Manish Arora debuts bridal couture collection at DCW

After showcasing his collection at fashion weeks worldwide, ace designer Manish Arora returned to his roots as he displayed his Indian bridal couture collection at the fourth day of the PCJ Delhi Couture Week (DCW).
Aptly titled 'Indian', the collection was a blend of varied stories like the baroque period, Buddhist temples and Indian jewellery, which he also showed on the runway in Paris for his spring-summer collection. All these elements were fused together to create Manish's vision of the ultimate bride.
"I was trying to do an Indian show after years. It is probably my first proper Indian show. I tried to go back to my past of how I was almost 10 years ago. I have always been inspired by the goddesses and the kitch imagery and in this collection; I have put all these elements together. I feel a Manish Arora bride is someone who is not shy, who is standing out in the crowd and is proud of herself," Manish said.

The fabrics used were the usual for bridal wear which meant no synthetics only pure ones like, chiffons, georgettes, crepes and hand woven silk brocade from Varanasi. The silhouettes ranged from traditional Indian costumes like kurtas, churidaars, lehengas, bandhgalas, anarkalis and sarees.
"I also used a lot of net, and lycra for the blouses. The metallic collar on blouses were made from reflector fabric and leather. The show stopper dress was made from holographic leather with reflector lining, which gave it a plastic sheen," the designer said.
The accessories used were funky, atypical of any Manish Arora show, with models wearing ornate face masks inspired by goddess Durga, headgears and naths.

The stage resembled the setting of a song from the films of the 70s. Instead of the usual straight runway, Manish's show saw models circle the stage, which was adorned with huge swan and heart cut outs along with earthen pots piled on top of one another to give them a pillar form.

"It was my vision of doing something, which was really going back to the roots of kitch which I am actually. In fact I took elements which were in my house, I have the same swan and lotus in my house. So I just re did it again for the set up today," he said,

Songs from last year's hit film 'Gangs of Wasseypur' played in the background as models sauntered down the ramp during the show.
"It is my favourite movie from last year. I thought it was one of the most brilliant movies I have seen in a very long time in India. The music is so intense and I have used it as it is for my show without any remix. It is a brilliant album and I thank Anurag Kashyap for it," Manish said.