Manish Arora: first Indian fashion designer to receive the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur

Indian fashion designer Manish Arora was awarded the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur on Tuesday during an event at the French embassy in New Delhi in recognition of his contribution to the world of fashion. He becomes the first Indian in the field to receive the award.

“Only the French can do it. They can spot you, pick you up and say you deserve it," said Arora during the event. “I thank the French government for this. I wish the Indian government can take a lesson from this."

The Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur is France’s premier award to recognise service to France. It is bestowed on French citizens as well as foreigners.

“Beyond what you have created, you are also representing the best of India," ambassador François Richier said at the event. “An India that creates, that is successful—an image of India that everybody loves and recognises across the world."

Arora is known for his obsession with gold and pink and his, at times bizarre, use of colours, patterns, embellishments and make-up.

“We come from a country where women wear blue, orange, red, turquoise, all together in one outfit and still look convincing. I was brought up with that around me," Arora told Mint before the event. “And that’s the one thing I want to carry along with myself, what I was brought up with, and then adapt it to my collections."

His collections are a mix of “all the elements that the global markets will like".

“I have to keep in mind what people from the Middle East, Japan, India and Europe will like at the same time, for example. Putting all those elements together with knitwear or sportswear or eveningwear and adding embroidery and embellishments when needed and then putting your own point of view is what a collection takes," Arora said.

“Coming out with such collections every six months is what I do," he added.

Arora graduated from the National Institute of Fashion Technology in 1994 and launched his own label in 1997. He featured in the London Fashion Week in 2005 and later at the Paris Fashion Week in 2007. He became a member of the French Federation of Prêt à Porter the same year.

In 2011, Arora was appointed the creative director for French fashion house Paco Rabanne where he designed two successful collections for them. Today, Arora devotes his time between New Delhi and Paris.

For Arora, one of the biggest fashion myths is people wearing what others think will look good on them. “It is wrong. Fashion is not about others telling you that you’re looking good. It is about you feeling good."

He has also collaborated with brands such as Walt Disney, Swarovski, Swatch, Reebok, Barbie and Nespresso, among others. “Luckily, my work is such that it is adaptable to these brands and it is easy to move around with my choice of colours and patterns," he said.

As a recipient of the French honour, Arora joins an august list of Indians that includes filmmaker Satyajit Ray, industrialist J.R.D. Tata, musicians Pandit Ravi Shankar and Zubin Mehta and actor Amitabh Bachchan.