Crafts have a beautiful narrative—thus, Manish Malhotra can straddle two worlds effortlessly-the glam of Victoria’s Secret, Bebo as Poo, to the craft-soaked Phulkari.
By Asmitaa Aggaarwal
There is no doubt that Bollywood loves Manish Malhotra and maybe the sentiment is returned in full fervour –so after five years when he returned to India Couture Week 2025, he decided to change the format and not do a typical sit-down show with models in heavily embellished lehengas. A golden sequinned eagle stood watching us all in the corner, with a delicious spread in the middle, free seating, live music, and a studded galaxy of his A list star friends.
The surprise was Victoria’s Secret Brazilian model Alessandra Ambrosio, in a pearl-embellished lehenga, as Tamanna and Fatima Sana Sheikh were in attendance, but the installations that caught everyone’s eye or should have were his experiments with Phulkari-titled “Living legend in thread”. “I love this embroidery from Punjab. It is also rooted by my culture, I’ve seen so many in my family wearing this, it is special to me, passed down to the next generation as an heirloom,” says Manish.
Bollywood had become an intrinsic part of mainstream fashion with the takeover of the visual media, case in point Insta. Gen Z identifies with the DDLJ movie which is considered iconic for more reasons than one. In 1995, emerald green was not a colour that was acceptable for top actresses who were swathed in pinks and flaming red chiffons, but Manish took the leap of faith, added zari and pleats, and got Kajol, a.k.a Simran to dance, making generations fall in love with this romantic story by Aditya Chopra. He admits “Mehndi laga ke rakhana” still rings true in many weddings even now.
And no one can forget Kareena Kapoor irreverence in “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham” as “Poo”, or her moves in “Bole choodiyan” year 2000, where cropped asymmetrical blouse with sharara can still be pulled off in circa 2025.
Though crafts play a huge role in the DNA of Indian fashion—the Kadwa Banarasi sari that Aishwarya Rai wore to Cannes many moons ago, woven by artisans in Varanasi took almost six months to make, truly celebrates India in its spirit. “Each motif is woven separately, intricate detailing, skilled artisans can only execute this, no loose ends at the back, these are heirloom pieces. For me Ash would be a perfect muse for this—as she embodies ageless style,” he concludes.