October 8, 2012 Asmita Aggarwal

WIFW SS 13 – Show by Manish Malhotra

After seeing the work done by the NGO Mijwan Welfare Society, founded by Kaifi Azmi and run by his daughter and veteran actress Shabana, to give employment and financial support to Mijwan girls in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Bollywood’s flavour of the season Parineeti Chopra decided to walk the ramp for Manish Malhotra at the WIFW.

After seeing the work done by the NGO Mijwan Welfare Society, founded by Kaifi Azmi and run by his daughter and veteran actress Shabana, to give employment and financial support to Mijwan girls in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Bollywood’s flavour of the season Parineeti Chopra decided to walk the ramp for Manish Malhotra at the WIFW. “She called up Shabanaji and asked if she could help and she instantly agreed,” says Manish.

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The dream project started with 35 girls making the most exquisite chikankari working tirelessly for 4-5 hours daily, but the popularity had grown to 60 women, who also see it as an opportunity for self growth and as a supplement to the family’s income. “The threads, fabrics and designs are given by me and when Shabanaji approached me three years back, I didn’t want to restrict myself to just exhibitions but aspired to take it a step forward and uplift the craftsmanship to a whole new level,” he adds.

After a sparkling show in Mumbai, Manish brought a little glamour to Delhi too, but says that is incidental as the focus remains the girls, who crept out of their proverbial shells with their desire to better their lives and this gave the style guru the impetus to make his line ‘organic’. It was a tribute to long flared lehengas in a colour theme that was

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dominated by his favourite navy blue and coral, which he believes is the colour de jour and with Parineeti sporting an austere plait flaunting a black and orange ensemble, Manish managed to draw attention to the cause.FY9D0519

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“WIFW is a great platform to showcase Indian crafts and there is no better way to promote it than this. I had worked with Kashmiri embroidery earlier and now with chikankari I am happy to say it has found hi-profile buyers,” he adds.

Most of the pieces were sold after the Mumbai show, and new ones had to be made which took almost six months to complete, as the process is slow and laborious. “For me, the girls agreeing to come out and work in the center was the first important move, the idea is and remains the desire to help restore their dignity, help them earn their livelihood and give them a chance to explore the opportunities that life has to offer,” he concludes.

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