Kashmiri flowers gulaala, giltoor inspire Manish Malhotra`s collection

New Delhi: Renowned designer Manish Malhotra brought curtains down to the third day of ongoing Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) by showcasing an elegant collection inspired by popular flowers of Kashmir "gulaala" and "giltoor", which are also considered to be the favourites of Mughal Empress Begum Nur Jahan.

"When I was there (Kashmir) for `Rockstar` and working on Nargis` (Fakhri) costume, Imtiaz wanted us to shop. So we shopped a lot of stuff in Kashmir," said Malhotra said after the show. "He suggested me why don`t you do a collection on Kashmiri embroidery and work and I felt it was a good idea so I went for it," he added. Malhotra`s collection also titled "Gulaala and Giltoor", boast of Indian evening wear with intricate Kashmir embroidery and other thread work used on it. It featured colours of "The Giltoor" like ivories, creams, off-whites and "The Gulaala" like burnt orange, red, deep pink, rust and brick hues. And the designer says this collection is an attempt to bring forth the beauty of the Kashmiri embroidery and calls it a tribute to his craftsmen back in Kashmir. "I feel of late Kashmiri embroidery was more seen in carpet shops or shawls. I wanted to get it in high-end Indian wear and bring it into fashion and so far the response has been really good," he said. "I have 65 craftsmen, who work there for us in Kashmir. We dye all the fabrics in Mumbai and for work it goes to Kashmir and made there. This show is a tribute to the team of 65 people, who work with me and have immensely contributed to the creation and showcase of exquisite Kashmiri craft that forms a critical aspect of my evening wear collection," he added. As always, Malhotra showcased both men`s wear and women`s collection. While women`s wear was dominated by Anarkali suits, gowns, saris and lehengas, men`s wear line had sherwanis, bandgala suits. The fabrics used were jutes, silks, nets, chiffon laces and crochet. The show was sponsored by Blenders Pride. Any Manish Malhotra show is incomplete without the presence of Bollywood celebrities. Although there was no showstopper, this edition also saw Bollywood`s Urmila Matondkar, Mahima Chowdhary and Kangna Ranaut cheering for the designer from the front seat. While Urmila and Kangna were seen wearing Malhotra`s designs, Mahima looked elegant in black short dress. Also present as the guests were Shashi Tharoor and wife Sugandha Pushakar, beauty expert Shahnaz Husain and VJ Pooja Misrra. IANS