has carried off the low necks and bare stomach quite well.