Manish Malhotra reveals the story behind Alia Bhatt’s sangeet lehenga on Pitch to Get Rich: ‘It was made from swatches and leftovers…’

Manish Malhotra revealed that Alia Bhatt's lehenga was crafted from 180 textile patches, block prints, and embroidered swathes of fabric (Images: @manishmalhotra05/Instagram)

Alia Bhatt has always taken uncharted territory when it comes to films or fashion. Her choices are instinctive and bold, making her stand out from the crowd. Recently, in an episode of Pitch to Get Rich, where sustainability was the focus, designer Manish Malhotra revealed the story behind the actress’s sangeet lehenga that will leave you surprised.

When Akshay Kumar, who was also on the panel along with others, asked about sustainability in fashion, Dipa Khosla, fashion and beauty creator, explained, “The next generation of consumers, that is Gen Z, are very fashion-aware. They see who has worn recycled outfits. As a person whose job is to dress up, I think re-wearing is the perfect role model move you can make.”

She took Alia’s example of re-wearing her sangeet outfit at Manish Malhotra’s Diwali party last year. This made Manish reveal the inside story of the actress’s lehenga. He said, “Alia’s mehendi outfit was her idea. She asked me if I had swatches or leftovers from pieces that were made for her in the past. As a designer, I keep a record of the work I have done. So, her lehenga was made from leftovers.”

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Reportedly, the lehenga was crafted from 180 textile patches, block prints, and embroidered swathes of fabric. It’s a blend of unrivalled chikankari and Kashmiri embroidery that took 3,000 hours of dedicated work by Mijwan women. The ensemble seamlessly wove bandhani, banarasi brocade, jacquard, kacha resham knots, and bits and pieces from Alia’s previous outfits.

Interestingly, it wasn’t just upcycled but also recycled, as Alia wore it again at Manish’s Diwali bash last year. She styled it by switching messy beach tresses for a stylish updo and wearing statement kundan and polki chaandbalis and kadhas.

In addition to Alia, Akshay also revealed his son’s obsession with thrift shopping and how he could only later understand what it meant. “My son is the biggest brand ambassador of sustainability. He is into thrift shopping. I have told him, your father can buy so many things. But he insists he wants to buy from thrift stores and took me along. I also bought a few things, and I understood why he was doing it. And as you said, Gen Z is more aware,” he said.