A walk with a cause

In an effort to sustain the revolution to empower women artisans in Mijwan, UP, designer Manish Malhotra showcased his 10th Mijwan couture collection in collaboration with Shabana Azmi and Namrata Goyal last evening.

Striking a balance between the light and the dark, ivory and and black lehengas, sarees and sherwanis took the centre stage as they highlighted the exquisite chikankari handwork done by the women artisans of Mijwan.

Power couple Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone made their first ever showstopper appearance on the show. Padukone walked down the ramp in a beautifully embroidered silver and white lehenga with a lace border and a dramatic cape that stole the show. Singh, on the other hand, donned a black sherwani with chikankari white embroidery and a standing collar.

Associated with the Mijwan Welfare Society for the last 10 years, Malhotra wanted to make this year’s celebration a “grand event”. He said, “I wanted the show to look like one major celebration because we are celebrating something, especially after the pandemic. So, I wanted the clothes to be couture and sparkle more.”

Among the guests were Gauri Khan, who dazzled in a blue saree and was seated with Karan Johar. They also shared a candid moment with Singh when he walked the ramp. Genelia Deshmukh, Riteish Deshmukh, Shibani Dandekar and her sister Anusha Dandekar, Javed Akhtar, Boney Kapoor were also in attendance. Vidya Balan and Raveena Tandon struck a pose at the red carpet donning ethnic attire.

Asha Bhosle, Sunidhi Chauhan, Armaan Malik, Dia Mirza, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Nora Fatehi, Konkana Sen Sharma, Rahul Bose, Ishaan Khatter designer Shaina NC also graced the event.