Manish Malhotra crammed too much in his finale for the couture week, says Angela Paljor
Designer Manish Malhotra is known to amp up his collections with gushy excesses to give a flamboyant touch to his couture week finale. But this time, what he called as “sensual affair”, turned into a bit of a sensory overload. So it was left to the unconventional pairing of Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh to stir up some energy.
While Singh looked dashing in his blue zardozi and thread-work embroidered sherwani paired with slim pants, Alia Bhatt looked ethereal in a sequinned pearl embellished top with an olive 3D floral detailing multi-layered ruched net skirt. Somewhere the top, though fitted, was too ornamental and didn’t quite gel with the multiplicity of detailing in the frill of the trail that frankly seemed to be a bit draggy. But the young Alia pulled it off with a bright red lipstick, a neat, slick bun and minimal make-up.
From three-dimensional embellishments, layered motifs to elaborate juxtaposition of textures, Malhotra’s collection played with too many things together. Talking about the collection, the designer said, “With Sensual Affair, I want to showcase the versatility and design-language of Indian couture. Outfits from the collection may be worn across occasions, from weddings to gala soirées. The intricacy of detailing, our strong textile history and vast knowledge of versatile drapes can be interpreted and worn from Mumbai to Milan.”
His 85-piece rollout comprised flowing silhouettes and infinite skirt trails, sometimes over-the-top with tassels, modern artistry and the intricacy of couture. Billowing skirts with embroidery art, fitted corsets and shimmering cascades made for the spectacle element.
Malhotra extensively used an array of fabrics like satin organza, silk tulle, micro velvet, satin velvet, two-tone silks embellished with unique antique metallic thread work, pearls, luminous crystals, sequins and shimmer. From ivory, soft grey, vintage rose to burgundy and teal, he did splash a beautiful palette of colours in his gowns and lehengas. But it would have been better subtle and some monochromatic cocktail gowns were just that.
Keeping up with the sensual affair, Malhotra came up with a contrasting structured sherwanis paired with fluid kurtas for men, defining the conformist outer-self and the liberated inner self.
Guests such as Shweta Bachchan, Huma Qureshi, Sophie Choudhary, Natasha Poonawala, Feroze Gujral graced the front row.
Photos: Pankaj Kumar