Manish Malhotra, a renowned designer in India, has been crafting outfits for famous stars for decades. He made his Bollywood design debut in 1990 in the film “Swarg,” styling for stars Govinda, Juhi Chawla, and Rajesh Khanna. Malhotra recently styled for the March pre-wedding of Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Indian business tycoon Mukesh Ambani, and Radhika Merchant, daughter of Encore Healthcare founders Viren and Shaila Merchant. Malhotra is also set to design for Ambani and Merchant’s wedding in July, but after seeing their pre-wedding looks, I think the couple should reconsider.
Merchant’s first lehenga, inspired by a vintage corset, should have been the definition of elegance, but instead it bordered on tasteless. Malhorta’s attempt at regal elegance made the outfit a glorified jewelry exhibit. Merchant’s dupatta, which should display innocence and modesty on a woman, consisted of a metal mesh drape made solely of Swarovski crystals. The only thing I can give Malhotra props for is his use of the color gold to create the royal appearance of Merchant’s lehenga. Unfortunately, the garishness of the design outweighed Malhotra’s attempted success with the color choice.
Another one of Merchant’s pre-wedding outfits was similarly decked in Swarovski crystals, and it was giving bland. You would think Malhotra would be bored of bedazzling every outfit he designs, but the jewelry exhibit strikes again. Malhotra claims that this look was a steel blue color with gold and silver florals, but the crystals appear silver in color with no intentional pattern.
Ambani family members, Bollywood stars, and Rihanna were among the additional guests wearing Malhotra’s designs. Rihanna’s outfit unfortunately could not keep up with her performance, ripping halfway through her set. Malhorta not only failed to design a durable outfit for the singer, but he also flopped with his attempt to modernize desi clothing, which typically consists of heavy duty materials with rich color patterns–not sheer, lime green lace. Rihanna, of course, still managed to pull off the neon green dress, but that’s beside the point.
In the past few years, Indian bridalwear has transitioned from traditional, bold and bright color schemes to more pastel and muted tones. For their respective weddings, Bollywood actors Alia Bhatt and Kiara Advani wore pink and beige bridal lehengas instead of traditional red ones. Red has been the bridal color in India for centuries, representing good luck and power from the goddess Shakti. This is why red holds such significance in Indian weddings, making its absence in modern wedding wear unsettling. When Indian stars like Bhatt and Advani abandon red in their bridal wear, other brides are sure to follow suit.
Malhorta has decided to play into this trend, marketing an entire bridal line in purely neutral colors. Malhotra recruited Bhatt and fellow actor Ranveer Singh to model for his July 20, 2023, show, which advertised his bridal line. Bhatt and Singh sported bedazzled, gray outfits, which, along with the neutral tones of his designs, depart entirely from India’s cultural heritage.
While trendy, the colors black and gray should never be included in traditional religious events, especially weddings, as they symbolize bad fortune and negative energy for Indian people. The fact that Malhotra designed an entire gray wedding line is frankly offensive and proves that it’s high time for him to retire. Though Malhotra intended his wedding line to represent earthy simplicity with ties to the natural world, this theme detracts from the extravagance and celebratory nature of Indian weddings.
Of course, I understand the appeal of modernized wedding outfits, but when traditional wedding wear designs are completely thrown out the window, things have gone too far. Malhotra’s elimination of traditional elements in his wedding wear designs says a lot about how he values his culture. A large part of Indian weddings is the preservation of cultural heritage, maintaining the traditions started by our ancestors thousands of years ago, and understanding that without them, we would not be here today.
It makes sense, then, that wedding wear is taken quite seriously in India. Wedding events span over a course of five to seven days, and during this time, couples can be expected to wear anywhere from five to fourteen outfits. While Indian weddings have been shortened dramatically today, this doesn’t mean the quality and significance of wedding clothing should cut corners as well.
While I wish Malhorta would flee the fashion scene, it doesn’t seem like he’ll be leaving anytime soon. If Malhotra were to retire now, this would allow more qualified designers like Gaurav Gupta and Rahul Mishra to take over. Gupta’s bridal wear, even with its trendy, modern flare, still maintains an expansive color palette, compared to Malhorta’s designs, and aligns closer to traditional wedding wear. Mishra also incorporates his own spin on Indian bridal wear, while keeping a conventional color palette and elegant style. With both of these designers presenting at Paris Fashion Week, it is safe to say that Indian bridal wear still has a chance.
Words by Urja Atre
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