Designer Manish Malhotra hosted a special preview of his S/R ’16 collection Elements. (If you’ve been following ELLE on Instagram you caught the first glimpse!) The collection is set to open Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort ’16, with a special off-site presentation at Mumbai’s Mehboob Studios. The gowns we saw were indeed different from Malhotra’s more traditional designs. The models glowed in pretty pastels with intricate thread work and lots of shimmer – the long trains caught the afternoon sun beautifully. We caught up with the designer for more deets:
ELLE: What was the inspiration behind Elements?
Manish Malhotra: It’s the elements of life – wind, fire, earth and water. But, I think for me, it’s also about celebrating life and nature – so the whole show is summed up by the tree of life. I think what’s most exciting for me in this collection is that it is an Indian collection with a lot of global influence. So you see jumpsuits, flowy skirts, and smart jackets. It’s a new way of looking at summer. It’s for weddings; for the brides out there who want to experiment and yet look pretty and feel sensuous. Summer is all about that, right?
ELLE: What are some of the fabrics and craft techniques used?
MM: There’s a lot of tulle and organza. Lots of cotton and cotton silk. There’s a lot of thread work. There’s no gold in it at all. If there’s gold, there’s gold fabric. It’s not gold embroidery.
ELLE: What can you can tell us about the show or the showstopper?
MM: Well, right now I haven’t really thought about it. I mean I’ve just been putting the collection together, making it flow. I’m very excited about it, and later I’ll think about whether it needs a showstopper to represent the glamour or the craft that it has.
ELLE: What was the biggest challenge in putting this collection together?
MM: It’s been 45 days since we’ve been working on it. By the time the show comes around it’ll have been two months. I think the biggest challenge has been the cuts. To completely re-invent the way we think. The way we execute it and construct the garments. It is meant to be beautiful and glamorous and young. I would hope so. I think it’s a completely new vision for me; a new thought process that could fit weddings.
Manish Malhotra will be showing Elements at Lakmé Fashion Week S/R ’16, on March 29
Photographs: Viral Bhayani/Megha Roy
