Iconic fashion designer Manish Malhotra needs little introduction. Having dressed generations of Bollywood royalty, injected cinema with fashion and turned decades of Indian glamour into his signature aesthetic language, Malhotra is now taking his craftsmanship to Paris Haute Couture Week.
On July 8, 2026, Malhotra made his Paris Haute Couture debut with collection “Maa,” becoming only the fourth Indian designer to showcase on Paris’ official haute couture calendar following Rahul Mishra, Gaurav Gupta and Vaishali Sdadangule.
A Celebration of his Late Mother
But ahead of stamping his couture label with Malhotra classics, his first Paris collection marked a personal tribute to the designer’s mother. Inspired by their relationship, Malhotra’s “Maa” took attendees through four chapters of motherhood, childhood, love and loss.
Moments before the first model took to the runway, attendees were greeted by the sound of a heartbeat playing over the pavilion. Silhouettes ranged from sculptural to high-gown drama, embodying motherhood through everything from soft, rounded edges and playful embroidery to extravagant floor-length ball gowns.
Each piece evoked a sentiment expressed candidly by Malhotra himself in Vogue India’s earlier preview of the collection: “It’s a labour of love that makes my heart beat with pride.”
A Career Taking Hollywood By Storm
Malhotra’s momentous Paris debut is backed by three-plus decades of Indian cinema. His career in costume design first began way back in 1990. Vogue estimates he has worked on over 1,000 films since his career inception.
One defining feature of Malhotra’s work is how he made costumes an intrinsic part of the characters they were dressing. Take his work on Rangeela, which helped establish lead actress Urmila Matondkar’s cool-girl image: It was for this film that Malhotra won his first-ever Filmfare Award for Costume Design.
Film Careers Made by Malhotra Moments
Some of Malhotra’s most iconic costume designs include:
Urmila Matondkar in Rangeela
Crop tops, dungarees, graphic T-shirts and oversized jeans helped give 90s Bollywood its unique, youthful fashion vocabulary.
Kajol in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
Her crisp white salwar suit and flower rain sequence are some of the most memorable scenes in Hindi film history.
Karisma Kapoor in Raja Hindustani
Her Desi-girl makeover was just as much a fashion moment as it was a turning point in the film.
Aishwarya Rai in Mohabbatein
Malhotra’s elegant and romantic dresses for Aish were synonymous with the films style.
Kareena Kapoor in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
Malhotra’s glamorous looks for Kapoor’s character Poo were a major influence on early 2000s fashion in Bollywood.
Preity Zinta in Kal Ho Naa Ho
Her youthful, contemporary styling became another memorable chapter in his film-fashion legacy.
Beyond Bollywood
Malhotra later transitioned into bridging the gap between film costumes and commercial fashion. Today, his brand manifests into anything from couture to jewellery, beauty and everything in between. However, he hasn’t limited himself to the borders of India: In 2022, Malhotra dressed celebrities like Dwayne Johnson, Camila Mendes and Indian celebrities Karan Johar and Sudha Reddy at the Met Gala.
Now, Malhotra has made Paris his latest international stop.
