Paris Fashion Week: Manish Arora Brings Bollywood to Paris

01-10-2007 10:00

Manish Arora opened Paris Fashion Week with a bang yesterday when she became the first Indian designer to present ready-to-wear in the French capital.

Arora's collection mixed traditional Indian design with funky modern pop art to create a bold East meets West statement.

He used neon lime and pink with detailed hand embroided embellishment on patchhwork maxi dresses and full floating skirts. One jacket featured a game of snakes and ladders, with the snakes and the ladders appliquéd in metallic threads,

Arora's attention to detail is admirable with the perfectly decorated silks and painstaking embroidery which took 100 people over 2 monhs to complte. But it all seemed to pay off with beautiful pieces such as a long, red carpet style gown glittered with 1,500 multi-coloured butterflies which glow in the dark.

The collection definitely had the feel of the 70s as hippy flares and long full length jackets in rainbow colours danced down the catwalk under flashing strobe lights- a real feast for the eyes.

"I wanted to give myself a big challenge," Arora told AFP, "Let's face it, Paris is the city for fashion. I wanted a bigger audience, bigger press."

"I'll be here again next season," he said. "To stay among the big names is a real challenge."

Arora wasn't the only Asian designer to be making a mark in Paris yesterday. Frankie Xie of the Beijing-based Jefen label enjoyed his second season in the city while South Korean Lie Sang Bong also stepped up to the runway.

Xie showed his pride in China by dedicating his spring/summer 08 collection to the Beijing Olympics. He gave sportswear a whole new look with fake-fur boxing gloves in neon pink or baby blue and shiny satin tracksuits and jumpsuits in electric turquoise and green.

Lie Sang Bong stuck to the more traditional nod to his roots with beautiful silk and chiffon gowns decorated with delicate floral prints. These were contrasted with structured stiffened silk cocktail dresses in bold yellow shades.

Caz Moss- Female First
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