Why Mahira Khan wanted to be a signature 'Faraz Manan-bride' for her wedding

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A bride dressed in a Faraz Manan costume is a thing of beauty and a joy forever and what can one say when it is Mahira Khan who has chosen one of the world’s top bridal couture designer for her wedding day? Mahira Khan stunned everyone in a blue and white highly embellished Faraz Manan gown with a sheer veil that glowed just as brightly as she did on her big day.

We caught up with the genius behind the look, Dubai’s very own Faraz Manan, who is not just an ace designer but one of Mahira Khan’s closest friends. He was among the select few who attended the private and warm ceremony held in the cosy hills of Bhurban, Pakistan.

So, what can Faraz tell us about the process that went into creating that stunning blue dress? “I’m not a man of many words,” Faraz says with a shy chuckle. “I try to express myself through my work. I involve the brides personally in it and as a practice, I get into the design process together with the bride herself, trying to understand the place, the vibe, the whole mood of the wedding, who will be attending etc.. Mahira and I decided on making the dress for her big day about six months ago. Because it was up in the hills, we wanted to go for that old world charm, but with more of the neo-classical, colonial inspiration. Since it was going to be out in the open, I took inspiration from the colours of the sky. I took the ivory from the clouds, blue was the colour of the sky itself, with the champagne gold and silver embroidery on it added.”

Faraz further went into the details of the gown and explained how he created the look with his signature style. “I tend to do fusion, which is east meets west. There were a lot of art deco and neo-classical prints and patterns. With that we did dainty little flowers because it was going to be in the garden. The embellishments had threads, crystals, zardozi interwoven. The tailoring, as you may have noted the poofy sleeves, was also a mix of the ‘old world meets new’ style. I think people may have been expecting a very traditional look for Mahira because we’ve often seen her in the jhoomars etc., which she did for the smaller events. But for her main day, she was very clear that she wanted to be a signature Faraz Manan bride.”

Faraz Manan has dressed Mahira Khan on many key occasions like award shows and movie premieres. How has the relationship between the two grown over the years? “It is a very organic relationship; over the years we’ve got very close and we’ve grown stronger and stronger. We’re very respectful of each other as well. Whatever we’ve been able to achieve, with Allah’s grace, it’s a journey that we’ve experienced together.” He explains how Mahira Khan was very sure that she wanted to be a signature Faraz Manan bride. “When she said that to me, I said, ‘are you sure? I don’t want you to upset anyone’, and she said, ‘I’m sure and I want you to make the dress’”.

Faraz spoke of how special it was to be able to be a part of the whole event. “It’s more than Mahira the actor or the celebrity, it’s the person I’m fond of. Her wedding was equally intimate and beautiful. It was such a beautiful experience for all of us; being there for three days was a lifelong memory,” says Faraz. “After having done weddings and being a part of them all over the world, I had the most fun at this one. It was all close friends; it was very intimate. I’m so glad she kept it private.”

To Faraz, the wedding wasn’t a campaign or a collaboration. “It wasn’t a Faraz Manan-Mahira Khan sort of a thing,” he says. “Umar Sayeed, Bunto Kazmi and I — all of us who were there, no one was concerned what was she wearing and whose design was she wearing. Everyone was participating as a family.”

Faraz also recently designed fashion celebrity Rosemin Manji’s wedding gown, which became one of the most talked about events on all fashion portals. Does he feel pressure while working for a celebrity’s big day? “After having dressed up literally everyone in the region, I don’t feel that kind of pressure,” Faraz says. “I feel more pressure when it’s close family and friends, which was the case with Rosemin Manji. You’re involved emotionally, and Rosemin and I go back a long way. I opened my store nine years ago in Dubai and we’ve had a long friendship since then. Both weddings (Mahira’s and Rosemin’s) were very personal to me but both were very different. To me, the real pressure was that two of my closest friends were getting married just within two months or so of each other.”

Who else in the global celebrity fraternity does Faraz consider to be in his close friends list? “They are only a handful,” he says. He enjoys a very personal relationship with Bollywood diva Kareena Kapoor Khan for whom he often designs. “Kareena Kapoor Khan and Mahira Khan are my closest actor friends.” he declares. “We’re closer to each other’s age also. Food, fashion, family — we connect on those levels. Kareena, Mahira and Rosemin are people I’m very close to, but there are, of course, other actors, celebrities and individuals that I look up to and who I think are very stylish and I’ve been fortunate enough to dress.”