Manish Arora showcased his Fall-Winter 2013 Collection that he showed at the Paris Fashion Week on 28th February at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week F/W 2013 Grand Finale too. The set at the finale show was grander, the models were from India and some amazing Trance music played on Live. Sonam Kapoor was their in the audience dressed in a Manish Arora saree.
Designer Manish Arora showcased his Ready-To-Wear (RTW) Fall-Winter 2013 collection at the Paris Fashion Week on 28th February and yes, the collection was typical ‘Manish Arora’. However I felt that he cramped in too many stories or fashion elements in his 45-pieces collection.
There were multiple looks cramped in: one emphasizing psychedelic geometric digital prints, second one that hewed to the very Indian colors of pink and yellow and featured Deco black crystal embroidery, and then a sedate look in textural navy and black that Arora had decorated with various kinds of jewel-like embellishment.
In addition to that, there was a knitwear category, a first time use of knits by Manish that had navy Lurex pieces worn with piles of gold jewelry. The textural black and navy looks were probably the best part of Manish Arora’s Fall 2013 collection. The trim skirts and tops with multicolor stones were nice too.
By the way Manish Arora’s Fall-Winter 2013 RTW collection was inspired by the Burning Man festival in Nevada.
It was a satisfying day – the Day 3 at PCJ Delhi Couture Week 2012. Anju Modi’s Indian Couture and Manish Arora’s Global Couture were exhilarating. Thanks to Manish, we got a much-needed break from saree, shararas and lehengas.
I strongly suggest my colleagues and peers to discard ‘press release’ so that one has an open mind to absorb a designer’s creation and the story behind it. The opening visual of Anju Modi’s show of boats on Hoogly river gave a hint of things to come. Then walked in Nayonika Chatterjee with open hair streaked with vermilon in a red-bordered white ensemble that was undeniably Bengal. Anju’s take on the traditional Bengali Laal – Paad (Red Bordered) saree was an intelligent adaptation of a traditional element in her creations. Loved the serene appeal of white and the freshness of the textile that Anju Modi used. Tangail, Jaamdani and Dhakai sarees – a must in every Bengali lady’s closet was deftly used as fabric to create those beautiful flowy lehengas. Sorry Anju the remix number of Tagore’s epic song - ‘Ekla Chalo Re’ was jarring to the ears.
Manish Arora showed in India after a really long time. As expected the set was elaborate and quirky with multi-hued fluorescent dots swarming the arena. It was great to see his avant-garde creations live as I didn’t have the privilege to be at Paris during his shows at Paris Fashion Weeks. Arora showed a retrospective collection consisting of pieces from his collections over the past few years. Faux-fur pieces, skirts in Mongolian wool, moulded dresses with 3-D embroidery, sequined body-suits, kitschy pop-art and graffiti splashed dresses were a treat to watch. And yes, can’t ignore the fab Nicholas Kirkwood footwear that were custom-made for Manish Arora.
What a sweet shock it was to see Paco Rabanne Fall 2012 RTW Collection by Manish Arora. I don’t recall seeing anything so muted, so subtle and so very classic from Manish Arora ever. I love it when a designer shocks you with something totally unexpected from him and the Paco Rabanne Fall2012 RTW collection by Manish Arora was just that. I must confess I was not so excited seeing his personal label – Manis Arora Fall 2012 collection at Paris Fashion Week. Probably I wanted a break from his neon flashes and OTT look.
Fusing sculptural details with subtleness, Manish Arora managed to score a high wearability level with the Paco Rabanne Fall 2012 collection. It had versatile pieces that would go for day to evening wear and the styles were such that it can be worn by a twenty something girlie and by a forty year old stylista. The attention to detail, the sculptural lines and ingenious tailoring were fantastic.
I loved the interplay of subtle metallic sheen with muted solid hues, the sheer mesh insets adding to the sensuality factor and the pairing of chunky knits with leather. I don’t recall ever seeing a classic business look of well-tailored pants and blazers from Manish Arora. Freshness is always exciting!
When Lady Gaga was in India for the F1 Indian Grand Prix, Fashionscandal posted that she would have done better if she would have opted to wear Manish Arora instead of Naeem Khan to showcase an Indian Connect. Here is the link to my post on the 30th October, 2011:
I do not know if Lady Gaga read our post or her stylist did but I was mightily happy to see Gaga in ensembles from Paco Rabanne’s Spring/Summer 2012 Collection, which was designed by Manish Arora for Paco Rabanne at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards.
Manish Arora had Philip Treacy design Flying Saucer Hats, with slits for the eyes and Nicholas Kirkwood designed Crystal Heels. Incidentally Paco Rabanne was infamous for his interest in Paranormal Phenomena. For the final sequence Manish sent out models dressed as flowers from the future with massive circular metallic collars.
Cheers to Manish Arora and also let me bask in the glory of the fact that Fashionscandal’s advise being given heed to by Lady Gaga (though it may just be a coincidence 
!
Tonight Pop-Diva Lady Gaga will croon for Indians at the Formula One After-Party at LAP. Now will she wear here signature Theiry Mugler ensembles or as strongly lobbied by PETA, opt for the ‘Lettuce Gown’? Gaga famously wore a meat dress at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. So being a Walking Salad Bar in a Lettuce Gown would do a lot of good to her image.
At the Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012 where Manish Arora presented his debut 
collection for Paco Rabanne, revered fashion scribe, Suzy Menkes wrote that Lady Gaga should look at the collection to move on from Theiry Mugler as they are full of drama that Gaga so loves. So I was rather surprised when Lady Gaga turned up in a Naeem Khan gown, explaining the designer’s India-Connect. Manish Arora would have been more apt for Gaga, both in terms of her style and her conscious effort in wearing something with a India-Connect. Naeem Khan moved to the United States and apprenticed for Halston where he absorbed the ethos of modern restraint. Now ‘RESTRAINT’ is a word that probably does not apply to Lady Gaga. Hence I think Manish Arora would had been a better choice.
Koel Purie did a coup of sorts by getting the first exclusive interview with Lady Gaga ‘On The Couch With Koel’. She gifted Gaga dressed in an Ungaro jumpsuit with jewelleries, which she procured from Gaurav Gupta and Manav Gangwani. Gangwani was smart to do that brass, studded with Swarovski piece of OM, which Lady Gaga seemed to have loved.
Dilli Haat is where Lady Gaga went shopping and she was dressed in Azzedine Alaïa Fall 2011 Couture. Now can any of our Desi Fashionistas ever dream of dressing in Couture for a trip to Dilli Haat???