The third day of the FDCI Delhi Couture Week saw two extreme creative energies setting the ramps on fire. After the gorgeous Madhuri Dixit enthralled her cheering audience in Anju Modi’s earthy Bengal inspired show, guests, fashion enthusiasts and the media had a futuristic experience in store at Manish Arora’s show.
The anticipation for a Manish Arora show in the country after three years was palpable in the air. What people did not know was that while they waited, a small area of The Taj Palace hotel was being transformed into a psychedelic set for the acclaimed contemporary designer’s show (whose creations have been worn by international stars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry). “Drama beyond belief,” said designer Manav Gangwani when we asked him what he was expecting of the show, and boy, was there drama. Crowds entered an almost pitch-black show area with glowing multicolored polka dots everywhere, and there it was – a long cage right in the middle, at the ramp area. The music started, and thousands of multicoloured lights lit up the cage while models walked and emerged from inside it.
Although the collection was a retrospective of Arora’s work, most of these pieces had never been shown in India before. About the inspiration for his work Arora said, “Inspiration can come from anything. Like for the famous butterfly dress, I wanted to make a dress full of butterflies. It took six months to create. It’s not the idea but usually the execution that gets my office worried!”
The pieces were inspired by the individual themes of India POP, Warriors, Circus, Hybrid Animals, Space/Disco, Art Deco, Baroque, Magic, Joy of Living in 1960s and the like. The outfits from his latest collection inspired by Graffiti art had some very interesting patterns with blood red lips and cigarettes on them, which were lauded by many. “My idea was to pick my favourites from the last three years and put them in the show. Mix them together but still keep them relevant as a collection,” elaborated Arora. The shoes were a mix by Christian Louboutin and Nicholas Kirkwood. About the neon décor for the day Arora said that his work is in general very colourful, and that he had tried to pay tribute to the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. “I really like her work so I tried to incorporate that.” The 3-D elements in some of the outfits, he said, were created in collaboration with another artist, Enzo Siraguza. “As you know I like work associated with art, I got in touch with him and we created the elements.”
And when it comes to couture, the designer left no doubts about his thoughts on the real mc coy: “There is only couture in Paris and that’s all. That is because there is a council. You become a couture designer only if you are listed. And there are certain rules with couture, like everything is hand-made; there are no zips no buttons. Machines as used as little as possible. That is ideal couture clothes. For India, couture I think is festive. It is a wedding market here, a festival market,” said Arora with his trademark candour. He is different, he is irreverent, and his work is steeped in originality. Friday night’s show just reinforced that.
Text by Treesha Datta