Having opened a stand-alone store in Dubai, Faraz Manan shows no signs of stopping. The designer set things in motion at the pre-TOIFA bash with a spectacular showcase of his recent couture collection, Desert Royal, featuring showstopper Karisma Kapoor.
InstepREport
Shaking a leg with showstopper Karisma Kapoor, at the end of his showcase, the Pakistani designer took everyone by surprise.
Dubai
The Times of India Film Awards 2016 rolled out the star-studded ‘Gulf Air Gold Carpet’ (presented by CBSC), on Thursday night, to mark the beginning of what was a glamorous two-day Bollywood fest. The evening was hosted by actors Huma Qureshi and Manish Paul and honoured a number of deserving artists from B-town in the Technical Awards category. However, apart from the presence of many popular Bollywood faces, including Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Parineeti Chopra, the highlight of the evening came from none other than Pakistani couturier Faraz Manan, who showed his latest collection, Desert Royal, as part of the opening act.
The recent past has seen Manan turn his brand into a regional fashion label from a local favourite of Lahore’s well-heeled fashionistas. A fusion of opulent, glittering Eastern craft and contemporary silhouettes, Manan’s signature aesthetics have quickly found a liking amongst Middle Eastern and South Asian clients including prominent Bollywood celebrities – particularly Kareena Kapoor, who is also his label’s official brand ambassador.
In person, however, Manan is an absolute antithesis of his glitzy label. He is a simple man with a no-nonsense attitude. Despite partying with the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and the Kapoor sisters, who count on him to look their stylish best, he keeps his feet on the ground. Instep spoke to the designer, who shows no signs of stopping, about his latest outing at the pre-TOIFA bash.
Instep: Tell us something about your collection Desert Royal.
Faraz Manan: Desert Royal is a couture collection. Fusion; ‘east meets west’ has always been my forte but this particular collection is a mixture of Indo-Arab designs and has a royal feel to it. In fact, the idea behind the collection is that whoever chooses to wear it, be it a woman from India, Middle East, Pakistan or Europe for that matter, should feel like royalty.
Caught-on-camera: Faraz Manan with Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh and Shoaib Shafi.
Instep: Karisma came as a surprise to all of us considering Kareena is the actual brand ambassador. How did you decide for her to be the showstopper?
FM: It was Kareena’s idea that Lolo should walk the ramp as the showstopper. Kareena had already shot a campaign for this collection while we were in process of shooting our lawn with her, so we thought that Karisma will be a pleasant surprise for everyone because everybody would anyways be expecting Kareena to be the showstopper. Also, my association with the Kapoor sisters goes a long way and I am equally fond of both of them. I am glad that Kareena was there, in the audience, cheering for us.
Instep: Bollywood has been showing a lot of interest in your work recently. Do we see the label being part of films anytime soon?
FM: Yes, I have been offered to design for a couple of films from Bollywood and I have also been approached to showcase my designs at the IIFA Awards, due to be held in Spain this year. We are looking into it and you will get to know about it pretty soon.
Instep: We saw you pull off some dance moves as well…
FM: I was quite embarrassed but that was, again, Kareena’s idea and I cannot say no to her.
Instep: Now that you have made it to Bollywood, what are your aspirations? Is there any personality that you always wanted to design for?
FM: Queen Rania of Jordan, definitely. She represents the royalty and charisma attached to our brand and I admire her a lot for the social causes she is deeply associated with.
- Sadiq Saleem, is a UAE based entertainment writer. He can be contacted on his page fb/sidsaidso.
– Photos courtesy: Watermelon Communications and Rabea Natasha Ahmed