of colour

At the launch of his line in Paris, Arora chose to have a graffiti mural painted as the backdrop of his catwalk, which read ‘Life is Beautiful’. This statement set the mood for the show and prepared audiences for the vibrant, unique and rich-textured garments that was soon to be revealed. The show progressed from extravagant autumn-themed designs to more wearable graffiti and flower printed designs, and finally finished off with fur-edged dresses and skirts.

At the conclusion of the show, Arora had once again successfully managed to wow audiences with his creativity and uniqueness in fashion, and his innovative and bold cuts, leaving him to be known in the fashion industry as the “John Galliano of India”.

Arora started his journey in the fashion world in 1997 by launching his label Manish Arora. He furthered his presence in the Indian market by introducing his diffusion label Fish Fry in 2001. He moved to Paris a year ago as creative director of French fashion house Paco Rabanne, ending the contract recently. He is the only Indian designer who has been invited to the Paris Fashion Week for seven consecutive years.

Manish claims he wants to focus on his global shows and has no plan to revive his relationship with French fashion house Paco Rabanne in the near future. “The journey with the brand has been amazing as we got the chance to learn a lot with each other. I will definitely look for other brands but only if the offer is exciting,” he says, of his departure from the top-end couture brand.

However, he is already working on his next Paris show in September, so it seems the designer has no intention of abandoning the international fashion circuit.

Manish Arora admits to not following the highly popular Indian fashion week saying, “I am not just an Indian designer, I am a designer with a global presence. There is no Indian show for me because I don’t get time to do both India and abroad. Also, I find it very difficult to concentrate on both the fashion weeks because of date problems. So I chose Paris, but if I have my dates right, I would definitely do India events.”

Manish is widening his global footprint - after Paris, the designer has a strong presence in the London, Hong Kong and Miami markets. He made a successful debut at the London Fashion Week in September 2005. After that, he showed a retrospective of his collection at Victoria and Albert Museum in 2007.

“Fashion is not just glamour, it’s like any other profession where you have to work like hell to create the benchmark. I guess there is space for everybody in the fashion world; one just needs to focus,” he says, imparting a bit of gyan for aspiring fashion designers.

On the future of his designs, Manish says, “Creativity and honesty will rule design in the years to come. The look and aesthetics for the next fall will be a move back to the basics - to simple things and the nature around you. I have used wall graffiti and the casual kitsch of the streets - all the things in life that you tend to ignore - to complement my designs and clothes this season.”

About his inspiration, Manish admits, “I use Indian craftsmanship to my advantage. It is about modernising India, not westernising India. You have to stick to your identity and keep going on and on till people start believing in you.”