• last year
Inside the mind of India's top designer, Manish Malhotra
Transcript
00:00Thank you so much, Manish, for speaking to me.
00:06You have a lovely store, by the way, and it's your first one in Dubai, first independent
00:10store.
00:11So you must be really thrilled about starting one in Dubai Mall.
00:15And I hear you're the first designer to do so, Indian designer to do so.
00:19That's right.
00:20Actually, Dubai has a very close place in my heart because I absolutely love Dubai.
00:25So it's very close to my heart.
00:27I came here the first time in 1999 for a shopping for a wedding.
00:33And when I launched my fashion business in 2005, my store at Jumeirah Beecher was the
00:41first one.
00:42Studio 8, yeah.
00:43Like it was a Manish Watswara store with the Belasar group, and then which later on became
00:46Studio 8 as well.
00:47So I had this long journey with Dubai.
00:50Each time I come to Dubai, I find it so inspiring because there's always something new, always
00:56something fabulous, whether it's a restaurant, hotel, an institution, the Dubai Mall, I've
01:02seen it all happen in front of my eyes.
01:05And the way the city each time evolves, I go back home saying there's so much more to
01:10do.
01:11Right, right.
01:12So when we had the investment by Reliance into the business, and we had an old plan
01:15of expansion, for me, the first thing was our first global store and the journey of
01:21expansion will start from Dubai.
01:23Right, of course.
01:24And there could be no better place than Dubai Mall.
01:27And it's one of my most favorite places.
01:30And yeah, so it's, you know, Dubai for me is home away from home.
01:35For sure.
01:36And this would be my place to start my global journey.
01:41And we started the store in December, we worked on it for a year.
01:45I can see the effort.
01:46I wanted a very modern Indian palace, kind of luxurious palace, but still a lot about
01:53craft and carving and the chandeliers.
01:55And Gauri Khan is a dear friend.
01:58And I love her work.
01:59And she understands me really well.
02:01And we as two artists and two great people work together, great synergy, we did my house.
02:08I kind of worked on a study in my house as well.
02:11So we worked together for the store.
02:13It took us a year.
02:14It took you a year just to make the store.
02:18But you can see the attention to details though, for sure.
02:21And we're still working on it.
02:22There's going to be a time you'll see it evolve further with more carpets and plants and more
02:27frames coming in.
02:28And it's like a home to me, right?
02:30So I keep working on it.
02:31Like, oh my god, I need more frames.
02:32I need a new plant over there.
02:33And you know, I want people...
02:34Even the flowers I hear you choose.
02:35Yeah.
02:36Is that true?
02:37It's like my house.
02:38When you come to my house, you'll see the same kind of dramatic flowers.
02:44As collections, you'll see them change because we are doing an exclusive Dubai collection
02:51As well, we have clothes that you'll get on our website, you'll get in my stores.
02:55And today with all our businesses getting corporatized and systematic, and I was always
03:00into systems even when I started the brand, but the price points are the same.
03:04So there's no different price point between India, if you were to buy it from India, that's
03:07interesting.
03:08So I think that is very important.
03:09And because we have a website, you can get clothes at a website, right?
03:14With our e-commerce, that's really well for us.
03:16So Dubai is our first step towards, you know, going global and I just hope it gets better.
03:24Manish, I see a lot of jalabias, etc. that seem to be Arabic fashion inspired.
03:29Was that also a very deliberate move to draw in perhaps the Arabic clientele who love you?
03:34They love Bollywood as well, I have to say.
03:35I think that when you speak of a global language, it is of inclusivity.
03:44It's all about being inclusive to different ideas of different shapes and, you know, formations
03:51of design.
03:52And for me, I think that is the most exciting thing, right?
03:56So it's not just an Indian designer store, it is an Indian designer store, but just not
04:00about Indian clothes.
04:01If we're going to do a lot of gowns, we're going to do a lot more jackets, and we want
04:07the collection to keep evolving into a very multi-faceted store of various different design
04:15languages.
04:16Right.
04:17But what remains the India story here is the craft and the craftsman.
04:21Because all the embroidery, the fabric, the textile, the execution is from India.
04:26So I'm very proudly, I feel it's the India story here at the Dubai Mall.
04:30I love it.
04:31And even your pearls, the use of pearls, this could be worn at the Met Gala for sure.
04:35You know, it's got a Western appeal as well.
04:37And I think Dubai also speaks of that, isn't it?
04:40It's not about just being Indian.
04:41I mean, Indian is great, but there's also a blend of West, East.
04:45Dubai is now a very global place.
04:47It's so eclectic.
04:48It's got such a, it reminds me of Mumbai, it reminds me of New York.
04:51It's got such a lovely mix of different people, different nationalities.
04:55And it's a very welcoming city.
04:58And that's what our store is welcoming, warm, hospitable, literally like my house.
05:05And also, I have to ask you about the fashion game of people in the UAE.
05:08I feel it's spot on, like they know their fashion, they know their Balenciaga from say,
05:13Bottega.
05:14So would you say that as well, they're very discerning.
05:17So even if you give them quality, they really appreciate it, even if it's from a high street
05:22brand like COS.
05:23I think because Dubai has such a fabulous mix of designers, hotels, restaurants, you
05:30know, museum and so much, so there is an exposure.
05:35So people see, they know the difference.
05:36Even if you come out of here, you can, there's a Gucci store, there's an Hermes store, you
05:40know, there's Miu Miu, there's Elisa, there's Zuhair Murad, there are so many designers
05:45here.
05:46So the quality today is on par, you have to, you know, which is one more thing that I wanted
05:51to do was be at the Dubai Mall because then it also pushes you in terms of your upgrading
05:56your quality or your embroidery or your workmanship, all of it, right?
06:01So I think that it's very, Dubai is a place which does so much that I think the people
06:07are seeing it day to day and their entire style is changing and it's just getting better
06:13and better.
06:14Of course, and 2023 has been a phenomenal year for him.
06:17You started your own film production company.
06:19You also, I mean, you costume design for what, thousand plus movies.
06:25It's a statistic, at least that's what Wikipedia says, not the most reliable source.
06:29But I have to say he has all the Bollywood stars and brides, celebrity brides and speed
06:34dine.
06:35How difficult is it to innovate, Manish?
06:36I mean, do you find that?
06:38How do you innovate?
06:39Like, where do you find that kind of, where do you look for inspiration?
06:42Well, first of all, I love to work.
06:43Okay, let me make it clear.
06:45I absolutely love, love to work.
06:48And all my life, it's been 34 years in the movies and it's 19 years to the brand.
06:54So in fact, next year's 2025 will be 35 years in the movies and 20 years to the brand.
07:00It should be a big celebration.
07:03I've evolved.
07:04I'm learning.
07:05I'm a learner.
07:07I wake up every morning and I come to work not like, hey, I know it all.
07:13No, I always come to work saying, what more can we do?
07:17What more is to learn?
07:19And I think that's very important.
07:21And that is why I've been able to work with different generations.
07:25So whether it's been Sridevi ji to Jhanvi, whether it's Chunky Pandey to Ananya, I've
07:29worked because my approach towards work or any conversation is never like, I know more
07:36than you.
07:37No, it's, I am interested in knowing what you have to say, you know, and I want to know,
07:43I want to hear, I want to hear the youngest intern.
07:45I want to hear what somebody is telling me about how I could evolve, change, get better.
07:51And I think that that movement in your mind, in your work, in your life is very important.
07:57It's many extra hours.
07:59It's a lot of work, a lot of stress.
08:01Things go wrong.
08:02You need to, you know, immediately think of what you can do better.
08:06Yeah, but the journey goes on.
08:09Right.
08:10In Indian fashion, Bollywood is a DNA, right?
08:12Bollywood and fashion intermingle so closely.
08:14Do you think you've done a good job of perhaps separating yourself or do you think Bollywood
08:18is what makes fashion also like, tick in India?
08:22I think that I was born with that love for clothes and movies, and I've loved it so purely.
08:28It's been such an influence on me, whether it was watching colour on screen, music on
08:33screen, or the actresses, the actors, all of it.
08:38So I got into costume design, being one of the first people to see potential, to get
08:43that respectability to a costume designer and stylist.
08:48I still have the benefits of it, right?
08:50Being the first person, being the first person from costume designing to start mainstream.
08:56It took me time to understand mainstream.
08:57I got a lot of criticism for many things, whether it was the showstopper concept, whether
09:04it was the actors in the front row, whether it was a lot of sequence and glamour.
09:10But today when I look back, I'm like, hey, everyone's doing it.
09:13So there was a trend that I started there, whether it was being a showstopper, whether
09:18today actors are paid to work on that, whether it is every design house looks at, or every
09:23designer looks at what's the front row, or to make film stars wear their clothes, it's
09:27something that I started.
09:29And so I think, okay, so there was something right that I was doing, right?
09:33I had that eye for future, but I've been so busy that I've not really looked and celebrated
09:38that.
09:39I've just moved on.
09:42But I think that the fact that today people look at our work, even as a brand, and not
09:49really related to me as the costume designer is also a certain achievement.
09:54Because for the younger generation, who's probably like an 18 year old today looks at
09:59Manish Malhotra, the brand, and oh, so you also do movies.
10:04I think that is a good thing, because there are different aspects, there are different
10:09journeys.
10:10Whether it's my makeup, whether it's my high jewellery, whether it is now me wanting to
10:13produce films, or reproduce three films.
10:16So I think they're all different aspects.
10:18And each aspect needs a lot of work, a lot of detailing.
10:23And I think that people are looking at a different eye, which is great.
10:25Right.
10:26And you don't have any formal education in fashion design.
10:30That's so interesting, because you don't need it, do you?
10:32It's like journalism, you don't need a degree to be a journalist.
10:35But it helps maybe.
10:36I don't know about you.
10:37Have you thought of it?
10:39Education definitely helps.
10:40Yes.
10:41And there are times when I've missed it, because there were a lot of mistakes that I had to
10:44make.
10:45But I think it was, like I said, I was born with this crazy passion towards movies and
10:52clothes, and I used to sketch and draw and all of that.
10:55And in those days, there was no social media, we had to work, our work had to get noticed,
11:01people had to, you know, so there was a lot more effort.
11:04But of course, education is important.
11:08But I would think that anything creative also requires heart.
11:11Right.
11:12Would you go back to college, if given a chance?
11:14A lot of people do.
11:15My dad is 70.
11:16He's in law college now.
11:17That's great.
11:18But he just wanted to follow it.
11:19But do you know that two years ago, not two years ago, yeah, in 2023, I went to the New
11:25York Film Academy and did a customized course on film direction for 11 days.
11:31So he's teaching.
11:32No, I was not teaching.
11:33I went to learn.
11:34Oh, you went to learn.
11:35I thought you were teaching.
11:36It was eight hours of college and I was 55 and I felt so good being a student at 55.
11:42I would, if I would get time, I would go again and study, you know, and you're never, it's
11:48never too late to learn.
11:50It's never too late to get inspired.
11:53It's never too late, you know, to start something that you've always wanted to.
11:59And yes, there is a failure, there's a fear of failure, but the love for it has to be
12:05much above the little fear of forfeit.
12:07Right.
12:08And Manish, there's a glut of stylists that are bombarding Bollywood and celebrity culture.
12:13Do you think discerning stylists are the best things that to have happened?
12:17Or do you, how do you work with them?
12:19Because they can dictate, right?
12:21To a large extent?
12:22I think every moment that we are seeing today, whether it's young stylists, whether it's
12:26young designers or senior designers, because India is still seeing its first generation
12:33of designers.
12:34That's true.
12:35But, and we are just beginning to cut fashion, getting corporatized.
12:39So it's only the first moment right now, right?
12:42But what it promises is just to get better and better.
12:46And the next generation of the generation after that.
12:50And I think it's a great, great time in Indian fashion.
12:54We have, we are so rich with culture, heritage, textile, craftsmen, and I as a senior designer
13:01today feel that it's my give back time of empowering, taking some of the crafts internationally.
13:09And I think it's a great moment that we have stylists who are coming with their voices,
13:13young designers, I think it's all lovely.
13:15It's all lovely.
13:16Brilliant.
13:17Last question, what kind of a fashion moment are we having, Manish, right now?
13:21I think we're having a very inclusive fashion moment.
13:25There's a lot of love for textile and handloom and all of it.
13:29While we're seeing a big movement of designers doing so much work internationally, so many
13:34good designers who are dressing up international celebrities, right?
13:39So I think the world is looking at India for style, workmanship, embroidery.
13:44Earlier, there were only international houses which got their workmanship done in India.
13:49But today, globally, they're looking at Indian designers, right?
13:52So I think it's a great fashion moment and it's only going to get better.
13:55And for one of the fashion magazines in Arabia, they chose Rekha and they chose you.
13:59Yeah, what a fantastic collaboration I thought.
14:02And it was a beautiful cover, I must say.
14:04Thank you so much.
14:05Styling was spot on.
14:06And it was different.
14:07I don't know, she looked different.
14:08And it's not easy to reinvent her.
14:09Yeah.
14:10She's an iconoclast.
14:11The hard work and the dedication that she gives.
14:14And I'm a huge admirer of Rekha ji and a friend of hers and a believer in her.
14:19And I've loved her ever since.
14:22But so working on that was really something that we enjoyed and, you know, it got a great
14:27reception, which feels so good.
14:29Like I said, so fashion, voices of style, artists are timeless.
14:35And you just have to constantly reinvent.
14:36I know.
14:37And, you know, and look at things in the fresh eyes.
14:39And Manish, I really hope you do more inclusive fashion.
14:42I say that for all the plus girl size girls out there and perhaps they want to wear your
14:46clothes and sometimes they don't get their sizes.
14:48I hope you cater to all sizes and all shapes.
14:51We also take customized orders and that.
14:53And I think, like you rightly said, today's fashion is more inclusive and it just has
14:59to get more and more inclusive.
15:00Brilliant.
15:01On that note, thank you so much for these beautiful clothes.
15:05You make every girl feel very beautiful and I think that's no mean feat.
15:09Thank you for your time.