The Year Of Manish Malhotra

Manish Malhotra has always been a traveller moving through airports with the ease of someone comfortable in any city, shifting between decades of cinema, and crossing cultural borders with the fluency of long practice. But 2025 marked the moment travel turned into trajectory. Wherever he arrived, the gaze returned to India.

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The year wasn’t shaped by itineraries or fittings alone, but by a designer tracing pop culture’s Silk Route across continents, carrying Indian craftsmanship as the throughline. Each city became more than a dot on the map; it became a platform where Indian couture registered its presence on a wider global imagination.

And as the year arcs back to his birthday- coinciding with 35 years of shaping Indian cinema as costume designer and 20 years of the Manish Malhotra brand- one truth stands clear: this wasn’t just his most eventful year. It was THE Year of Manish Malhotra.

Manish’s global odyssey began in January in Los Angeles, at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, where he appeared in a tailored tuxedo and a signature High Jewellery brooch becoming the first Indian designer to be invited to the ceremony. This wasn’t another designer drifting through another red carpet. It was the unmistakable sight of Indian craftsmanship claiming a place on one of the world’s most gilded stages. He didn’t walk the carpet; he walked India into Hollywood’s field of vision. Indian couture was no longer a guest but an equal on the global stage.

From LA, the momentum moved to Dubai, where in February, Adriana Lima and Valery Kaufman took the runway at the inaugural World Collection showcase. Away from theatrical, Manish’s couture was just decisive and linked to cinematic Indian beauty that now stands in conversation with modern global silhouettes. A recalibration. A subtle but irreversible shift in the global style compass.

In March, Manish reached a milestone: his couture reached the famed Oscar red carpet for the first time, when producer Guneet Monga was adorned in a modern ensemble rooted in Indian craftsmanship- proof that Indian textiles breathe effortlessly inside global silhouettes.

April brought a natural collaboration with Samsonite. More than a branding exercise, it united two languages of movement- luggage built for endurance and a designer whose life is measured in departures and arrivals. The couturier who dresses journeys now helped carry them.

In early May, Manish’s defining chapter unfolded in New York on the most scrutinised stage in fashion: the MET Gala. As the first Indian designer to present four distinct narratives, he styled- Natasha Poonawalla in sculptural gara, Coco Jones in architectural pearls, while himself in a strikingly modern silhouette for The Met red carpet and then Rihanna, adorned in MM High Jewellery- took her glamour to another level. Manish didn’t extend his runway to the MET; he expanded its vocabulary.

Later that month, the itinerary curved to the Riviera. At the amfAR Gala, his presence signalled Indian couture’s entry into one of fashion’s most power-charged philanthropic platforms. And at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan appeared in a handwoven ivory Banarasi saree and heirloom jewellery- India, distilled and dignified. A cultural handshake, not a costume.

In June, the map shifted to Paris- this time, to a stadium. Beyoncé and her crew stepped out in Manish Malhotra custom chaps during the Cowboy Carter Tour. Wholly unexpected; unmistakably Manish. This wasn’t about being first; it was about the quiet certainty with which Indian designers now dress global icons- a statement that Indian couture stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the most dominant forces in pop culture.

Mid-year, in July, Manish turned inward for India Couture Week. The MM Couture Party in Delhi opened a nostalgic excavation of archives- from iconic cinema costumes to MET-featured pieces. Not a retrospective, but a reclamation. With Alessandra Ambrosio as muse, the celebration showed a brand whose orbit now spanned Mumbai, Delhi, Dubai, Paris, New York, L.A., and Cannes on the same cultural map.

August unveiled Inaya, a collection that carried Indian craftsmanship into global vocabulary. Cocktail sarees, crystal drapes, sculpted bodices- each piece moved with the assurance of a house shaping not trends but timelines. Inaya proved Manish wasn’t just dressing occasions; he was dressing epochs.

At Le Défilé L’Oréal Paris in September, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan returned in a global silhouette rooted in Indian detailing- another moment where the couturier folded India into the world’s most watched runways.

October brought the spotlight home. The much-talked-about Manish Malhotra Diwali Party in Mumbai- the cultural summit of the year- saw India’s most influential dressed in the vocabulary he authored. Later, on yet another international red carpet, Manish walked in custom couture honoring Indian artisans- displaying craftsmanship not just as heritage but as contemporary global luxury.

In November, he expanded outward. At London’s Royal Automobile Club and Selfridges, he previewed his accessories line- following his historic takeover of the Harrods penthouse, the first Indian designer to do so. This wasn’t diversification; it was definition: what an Indian luxury house looks like on the world stage.

Then came cinema- his first love language. With Gustaakh Ishq, the debut film from Stage5 Production, Manish moved from dressing stories to helping shape them. A homecoming.

December arrived with anticipation. Saali Mohabbat, his second Stage5 film, prepares for release. For a man who has spent the year in motion, December offers only the illusion of rest- even his pauses hum with what comes next.

Through it all, the world wore him- Jennifer Lopez, French Montana, and even Michele Morrone on the cover of Esquire India - a constellation stitched across continents.

Fashion is not merely about clothes; it is about constructing worlds. And in 2025, Manish Malhotra didn’t design a year- he charted a new route, carrying Indian craftsmanship across borders, screens, industries, and eras.

Supermodels Adriana Lima and Valery Kaufman with designer Manish Malhotra at the grand finale show of Dubai Fashion Week

As his birthday is marked, the question isn’t where he has been, but where design takes him next. After a year spent everywhere, the horizon only widens.