Review | Collection
Manish Malhotra Lakme Fashion Week 2015 collection was a much-anticipated grand end to the Day 1 of fashion week. The designer’s first-ever menswear fashion show showcased a collection titled ‘The Gentlemen’s Club’.
An assortment of chairs and tables of random designs hung from the ceiling, above a grand runway. Most of the runway acted like a stage, where plush high-backed chairs lay in small groups next to Arabian rugs. At the corner was a grand piano. A live jazz band played to set the mood for ‘The Gentlemen’s Club’. Suspending the not-so-plush chairs from the ceiling to create a luxury club suggests elitism. It’s as if Manish Malhotra wanted to remind us that his client list prefers the culture of exclusion and not inclusion.
The menswear collection included ethnic and western silhouettes – from suits to sherwanis. The pieces encompassed slim pants paired with jackets, bundhgalas and embroidered sherwanis with trousers. The fabrics were rich – velvets and silks. The color palette is much more muted than what we saw in the womenswear collection earlier this month. It was made entirely of navy, charcoal, emerald, deep burgundy, mocha and midnight blue. Embellishments included embroidery in gold floral motifs.
“It’s as if Manish Malhotra wanted to remind us that his client list prefers the culture of exclusion and not inclusion.”
One ensemble was a cross between the dinner jacket and a business suit (above) with burgundy velvet lapel and was a real charmer – a style that gained popularity in North America in the 90s. Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor was the showstopper and walked the ramp in a burgundy suit in velvet paired with a tie-less printed collared shirt in carbon grey. The showstopper outfit was a much-too-familiar eccentric Hollywood meets red carpet combo. Although the lapel rose in gold was a big saving grace!
Manish Malhotra Lakme Fashion Week Winter Festive 2015: Couture Gallery
Check out more of Manish Malhotra’s menswear designs.
Shilpa Ahuja the editor-in-chief of ShilpaAhuja.com, which she founded with the goal of inspiring confidence in the modern working woman through fashion. Other than defining the direction of the magazine, she also writes about fashion & beauty trend forecasts, industry analysis, and opinions.
Shilpa’s work has been published in the University of Fashion blog and Jet Airways magazine. She is also an artist, illustrator and cartoonist. She is also the creator of Audrey O., a comic series that represents the lifestyle of millennial women. She enjoys creative writing and world travel. Her art has been exhibited at Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Aroma Hotel, Chandigarh and been published in Chandigarh Times.
Originally from Chandigarh, Shilpa also has a degree in architecture and has worked in interior project management. She is also the author of the book “Designing a Chinese Cultural Center in India”. Shilpa has a Masters in Design Studies degree from Harvard University.
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