Manish Malhotra on Pandemic, Luxury Clothing, Expensive Masks And Mentoring Youngsters in His Most Heartfelt Interview

Ace designer Manish Malhotra has completed three decades in the fashion world. He has dressed almost every star in Bollywood and has continued to make headlines as well as enthrall people with his design in fashion weeks across the country, and beyond borders. The designer always manages to bring something fresh to the table for the fashion enthusiasts. His latest collection, Ruhaaniyat, received much love and appreciation from both the film and the fashion fraternity. In a candid conversation with India.com, Manish spoke about how pandemic has changed his outlook towards life, his take on minimalism, his association with Myntra Fashion Superstar, and more. Excerpts:

1. Tell us about your association with Myntra Fashion Superstar?

When this lockdown happened, and people were clueless about what will happen, then this show came to me and I said ‘you know what I want to try different and new things… let’s do it’. By the time we started shooting, my stores had opened, my workshops had opened but I just went ahead and did the show. It has been a wonderful experience for me. I meet models, actors, brides, and grooms that I work with. Here, I was interacting with youngsters who had bad mood swings, who had anxiety, who had depression. I could chat with them; I could hear them out.

I could share with them my experiences of the highs and lows of work journey, how not to pay attention to fail, and mostly connect. While I stepped in simply as a judge, this show became more of an experience of interaction, monitoring, mentoring, and advising the young minds. I’m hoping to let them know that ‘listen, if you want to be a fashion influencer, you have to bring something new to the table’.

2. What are the parameters you keep in mind while judging the contestants on a show and what are the real opportunities for them in the industry, especially now when it’s going through losses due to the pandemic?

For me the parameter was to hear them, listen to them. And honestly, I am not a person who can pretend. So, I heard them, and I said what I had to say. I just speak what I have to speak from my heart. I was enjoying the fact that I was connecting with these youngsters. I am hearing their mind, I am speaking my heart out to them. I am directing them towards their passion, encouraging them, and telling them that even I am a learner, just because I am sitting on a judgment seat doesn’t mean that I know it all.

I think the real opportunity for them will be the Fashion Superstar show because it connects a lot more than you think. The interaction sessions, discussions, whether on-camera or off-camera have been a great experience. Agar who yeh opportunity aaj value nahi karte, woh definitely aage jaake value karenge (They might not value this opportunity today but they are going to realise its importance later in their careers). Myntra Fashion Superstar is a great platform for them, it’s on an OTT platform and will definitely open many doors for them. The beauty of a digital platform is in its reach, the entire world is your audience.

3. The pandemic must have hit the business in unprecedented ways. Would you please elaborate on where you were at the beginning of the year and how the pandemic changed everything in the business?

At the beginning of the year, I was running around because I love to work for films, in shows, and for the brides. This was the 15th year of my label and I completed 30 years in the industry. I needed to streamline things. I needed to work on the brand plate and put up collections, take a pause. But then the pandemic happened, and many insecurities triggered… I thought about paying salaries. However, the pandemic gave me time to introspect my life and understand if I really need to run this much. I wondered if this craziness in life was all really necessary? Shouldn’t I be fine even with selling 80 out of 100 outfits? It’s not that I have to build something tomorrow. I got a little stability then.

I have really worked hard in the last 30 years, I have worked 20 hours a day from films, fashion shows to fashion weeks. I was the first designer to open my Delhi and Mumbai store when the government allowed it. The entire Ruhaaniyat collection is made out of all the archival in royalties and fabrics that I’ve had. It just taught me that how the need is there and there has to be more quality and innovation over quantity. I think I just came out as a different person. Today, I am looking at the same thing, the same life, the same love for work, the same clothes, movies, all of it but with different eyes and a different mindset. That has been a refreshing move in my life.

4. While the overall industry has taken a hit during the pandemic, it’s the local craftsmen and the weavers who have suffered the worst. How have you ensured that the tailors, weavers, embroiders and other local craftsmen you have been working with are able to survive this period?

Everyone has been impacted by this pandemic… from restauranteur to the owner, the chef, and the cleaner. In my case, it’s the embroiderers and tailors because I am paying huge rents and many salaries. Nobody can replace the huge loss I have suffered in these months. We reached out to our people who went back to their villages. We helped them and gave them their salaries. We have been cooperating with them as much as we can, we tried to be there with them by having conversations and helped them in some way or the other. But that’s all we could do. We are all back to work now and are encouraging them to come back from their villages and cities.

I really thank the universe, and I’m full of gratitude because things are moving. My latest collection Ruhaaniyat is doing really well and we are booking orders whether it’s via e-commerce, or through the stores. There has been a positive response.

5. Do you think the pandemic has changed people’s mindset towards luxury clothing? Have you experienced anything that probably shows how people are more interested in simplicity and not spending too much on expensive trousseau? Has that brought any change in the way you design or market your outfits?

I think there has been definitely a warm change. There’s a parallel demand for minimalism. Now, the definition of maximalism has changed. You don’t want to wear really heavy lehenga because it’s an intimate wedding. But does that mean that you will get a plain lehenga and go? There have been brides who wanted a complete ornate or an embroidered lehenga but not necessarily a heavy lehenga. So, there is a change. I have come out with a very sustainable Ruhaaniyat collection which is priced reasonably, has great colour amalgamation. I truly enjoyed putting it all together, all by myself, alone. People are really warming up to this. The definition of heavy, lighter, and the aesthetic has changed. That’s just brilliant.

6. What’s your take on the super expensive masks… those with diamonds and selling for thousands of dollars? Also, do you think that the mask is a basic necessity today but the industry has converted it into a luxury fashion product?

Just look it this way, clothes are a basic need, see how clothes have evolved, everything has evolved. Next thing you know, people can also turn a regular sanitizer into a luxury. If you look at it this way, even a bag is a necessity, a shoe is a necessity. You have to cover your feet; you need clothes to cover your body. I think it’s just a new medium of expression.

7. Has it ever happened that the celebrities and influencers sourced your clothing and never returned? 
This happens sometimes, but not that they won’t return the outfit. It’s just that they sometimes forget to return. To be fair, everyone has those manners and now that I am a senior, they all show respect too. (Quips)