She wore a Balenciaga hearts dress (Rs. 80,000), 20 carat solitaire, ten each on her thumb, earlobes glistening with square diamonds; she was a big girl (total worth Rs. 2 crore), LV Mini Multipass (Rs. 4 lakh) – the shine was so blinding, after a while I lost count of the stones. It was Manish Malhotra’s show at Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW), powered by Ayushmann Khurrana and Sara Ali Khan, who descended in a corset from a Nexa.

The rush outside was ferocious – ‘Do you have a pass?’, ‘Where is my pass?’, ‘Mine isn’t A row’. It was a sea of shimmering socialites including Shalini Passi (the new haute fav), stilt walking on Blahnik.

“You have to push towards the right, leave the gift box ma’am it’s for the media” ushers told an ‘influenza’ in sequinned sheath. She had some 75,000 followers, and decided to plonk herself in the media pit, as her Bvlgari Serpenti slithered on diamond encrusted wrists.

The fashion journalism world has undeniably changed. What journalism everything now is social media. I’ve realised rich people don’t mind fitting their derrière in a tiny space in the front row, god forbid if it’s a restaurant ‘madam won’t like it’.

A group of strapless gowns in the middle of the runway refused to move being seatless. MM’s team had overbooked (Like Tarun Tahiliani did at Ashok hotel, he kept no media seats, unapologetic, but did show twice). I enjoyed the scene, for the first time the privileged stood, I sat!

I met Malhotra at Hotel Leela amid the chirping of birds one early morning. He is an early riser. “I don’t know why even young actors don’t answer their calls or messages,” he smiles at me. Malhotra always does, and in a way even though he and I have had many disagreements, he always replies. Once I got caught in a lift with him and Sabyasachi Mukherjee (they don’t speak to each other). There was stone silence for 20 seconds till we all got off. “Pret is the future of fashion,” he says, “even though I am known for my couture, pret is what I enjoy doing.”

Malhotra admits customers don’t want heavy clothes; overdone look is passe. He seems to like lesser embroideries, and wants to enjoy weddings and festivities. “No one wants to be bogged down by a 10 kg outfit – it’s not about standing out, but quiet opulence,” he confirms.

“They want style to be a part of their personality, at affordable price points. It is now comfort with glamour,” he says. MM luxe pret is between Rs. 70,000-Rs.1,15000, the maximum going up to Rs. 2 lakhs. “I have been retailing from Aza to Ogaan in Chennai which I had never done before – exploring new areas,” he adds.

A lehenga-sherwani doesn’t define Indian fashion, he says, and he hopes to take what he calls ‘Indo-Western’ to the world. “At MM luxe pret we didn’t do gowns, but yes we are inspired by Indian embroideries,” he affirms.

The market which is exploding is menswear, men are buying and how. “As I am more known for my work in cinema, people associate me with women’s clothing, glamour and extravagance. But if you look at me, I dress minimally, always in black,” he laughs. “Delhi, we do the best business.” Of course, no one can get enough shine here! “Men want to look sharp and dapper,” he confides.

MM’s line at LFW X FDCI offers velvet pants and metallic pleated shirts. Men came armed with fringe jackets; he played with sheer to Chikankari. There were cropped jackets for the adventurous few, as well as harem pants in shades of scarlet. MM serenaded cutwork, icy blues, gushing pinks, almost the entire spectrum. “The dhotis are pre-stitched and draped offering ease with tradition using modern fabrics not conventional silk, it must be adaptable,” says Malhotra.

I repeatedly asked him what he thought of the protests, but he dodged the question very charmingly, “Fashion is extremely responsible,” he said to me, when I asked him, does fashion live in a bubble? “We provide employment, are sustainable. The problem is people look at movies, think our business is only about glamour, but it is worth Rs. 400 crores. We are serious people; we may not be making cement,” he chuckles.

At 59, Manish who started his career in 1999 same year as me, as a model, for five years, has been working in films for 36 years, and is now dressing the second generation-Chunky Pandey daughter Anaya, Sridevi’s daughter Jahnvi and Khushi. “I think it is credibility; respect you earn, it is not about money. I have learnt to move with the times, even our Paris fashion week show was extremely emotional for me,” he says. Learning never stops for him, and he has been the biggest fan of Sridevi, “my universe was movies and that is the only way I knew how to relax,” he adds.

“Sridevi worked with me, when I was a nobody, all of 23, she was a superstar, the only actress I called ‘ma’am’. I was a newcomer, I can never forget that,” he says, adding, “I’m consumed by nostalgia. I’ve admired Hema Malini. I went to meet her at home after Dharmendra passed away. I believe I am a bridge between Gen Z and the old world.”

Interestingly, he has been extremely fond of Rekha, “she in the Rekha universe, like I live in mine”. And his world is certainly gilded – as it was a Bollywood finish with confetti, in silver, mind you, as Sara Ali Khan blew kisses at us! – Asmita is the Lifestyle Editor of NRI Focus. She is an award winning journalist who has been writing on fashion for the last 32 years