Manish Malhotra never had a formal education in fashion or design, but there was never any doubt in his mind that he was going to make clothes. It all began at age 14 when the now-acclaimed artist found himself smitten by the jewels and fabrics involved in his mother's preparation for his brother's wedding. Though he was still young, he decided to skip any formal training and instead developed his talents for sketching and sewing solely through hands-on experience in small boutiques in India's region of Mumbai — and to say it worked out would be an understatement.
Malhotra's rise to fashion fame began primarily in film. His debut as a costume designer for the Hindi film industry was in 1990 with a movie called Swarg. "My love and passion for films is personal; I grew up being inspired by the depth of cinema, my fondness for art direction, and my love for fashion depicted on the screen," Malhotra, now 56, shares with Teen Vogue. Over thirty years later, his name has become insurmountably entwined with modern-day Bollywood.
Malhotra's introduction to the world of movies served as a turning point for not only his own career but for the way costume design as a whole functioned in Hindi films. "Before I came in, a brief would be very straightforward: Western attire for women playing bolder characters and traditional ensembles for the shy girl," Malhotra explains, emphasizing how the sartorial choices didn't necessarily have any connection with the film's script. “It's more than garments for me; it's about understanding the values of the character and portraying the best version of that character through their garments. I took the initiative to read the script, to understand the character, and to style them based on who they were playing.”
What resulted in the following decades were costumes that ultimately proved to be generation-defining. Films that featured Malhotra's styling began to create recognizable trends for South Asian women of all ages across the globe, with Bollywood's leading ladies becoming characters that existed off-screen entirely through their clothing — exactly what Malhotra had always hoped to achieve. "The goal was always to embrace the character's persona as well as I could; the costuming was how I saw the portrayal of these characters when I read the script. It was how I would imagine these characters to dress if they happened to be around me in real life. I wanted viewers to feel the character in their garments alone."
While this vision shone through in every one of his projects, a few iconic characters mark how Malhotra's fresh approach to costuming transformed the landscape of Indian fashion. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge's Simran, the beloved character played by Kajol in 1995, incorporated European style influences as her character found love in the Swiss mountains wearing a beret and knee-high boots. In 1997, Dil Toh Pagal Hai's Nisha introduced Western athleisure to Bollywood, with bike shorts, slip dresses, and unitards taking center stage for the character's contemporary dancer persona.
A year later, in 1998, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai's Anjali pushed boundaries as she wore a sheer chiffon sari while caught in the rain. In 2001, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham's Pooja coordinated two-piece outfits set the tone for what would eventually become the Y2K style that Gen Z can't get enough of. And in 2007, Jab We Met's Geet brought traditional wear back to the forefront with phulkari dupattas and Patiala pants showcasing her character's roots in small-town Punjab.
When reflecting on his legacy in costuming, Malhotra reminisces about two specific films and styles that pushed beyond what was possible for Indian women's style at the time: Urmila Matondkar's plain black sari in Rangeela (1995) and Shilpa Shetty's royal blue wedding lehenga in Dhadkan (2000). “Breaking stereotypes was not common [but] these characters broke those stereotypes, and people fell in love,” he says. In 1995, the maestro's work had become so iconic that the Hindi film industry's premier awards ceremony, the Filmfare Awards, created an award for Best Costume Design to award it to Malhotra for his redefinition of costuming in Indian cinema.
Despite styling choices being deeply rooted in individual scripts, a few key personal inspirations consistently tie Malhotra's work together. "I've always shared a deep love for colors and for statement-making silhouettes while being deeply rooted with the intricacies of our cultural heritage," he tells Teen Vogue. This heritage he speaks of has always played a significant role in his ethos as a designer. "When you have such a rich legacy of cultural heritage, the sheer depth of diversity, and the world's most beautiful forms of art and craft that this diversity has birthed, there is no other place to look for inspiration." Handloom work and regional embroidery styles often appear in Malhotra's couture collections, leading to a more significant heritage revival in South Asian fashion.
Most notable is his usage of chikankari – a traditional embroidery style originating from the northern Indian city of Lucknow, characterized by a set of stitching techniques to create floral motifs on cotton fabrics. Malhotra debuted his chikankari couture collection, titled "Mijwan," in 2010 after working with local creators in the style's home state of Uttar Pradesh to revive the craft across India while also trying to modernize its appeal. "Revolutionizing these age-old traditional crafts has been an immense pleasure, especially working with artisans and craftsmen from all over the country who all bring something new to the table." ("Mijwan" recently celebrated its' 10th anniversary, and new pieces found themselves far beyond India, with the likes of Jennifer Anniston seen sporting a traditional white outfit from the collection.)
Whether he is seeking to dress a generation or to further the reach of India's textile history, Manish Malhotra understands that protecting heritage art cannot come at the expense of evolution. "As much as I am an avid cultural preservationist, and as much as I am deeply rooted in our customs and traditions, I do believe that fashion is ever-changing. There's a gray area that you have to find between incorporating what you love and what inspires you into what the world is moving forward with," he explains. This progression can be seen clearly in the designer's newest couture collection, "Diffuse," which he tells Teen Vogue was all about bending the rules. "This is the line that incorporates the rebellious fundamentals of younger generations that are dictating the future of fashion," he says. "Once in a while, when you want to lay back on the fashionably correct outfits and unleash a wilder side, there is Diffuse, with statement-making colors, curious prints, clashes of textures, and gender-neutral silhouettes." This bold vision was perfectly embodied in a recent campaign featuring the cast of Netflix's Class, an Indian adaptation of the soapy Spanish teen drama Élite.
These days, it's clear that Gen Z is playing a substantial role in the direction of the Manish Malhotra brand. He sees himself in the fearlessness of the young people currently working to define their style and envision what fashion means to them. “Younger generations are experimentative with their fashion, which is something I've always believed to be one of the greatest qualities [in design]. I was experimentative with my designs at a time when a lot of that was not done, and that's what led to some really iconic looks.”
As generations shift, fashion evolves alongside them, and the three decades that Malhotra has spent as a creator come to a head. But when asked what's next for him, even Malhotra can't predict where things will go from here – nor does he wish to. "I've always been a firm believer of following where my heart goes," he tells Teen Vogue. "Thirty years ago, it was costume designing, inspired by my love for cinema. Costume designing highlighted my love for couture, which is where I headed next. My journey with couture has been exceptional, which expanded into Diffuse."
While he is making sure not to limit himself or the future of his brand's future, Malhotra knows one thing for sure: Authenticity must always reign. Despite the tendency for lovers of South Asian fashion to lean towards fusion wear, he maintains that the beauty of his garments is rooted in the age-old crafts of the region. “As much as it is essential to create pieces that are more up-to-date with the times, it is essential to incorporate the thing that stands out – the gift of cultural heritage.”
