Quick Answer: Manish Malhotra is an Indian fashion designer, couturier, costume stylist, and entrepreneur born on 5 December 1966 in Mumbai, India. He began his career as a model before transitioning to costume design for Bollywood films, making his debut with the 1990 film Swarg designing costumes for actress Juhi Chawla. His breakthrough came with the 1995 film Rangeela, for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Costume Design in 1996 — a first for an Indian costume designer. He launched his eponymous luxury label in 2005, which has since become one of India's most recognized fashion brands. He is best known for his Bollywood costume design work (over 30 years and hundreds of films), his bridal couture line, and dressing celebrity brides including Kiara Advani (February 2023) and Parineeti Chopra (September 2023).
Manish Malhotra was born on 5 December 1966 in Mumbai into a middle-class Punjabi family. He studied at Elphinstone College, Mumbai, and began his career as a model while still a student. He did not have formal fashion design training — his entry into design came through his love of films and his eye for styling. His break into costume design came when he was asked to design costumes for actress Juhi Chawla for the 1990 film Swarg.
His career-defining moment came with the 1995 film Rangeela, directed by Ram Gopal Varma and starring Urmila Matondkar. His costume design for Urmila in Rangeela was considered revolutionary — it moved Bollywood costume design away from the traditional "heroine in a saree" aesthetic toward contemporary, body-conscious Western silhouettes. For Rangeela, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Costume Design in 1996 — the first time Filmfare had given a costume design award.
Manish Malhotra has dressed numerous celebrity brides. Kiara Advani married Sidharth Malhotra on February 7, 2023, at Suryagarh Fort in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, wearing a pastel pink Manish Malhotra lehenga. The designer created approximately 150 custom outfits for the bride and groom across all wedding functions. Parineeti Chopra married politician Raghav Chadha on September 24, 2023, at The Leela Palace in Udaipur, wearing a tonal ecru-colored Manish Malhotra lehenga with delicate pearl work. It is worth noting that Alia Bhatt wore a Sabyasachi ivory saree for her April 2022 wedding to Ranbir Kapoor — NOT Manish Malhotra, despite common misconception.