Amitabh, Ranbir, Akshay, Farhan & Sidhharth walk for Manish-Mijwan show

Manish Malhotra presents ‘Men for Mijwan’. Mijwan Sonnets in Fabric 2014 brought together leading men from the film fraternity to support empowerment of women. 1st April 2014, Mumbai: An association that is very dear to Manish Malhotra saw its journey complete 4 years, as he presented ‘Men for Mijwan’, a fashion show in support of the Mijwan Welfare Society. Some of the biggest stars took to the ramp, on April 1st at the Grand Hyatt, Mumbai, for the NGO founded by Late Kaifi Azmi and headed by Shabana Azmi and Namrata Goyal.

The Mijwan Welfare Society’s association with Manish Malhotra goes back to 2009, when ‘Mijwan Sonnets in Fabric’ was held for the first time. Today, the partnership has further deepened into a bond of love, weaving threads of change.

This year the show witnessed leading men from the Indian film fraternity including Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Farhan Akhtar, Ranbir Kapoor and Siddharth Malhotra, who came together to support this great cause. The front row also saw eminent personalities like Jaya Bachchan, Neetu Kapoor, Urmila Matondkar, Dia Mirza, Sonali Bendre and Goldie Behl, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kalki Koechlin, Sushmita Sen, Kajol, Tanisha Mukherjee, Javed Akhtar, Reena and Ashok Wadhwa, Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chaddha, Diana Penty, Parineeti Chopra, Prateik Babbar, Yami Gautam, Vidya Malvade, Queenie Singh, Chaya Momaya, Zeba Kohli, Atul Kasbekar, Parizaad Zorabian and Devika Bhojwani to name a few.

The evening was commenced by a brief introduction to the concept of Mijwan narrated by the celebrity anchor Sophie Choudary. The show had a melodious touch by Sona Mohapatra, as she sang ‘Bekhauf Azad Rehna Mujhe’ dedicating the evening to the Mijwan girls. Ranbir Kapoor was one of the other names who spoke on this auspicious occasion sharing his thoughts on his association with the Mijwan Welfare Society as the good will ambassador.

Manish Malhotra adopted the Kaifi Azmi Sewing and Embroidery Centre in Mijwan 4 years ago to help generate employment opportunities for women there. Chikankari by Mijwan Welfare Society is a dream project that Manish has nurtured, under his guidance giving a platform to the Mijwan girls to showcase their work that today stands up to highest standards of craftsmanship. The women of MWS are nurtured with constant training of design and textile techniques and today the number of these centres across Uttar Pradesh has increased ten-fold.

Akshay Kumar

The aim of this fashion evening was to take a step further in this association, and have ‘Men for Mijwan’ walk in order to lend their support to the project founded by Kaifi Azmi, taken forward by Shabana Azmi and nurtured by Manish Malhotra. This wonderful collaboration is not underlined just with financial investment but also the time spent on refining and reviving the art form. A craft that has been around for years was brought into the limelight by giving it a characteristic “nowness”, reflecting Manish’s signature contemporary design aesthetic.

The Mijwan collection for this year reflects the traditional heart of India, as the designer draws his inspiration from the history of Awadh (Lucknow). Signature silhouettes by Manish Malhotra including lehengas, kalidars, saris, kurtas and pants for women, and sherwanis for men will be seen on the ramp in deeper tones of blues, and a summery colour palette comprising pinks, yellows, greys and pastels.

On this association with Mijwan Welfare Society, Manish Malhotra says, “Mijwan to me is a microcosm of what India has to offer the world. We have a long history of warp and weft of design aesthetics. It’s time to rediscover ourselves and go back to our roots. I hold this association very close to my heart. The Mijwan girls get an opportunity to support themselves and become independent, and I get to showcase to the world the best that our country has to offer.”