Malini Ramani Show at Chivas Fashion Tour 2008
MALINI RAMANI- PROFILE - What is effervescence without a spot of funk and what is Malini Ramani without a large measure of both? Meet the designer who dares to put her joie de vivre firmly on the style radar. Fashion’s very own enfant terrible Malini Ramani has always defied rules to create with the courage of conviction – the conviction to follow the dictates of her heart. A quintessential rebel without a pause, for Malini the endeavour is to constantly push the envelope by breaking away from the obvious and adding a dash of cheer to the mundane. Little wonder then that her ensembles are always original, bursting with zest in a happy medley of colours, cuts and cascades of shimmer.
Born in New York and deposited in Sanawar in India at the age of 11, Malini’s life has always traversed an eclectic path with constant hyperbole! Not one to be confined by disciplinarian authorities for too long, she ran away from school a few years hence. Destination New York - to study Fashion Merchandising at FIT and back to India in 1990. An era when the country was witnessing a revival of the youth and Malini plunged headlong in the moment to savour it to the fullest. Thus began a bohemian pursuit of creativity in every possible sphere. And every experience has left an indelible stamp on Malini’s style evolution, be it stints with the radio and television, trotting on the ramp, managing nightclubs, penning gossip columns, relationships or spirituality.
Fashion happened to Malini quite by accident when life was pelting at its own fierce pace. Not one to put in an ineffectual performance she gave wings to her imagination and debuted at the first ever IFW in 2000. She scorched the ramp for a fabulous ovation with clothes that spelt oomph and were replete with high-octane glamour. Indian elements were fused seamlessly into western styling. Sharp contouring combined with flatteringly feminine silhouettes and plenty of winking sequins. Malini - the “INDIVA” of Indian design was born. And so was her design anthology - Rock Star Meets Indian Princess!
Six years hence, Malini continues to translate her distinctive aplomb into resortwear and prêt lines with an unwavering philosophy of never creating what she personally would not wear. The constant trademarks of buoyant colours that serenade the sun, sea and the sand, necklines that dare the
décolleté, provocative fits that accentuate curves, generous smattering of sequins, all combine in a heady cocktail to raise the spirits and declare: meek hearted stay away and the true INDIVA step forward! And having transformed several Bollywood stars into Millennium Indian Love Goddesses, her clientele traces a swish path from New Delhi, and Mumbai to Monte Carlo, Beirut and Moscow.
The ‘Malini Ramani’ label is currently retailed from her four flagship stores in New Delhi, Goa,
Bali, Phuket and Monte Carlo, and also has presence all over the country through leading stores like Ensemble in Mumbai, Ogaan in New Delhi, Kimaya and Sagar in Mumbai, Sosas in Goa and Evolutione in Chennai and Bangalore. Internationally the label is available at Kimaya Dubai, Sanskrit Hong Kong, Venus Monte Carlo, Indomix New York and Khazana Moscow.
In 2002, she also extended her creativity to the 17,000 square feet restaurant `Congo’ in Goa, which listed as one of the best nightspots in the world, by Conde Nast’s Traveller magazine (2004).
A constant traveler with high voltage energy, Malini has an exciting year ahead. With the Seagram’s Blender’s’ Pride Tour where she will showcase ‘The Best of Malini Ramani’ in Delhi, Pune and Mumbai, she also plans to simultaneously expand her flagship store in Goa. This year will witness the launch of Malini Ramani’s menswear line targeted at men with spunk! Constantly looking for new horizons, Goa will soon see the opening of a funky ‘Juicebar’ located next to her store.
Exuding endless energy with a multitude of latent facets, spunk could well be Malini’s middle name. Deeply spiritual and a karmic-slave, Malini embraces life as it comes and hopes someday to own boutique resorts on Tropical Islands around the world! Until then, Malini Ramani continues to revere fashion and endeavours to give it her passionate best.
