Dubai key pit stop as Manish Malhotra goes international

The designer plans to open a flagship standalone store in the emirate in the first quarter of 2016.

As far as Indian fashion is concerned, it seems to be raining fashion weeks this monsoon season. Amazon India Couture Week concluded around 20 days ago, and hot on its heels was India Bridal Week.

Both these events took place in Delhi, and now it is all about Mumbai as Lakme Fashion Week starts in the city on Wednesday. Over 100 designers will unveil their fall/winter collections. This fashion overdose often leads to fashion "week" being about "weak" fashion.

To ensure a feel of strength, Lakme Fashion Week had fashion powerhouse Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla take to the catwalk for the pre-opening show, and on the opening day some of the city's leading lights are taking to the ramp, including Payal Singhal, Nikhil Thampi and the ever-glamorous Manish Malhotra, who will present shows at a special off-site venue.

For Malhotra this show is part of a hat-trick. His next show is slated for October 1 in Dubai. Though the location has not been finalised, of course you can expect one of his fashionable friends from Indian cinema to take to the ramp for his Dubai show.

He will be showing both The Empress Story collection, which he first took to the ramp in Delhi at Amazon India Couture Week, and The Gentleman's Club, which takes to the ramp later on Wednesday, and closing his show will be Ranbir Kapoor.
Manish is one of Bollywood's favourite designers, having designed looks for over 1,000 films, including Yeh Jewani Hai Deewani and Chennai Express. He is the designer of choice for the film industry's most stylish women off-screen too.

Sridevi and Kareena Kapoor are often spotted wearing his label.

"I have designed men's clothes in my movies. However, my work with women took over and made a huge mark. Initially my label was only women's wear but we have being doing men's wear for seven years," says Malhotra.

The Empress Story collection, for which Aishwarya Rai Bachchan took to the ramp, was about a more English take on Indian fashion. It was strategically timed as Malhotra announced he would be opening a store in London.

These limited edition pieces included a small capsule for men. The collection relied on Indian crafts for embellishments. The silhouettes have a distinctly European influence, while the lehngha was married with gown skirts and his kurta met with flowing dresses. It was a collection made for the chic Londoner who would like a touch of the East in her wardrobe.

Wednesday's men's-only show is also perfectly timed as he unveils his men's-only store in the courtyard of his 9,000 sq. ft flagship store in Delhi's fashionable Qutab.

There is also good reason for Dubai being the next on the designer's list. He plans to open a flagship standalone store in the emirate in the first quarter of 2016.

Manish has had retail presence in the region before, but this flagship renews his commitment to the region. Malhotra has often said that Dubai feels like his second home and has celebrated the New Year in the emirate for last couple of years.

"We complete 10 years of my label this August.  This year has been all about reinventing and redefining. The Empress Story collection that showed at Couture Week introduced a Western wear line to preview my London store," he said.

Malhotra will be in Dubai by the end of the month to prepare for his show, and also to talk about his plans for a retail outlet in the city.

For now all Malhotra has to say is, "It's my men's wear store in Delhi then a store in London closely followed by one in Dubai. I will be bringing both The Empress Story and The Gentemen's Club to Dubai."

It seems the designer spent the first 10 years of his retail career making Manish Malhotra into one of India's best loved labels, and he intends to spend the next decade taking his "Made In India" label international, with Dubai being an important part of the plan.