LFW: Kartik Aryan adorns royal look for Manish Malhotra show

New Delhi: Bollywood actor Kartik Aryan turned showstopper for veteran designer Manish Malhotra who paid tribute to the craftsmen and artisans with the fund-raising opening show at the first digital edition of the Lakme Fashion Week.

Malhotra collaborated with Mijwan Foundation to present his latest bridal collection 'Ruhaaniyat' through a couture film.

Kartik looked royal wearing a cream sherwani with intricate gold zari work with heavy shawl with a thick, embellished border, teamed with heavy polki jewellery and emeralds.

Kartik said: "This is the first thing I'm doing in the last seven months of lockdown, primarily because this collection has got a larger purpose and has a noble cause attached to it and through this, I want to show my full support for this initiative. It supports artisans, and I applaud the Mijwan Welfare Society, Lakme Fashion Week, and Manish Malhotra World for this beautiful initiative."

The designer took almost two years to complete the collection, inspired by the Mughal aesthetics. The line-up consist of kurtas, khada dupattas, ghararas, and izar salwars for women and Jama angarkhas and heavy shawls for men in muted colour spread of teal, pistachio green, dusky pink, grey, maroon, black and white.

The grandeur of the inspirations was apparent in the layered ensembles that swirled around the male and female models. The fabric base was pure cotton and silk, along with lavish Mashru, velvets and muslins to create voluminous silhouettes. A variety of kurtas in a pastel line gave the festive touch to the men's wear, while long and short kurtas at times lean in shape; offered a choice for women.

Manish has used archival hand-basted and hand-quilted fabrics that comprise accent borders that are zari-woven in original gold and silver. Using embroideries Punjab, Awadh and Kutch, the collection was a reverie of heritage and opulence.

Talking about the collection and upcoming virtual showcase, Manish said: "Ruhaaniyat is my tribute to all the artisans and craftsmen of our country who have left the fingerprints of their art onto our heritage culture. It's about the eternal soul of the craft from two culturally rich regions (vibrance of Punjab and nazakat of Awadh) and how it continues to live on even today."

About the new format of fashion showcase, he further added: "The new format of the digital fashion week which required me from creating, conceptualizing to directing a film has been enormously demanding. Working with models and making them characters, collaborating with musicians from all over the country, and managing several other things simultaneously, this has been a rather rare experience that I've truly loved because somewhere it satisfies two loves of my life e fashion and film."