The Bollywood Baadshah of fashion Manish Malhotra made his UK runway debut yesterday at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London and Bollyspice.com where there to watch the fashion extravagance.
In aid of The Angeli Foundation, which is a charity to empower the girl child in India, and in association with Dubai based Rivaage boutique the night saw Bollywood actresses Urmila Matondkar, who opened the show, and Parineeti Chopra take to the runway in some of Manish Malhotra’s amazing creations.
Parineeti Chopra told Bollyspice.com what makes Manish Malhotra so special to her saying, “Well I have said this before and will say it every single time, Manish Malhotra the star and one of the biggest designers in the world has no idea what a huge star he is. He is the most humble, the most affectionate, the most fun person to be around, and that is why as a person I enjoy working with him. Plus his designs are top class. There is just nobody like him, such royal clothes.”
The collection was Indian with Kashmiri and Chikankari work woven into traditional silhouettes and styles in colours inspired by the 1950s such as pinks, corals and blues.
The horrific rape of Jyoti Singh Pandey in Delhi highlighted the shocking inequality and attitudes towards women in India and inspired Manish Malhotra to opt for The Angeli Foundation as the charity of his choice for his UK launch.
On opting for The Angeli Foundation Manish Malhotra said, “I can think of no better partner to have worked with for my debut show in London. The Angeli Foundation works so hard at a grass roots level to change the lives of young girls in the hope that their voices will eventually be heard and that attitudes in our society will change. As celebrities, it is our role and responsibility to lead by example and if I can make some small change by lending my support to this invaluable case, then I have achieved something.”
Proceeds from tickets sales and the live auction, will go in aid of two specific projects run by The Angeli Foundation; The Gayatri Education program, which provides girl students with the skills they need to succeed, and mobile medical clinics that visit girl’s school to provide health checks on a regular basis.
After Manish Malhotra made his UK runway debut we couldn’t help but wonder if the designer would consider opening a flagship store in London. He hinted at a possibility telling Bollyspice, “ I would love to open one, hopefully in the future.”
The event which was sponsored by Air India and Exclusive Cake4U also saw the likes of Preeya Kalidas, Anita Rani, Nihal, Ace Bhatti, Shivani Ghai, Jimi Harkishin and Adil Ray turning up to show their support for the famed designer.
Check out these pictures from the fashion filled night!
With contributions by Bodrul Chaudhury
