The exquisite art of Lucknowi chikankari formed the heart of Manish Malhotra’s creations for Mijwan Summer 2017, a collection that was unveiled at Mumbai’s Grand Hyatt on Sunday night. Manish’s Mijwan showing is an annual affair on the Mumbai fashion calendar, attended by some of Bollywood’s biggest stars. 

This year, the show culminated with Anushka Sharma, in an ivory and beige embroidered lehnga and crop blouse, and Shah Rukh Khan, in an embroidered sherwani, on the runway.

Intricate threadwork and shimmering silver embellishments on sheer fabrics lent an ethereal look to the whole collection. The shimmer of silver combined with the sophistication of ivory, grey, beige, lilac, aqua and baby pink, broken occasionally with darker hues of blue, yellow, maroon or purple. Jackets, dresses, saris with embroidered blouses, crop tops with opulent skirts and flowing gowns made up the women’s line, with detailing like sequins, tassels, fringes, cold-shoulders and off-shoulder styles. For the men, there were embroidered kurta-salwars, bandhgalas, kurta-bundis….

Mijwan is an initiative by Manish, along with Shabana Azmi and Namrata Goyal, named after a village in Uttar Pradesh. The NGO works with the objective of reviving the craft of chikankari, and empowering local women through it. The initiative that started with 40 women now employs more than 300 women.

“The new year brings yet again an exciting chapter for the label as we celebrate six glorious years of our success with Mijwan. I am thrilled to share that the number of centres in Uttar Pradesh and especially in Mijwan has expanded to a significant number. It gives me immense pride to see how far we have all come today. Mijwan to me is a microcosm of what India has to offer the world. The girls get a means of livelihood by which they can negotiate a better position for themselves in a patriarchal society. I see this not as an act of charity, but a win-win situation for both of us,” said Manish.