Above: Designer Manish Arora & his collection at India's Fashion Week
Okay, not really. Besides, he's already been there from the looks of his latest collection.
Fashion week in New Delhi had some drama (the wardrobe malfunction on a Belgian model during the showing of Rajesh Pratap Singh's collection) and some truly amazing clothes. One of the more unusual...okay, bizarre... collections was that of designer Manish Arora with futuristic warrior headgear on models sporting Disney icons clad in crystal, embellishing dresses, scarves and more.
Manish Arora's 'Ultra Man Meets Lichtenstein' collection at the Delhi fashion week had people talking. Known for his irreverent designs, colorful patterns and unusual runway accoutrements, Arora's most recent collection incorporates Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Pop Art and lots of knee and shoulder pads.
The Disney cartoon characters clad in armor and the work of Japanese artist Keiichi Tanaami were rendered on silk, velvet and brocade dresses inspired by Japanese samurais, gladiators and medieval knights.. and to me, personally, Ultra Man.
Arora's models walked the ramp wearing lion masks and metallic armor shields, shoulder and knee pads, most embellished with Swarovski crystals.
"For me, fashion is glamorous and happy and shiny - that's why I show all this," the designer told reporters after the show.
"My clothes always have a sense of humor and Walt Disney provided that for me."
The majority of the collection lacked the Disney characters, but certainly didn't lack stopping power. Take a look at some of the collection:
And of course, Ultra Man:
Around 80 designers showcased autumn and winter collections on the runway or in stalls at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week.
Designer duo Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna took inspiration from city life for their 'Lost in the Urban Maze' collection - the grid lines of the city mimicked in sleek suits and dresses in various shades of brown and blue.
Creative designs were not the only thing that made news at the fashion week on Friday. The shoulder drape of a Belgian model slipped sideways during designer Rajesh Pratap Singh's show, exposing her breast for a second. Photographers clicked away but most in the audience remained oblivious to the slip-up.
Clothes coming undone on the ramp are nothing new to the fashion world, but in India it sent newspaper editors and TV producers into a feeding frenzy. Some TV channels repeatedly broadcast the footage, blurring out the model's breast, while newspapers published reports with photographs of the model.
See Manish Arora's site here.
