MANISH ARORA AND THE BEAUTY OF LIFE

Was this a technicolor dream? A jet-lagged fugue state? Or was this actually MANISH ARORA's life's work unfurling in a faraway pink-lit room on the other side of the world? Ambika Muttoo sat down with the legendary designer, proving that this montage was, in fact, real

- Ambika Muttoo

I'm sitting across an iconic face in fashion, one that I haven't seen in over a decade. Manish Arora (who looks like he hasn't aged a day) is settled comfortably across me on a sofa, metallic nails glinting in the light, in Atlanta, of all places. We're on the opposite end of the planet from our shared roots in India, and halfway across the world from his home in Paris.

This wasn't a case of 'of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine'. What brought us together was "Life Is Beautiful." It's a phrase that sums up Manish's philosophy of life in all its complexity. But it is also, fittingly, the name of the stunning retrospective put together by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Atlanta.

Manish Arora: Life Is Beautiful is a solo exhibition held at the renowned SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film honouring the designer's work - over a hundred of his pieces, created over the decades. It's on until August this year, and this is its first exhibit highlighting an Indian designer.

Past shows have paid homage to stalwarts across disciplines. Madam Gres, Ellen Von Unwerth, Guo Pei, Oscar De La Renta... it's an extraordinary list. In fact, next door, fortuitously, the school also has a curated selection of Cristóbal Balenciaga's exquisite work.

It makes sense that SCAD would be the one to recognise Manish's contribution to fashion history, through his own brand, sub-labels such as Fish Fry, his work as Creative Director for Paco Rabanne, and all his successful collaborations (more on that later). Atlanta is such a multicultural city, and the school itself is home to a large number of Indian and South Asian students.