 |
Designers like Ritu Kumar and James Ferreira believe the Indian design industry is ahead of just bridal lines.
“I think we have such a rich textile base in India that even if you look at the designers in India working on textiles alone, you could hardly call them tailors,” design veteran Ritu Kumar said.
“I’m also a designer and I work a lot in the field and unit too, it’s nothing to do with the tailoring. I think Manish is going a little out of context. I totally disagree with his words,” added Kumar, who has been a part of India’s flourishing fashion fraternity for four decades.
Arora himself flaunts a tattoo which reads ‘Lady Tailor’ and hosted a TV show called “Adventures of the Ladies Tailor.”
But his comment has raised many eyebrows in the fashion industry.
“We are making what costumers want, so my question to him (Arora) is what is he making and for whom is he doing it?” said Ferreira, who is currently working on his collection in Sri Lanka.
Ferreira, 55, who started his career from retailing in up-market stores in Mumbai and designed for stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Mithun Chakraborty, says the country’s up and coming designers are extremely talented.
“I think he (Arora) is talking about the time when he was growing as designer in Mumbai. I believe that young designers are very talented in our country and I find them really challenging. I feel like I am growing and learning with them,” he said.
Arora started his journey in the fashion world in 1997 by launching his label Manish Arora. He furthered his presence in the Indian market by introducing his diffusion label Fish Fry in 2001.
He is a popular name in the international market, given his catchy, quirky designs in psychedelic colours. Foreign celebrities like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry have flaunted his designs, and he was the creative director of French fashion house Paco Rabanne for one year. The contract ended recently.