when its manish malhotra you got to know that bollywood would make its presence fairly visible on the ramp and the tradition continued this year as well when btowns favourite designer showcased a punjabinspired collection on day 3 of the ongoing wills lifestyle india fashion week autumnwinter 2013an ageold friendship with threads manish malhotras association with the indian craft and weaves dates back to the years when he first started his career as a costume designer all of us remember his tribute to the kashmir thread and chikankari work from mijwan through his collections in the past seasons of the fashion week such was his love for the local craft that he decided to popularise it internationally and showcased his creations in dubai and london recently wills india fashion week is just the beginning the idea is to focus on craftsmanship and present it at various fashion weeks by roping in celebrities thus making it more popular and in turn influencing more people to wear these handcrafted pieces said the designerdesign and concept titled threads of emotion manish brought into view the heritage of embroidery by stitching his garments in phulkari a sartorial technique of weaving threads native to the region of punjab goldencoloured windmills placed strategically on the platform of the runway entrance formed a glistening backdrop to the collection audiovisuals tracing the cultural history of an undivided india of the 1880s when lahore did not epitomise the human tragedy of partition but symbolised unity and strength signified a need for revival of a lost heritage i have tried to present a form of ancestral art in phulkari that i feel has been somewhere ignored and forgotten laments the designer the intensity of bagh embroidery became apparent in the ensemble line that featured sarees floorlength anarkalis angarakhas and bandhgalas among other structured clothes models wearing plaited hairdo with swinging golden tassels and dressed in long kurtas nehru jackets detailed phulkari patterned blouses short coats and saree borders added the much needed punjabi colour to the themebased collectionbollywood tadka on the ramp the transition from one phase of displayed outfits to other was taken care of by bollywood actors who strolled in occasionally donning the punjabi look in full regalia and style jacqueline fernandez walked in amid shouts of cheer and applause as she looked gorgeous in a floorlength anarkali suit paired with a long coat in slits covered with fine thread work in multiple colours actor esha gupta looked sultry in a chiffon black saree with thick borders that accentuated her thin frame even more however the one person for whom the entire crowd went head over heels was our very own student of the year sidharth malhotra whose smile refused to fade away as he looked dapper in a black bandhgala coat worn over a pair of crisp white loose salwar coats with layered lapels and zips on the front enhanced the overall look of the already handsome male modelscolour scheme and accessories weaves of phulkari appear prominent