Manish Malhotra is a name synonymous with high-end fashion. In his decades-long career, the Indian designer has created ensembles for some of the biggest names across the globe. Last year, he dressed beauty moguls Khloe and Kim Kardashian for a grand wedding celebration. At the time, Khloe referred to Manish as a “local designer” in one of her videos.
In July 2024, Khloe shared a video on Snapchat praising Manish Malhotra's lehengas.
“How beautiful my clothes are that I've been wearing. So beautifully designed by a local designer. I'll get you his name. Look at the details. Everything's so spectacular,” she exclaimed.
Now, Manish Malhotra has reflected on the comment. In a November 28 interview with Faye D'Souza, the celebrity designer revealed that he was “proud” to be a designer from Mumbai. The 58-year-old added that Khloe's remarks were meant in good spirit.
Manish Malhotra said, “I'm local. Very proud, Mumbaikar. I'm from Mumbai. And I always will be. Mumbai's my most favourite city, which I absolutely love. And India. And Indians. So I'm local. Yeah, that was completely fine.”
Speaking about being called a local designer, he shared, “But that was very sweet because she texted me from there. And you know, Khloé texted me, ‘thank you for everything, it was so wonderful,' and then she texted me about this local thing. And I was like, it's absolutely fine, it just became so popular.”
Manish Malhotra also talked about how the Internet reacted to Khloe Kardashian's comment.
He said, “A really heartwarming part about it was the general audience response on social media. Everybody was like, ‘Haha, she called out Manish Malhotra, our local designer, because for us, you are the complete opposite of that, right? How could you not remember Manish Malhotra's name?”
“I think it was such a massive compliment to who you are for Indian women. It's so counterintuitive that someone would not remember your name because it's such a large part of culture," added Manish Malhotra.
The designer concluded by saying that the reaction on social media was cute.