“Manish has the biggest heart ever and he gives so much love,” said jewelry designer Noor Fares, who considers the designer a close friend. They’re close enough that this latest Manish Arora outing was very much conceived with her in mind. “I was so touched; it was the sweetest thing ever,” she gushed before the show, noting that they traveled to Burning Man together last year.
While Arora has drawn inspiration from his inner circle in the past, Fares as his muse was a great match. Similar to all his collections, this one combined a dizzying variety of captivating prints and a heaping dose of sequined dazzle. The motifs reflected cross-cultural references, both far and wide: Aztec animals, Arabic mosaics, wallpaper florals, and more. The ornamentation spanned delicate Indian Zardozi embroidery to Native American feathers.
But the languid looks that opened the lineup, followed by the preppy cardigans, shirtdresses, and unstructured blazers, suggested he had recast his trippy style as tony—think: Audrey on acid. And this wasn’t simply a question of styling, although all the shoulder-draped layers were a definite giveaway. It was an all-around effort via silhouettes and sensibility to get jet-set types to take notice. Never, for instance, would a longtime follower expect to see the phrase aristocratic attitude associated with Arora; but there it was—and rightly so—in the program notes (coupled with bohemian spirit).
Fares’s personal style is proof that there are society gals who might be open to wearing the Wonderland versions of Giambattista Valli and Valentino. And Arora should consider sticking around for a while in this realm—not abandoning his easy embellished denim, while further exploring the finer, fancier looks that closed the show. Its title, by the way, was Ready to Love, which is also the name of his forthcoming fragrance. Guests got a first whiff of the heady bouquet with its notes of rose, labdanum, black currant, and sandalwood. “This is my most romantic yet,” he said of the collection, with his Love, quite literally, in the air.
