On Tuesday, February 16th, stellar fashion designer Manish Arora was hinged with the list of Indians honoured by the French government for commendable work in the fields of fashion, art and cinema.
Arora was revered with the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour), which is the highest French civilian distinction.
“The award comes in recognition of his creations and significant contribution to the fashion world, as well as his longstanding ties with France,” said Francois Richier, French ambassador to India, at the ceremony.
“The more I knew him, the more I was astonished by his personality,” Richier said about Manish. “I would like to mention that people think that fashion is all about the show, but it is about a lot of hard work, discipline and dedication.
“Beyond what Manish has created, he also represents India. In Paris, everybody now says that Indian fashion is Manish Arora. Some people might think that becoming such an important person in the Paris fashion scene was a conquest for him, but I think we have conquered him because he could have moved to any other place in the world, but finally he settled in France.
“Those who wonder why Paris remains the fashion capital of the world – it is not just because of French fashion designers, but precisely because we successfully attract people like Manish.” The ambassador gushed as he also told the guests that he and Manish shared the same hairdresser. A French bromance, is it?
“The first day we met, I thought that I could have nothing to do with this man, who is doing incredible things when I am a dull civil servant. But (it turned out that) we shared the same hairdresser.
“Sharing a hairdresser when you have no hair is a good introduction to Manish Arora’s philosophy. We have built our friendship on that basis and it has flourished, so it proves that even if we don’t grow our hair, we can continue to grow our friendship!” he beamed.
As for Arora, it’s another huge feather in the Francophile’s eclectic hat and we couldn’t be any prouder. Kudos to the designer!
My Envy Blog 