Manish Arora celebrates PSG collab with shiny, sporty collection

By

Erin Floyd

Published
Sep 27, 2018

Manish Arora channelled its hyper-colorful and kitsch aesthetic on Thursday into a sport-inspired collection that included its collaboration with France’s most famous football club, Paris Saint-Germain.

The result was an edit of Arora’s best bold fundamentals with a slick and sporty edge: a broad selection of unisex pieces including hoodies and natty football socks stamped with the club’s logo, paired with stiletto boots in club colours. Accessorised with miniature footballs as clutches, in both club colours and, in Arora’s signature style, gold and hot pink.

The Indian designer took the sports aesthetic as a cornerstone for a staunchly ‘80s spin on the segment, sending out, alongside the T-shirts printed with portraits of PSG star Kylian Mbappé, hoodies and joggers in technical fabrics in acid palettes and printed silk bombers.

Elsewhere, Arora riffed on the theme with glam-rock references to the neon decade, models breezing down the catwalk to Girls Just Want To Have Fun – in a selection of improbable ballgowns and cocktails, which in all lengths featured oversize bows and all kinds of ruffles, from a drawstring effect on a stiff gold pencil skirt to puff-shouldered evening gowns or an embroidered midnight blue cocktail finished with statement sequinned tulle across the shoulders.

And, while it was difficult to imagine a floor-length dress decked out to look like a three-tier cake (also apparent in delightfully kitsch cake-shaped handbags sported by a handful of models) being worn by any but the most devoted of his fanbase, the socks; asymmetrical ‘Arora’ earrings and lion-head belt bags suspended around waists with glittering chains seemed like the best of Instagram fodder. Arora’s embellished denim also seems a likely hit for next season – not to mention all the co-branded pieces with the Champions du Monde, of course.

Arora’s ready-to-wear spring-summer collection, including the PSG collaboration, will be made available through all Manish Arora stockists. Meanwhile, a separate and more accessible PSG x Manish Arora lifestyle line will go on sale in India and China in February, to boost the international visibility of the Qatari-owned Paris team.