Exclusive collection to showcase ’60s era through modern times.
By American Bazaar Staff
NEW YORK: Indian fashion designer Manish Malhotra will present his exclusive collection celebrating 100 years of Indian Cinema at the TOIFA, Vancouver, Canada, on Friday.
An ardent fan of the movies, Malhotra has recreated the magic of past decades for the runway. The collection is inspired by the three main eras of fashion in Indian cinema, right from 1913 to 2013 and pays homage to the distinctive styles of every iconic period in Indian cinema.
Showstoppers Nargis Fakhri, Sonal Chauhan, Urmila Matondkar, Raveena Tandon and Ileana D’cruz will walk the ramp for Malhotra’s 100 Years of Indian Cinema collection.
Speaking about his love for cinema and passion for fashion, he says, “I have grown up watching Indian cinema. My journey as a costume designer to movies for 23 years has been an emotional experience. I have loved cinema and cinema has loved me back. It has made me what I am today. Indian cinema is very close to my heart. When I got this meaningful opportunity to celebrate 100 years of cinema, I had to embrace this milestone and create a memorable collection reflecting my equal love for cinema and fashion.”
The silhouettes of the collection have been inspired by every iconic era. Starting with pieces in classic shades of black and white from the 1930’s, pretty pastel shades of 60’s, polka dots inspired by the 70’s, and moving on to the 80’s flower power that reflect the hippie chic culture. From late 80’s and early 90’s onwards, Malhotra paid a strong emphasis on disco bling which evolved and was re-interpreted in different silhouettes.
For Malhotra, 1990’s are evocative years where he also started designing for films, reinventing pastels, casual chic, shaded fabrics and thus lavish garments came into existence on the big screen.
Chikankari and Kashmiri embroidery are fused into period specific designs, bringing back the forgotten crafts to the international runway. The collection has simple and clean cuts, making it relevant to a specific decade from the past, yet wearable and trendy in today’s time. The color palette chosen by Manish for this collection ranges from black and whites that reflect the earlier years to a wide array of summer hues like yellows, tangerine, corals and greens on chiffons, georgette, cotton and net.