I still wake up with the same enthusiasm and love for what I do: Manish Malhotra

Its been a glorious 31 years now in the industry and I couldn’t be more grateful to everything I have experienced. From working with some of the most amazing people to being able to push my boundaries with my work, every experience of mine has been heartwarming and special for which I have so much gratitude.

The people! Working with so many amazing people over the years who have been such an integral part of my journey are definitely the most exciting part. Also, the ever-evolving young minds that I come across to work with today. They have such a zest about work and the energy really rubs off in a positive way.

I have always believed that if you are passionate about your work and are willing to work hard, there is opportunity of growth everywhere. This industry is no different. When I had started out, all I had was the passion and love for films and wanted to work hard no matter what came my way. I believe, if you really love your work, success will come to you.

Well, I have always stuck to the thought that change is the only constant. One needs to move with time and the current generation. Today if you are not willing to change, you do get left behind in a sense because the world is moving very fast and moving along with it is the only thing to stay relevant.

Even after 16 years of the brand since its inception, I still wake up with the same enthusiasm and love for what I do. Every department, every client and every piece that I design holds a special place in my heart. I started it when we were a team of 50 people and today my work family consists of over 500 people. How can I not be passionate about that. This is my life.

Of course they do. We do these shows to raise awareness. Whether it’s the ‘Save the girl Child’ or the ‘Mijwan Welfare Society’ where we work on empowering the women there, all these shows are to honour the cause and are very close to my heart. People do sit up and take notice of the impact their contribution can make. And if the shows can even have one person to do a heart filled contribution, then every bit is worth it.

I Am working on my next collection and there are some movies lined up as well so busy planning those.

I believe in constant evolution and there will be developments on the brand in the future. The Manish Malhotra world has become an entity in itself with all the portfolios such as jewellery, home, beauty and all of these are verticals are doing really well and it is humbling to see the response on them. In this year we will be announcing many developments on all these portfolios and it will all be about the consolidation of these verticals. Manish Malhotra Productions is a vertical that I’m looking forward to as it entwines both my loves which is fashion and films and this will mean coming a full circle of my career which makes me really happy.

Be hardworking, dedicated and passionate about what you do. Always think outside the box and love what you do, that will always show in your work.

Necessity is the mother of all inventions. The pandemic required us to change the ways we operated in many ways. Travel is restricted now, going out too much is not advisable, hence a lot of clients like to now do online consultations. I am doing so many of those now and it’s brilliant because thanks to the world of technology we are all connected all the time. Moreover, I have started to make fashion couture films which is a whole new take on fashion shows. I have thoroughly loved the process of directing these films as much as I have loved creating and designing the new collections.