Manish Vaid The world is his canvas. Nothing less.

By Vijay Phanshikar

Long years ago, his was the first face in ‘The Hitavada Model of The Week’ feature -- tantalisingly young and tall, not-so-dark, and handsome. Long years ago, in search of greener pastures, he left the city -- and has made fortune becoming truly a global citizen, living in Paris, travelling all over the world - London, New York, Los Angeles, Dubai, Singapore, Sydney ...! His travel-plans round the year are mind-boggling, his schedules amazingly complicated, so to say. And in simple words, he says, “Each moment of my waking time, I must make money. And when I am asleep, my ecosystem must keep making money every moment.” Yet, one can bet, world-renowned fashion-designer and a Hollywood icon Manish Vaid does not work in impossible schedules only to make money. Ask him the question, and he smiles -- and agrees that something inside him drives him to the limits of his creativity. And what flows out are his absolutely superlative designs that make the world’s best models and connoisseurs long to wear those -- not just on the ramp but also in real life, in congregations of glitterati, or wherever the world’s best showcase themselves. And invariably, he is there on the screens in theatres and homes and all platforms -- through the costumes he designs for almost every possible film-maker in Hollywood and elsewhere.

Despite this, Manish Vaid is quintessentially a Nagpur boy -- who lived next door. Back in town proudly to receive honours at the Global Nagpur Summit, he becomes the crowd’s instant darling, thanks to the smile ever present on his thin and lean face framed by a little whitish beard, with his slightly large specs that adorn his persona so becomingly. ‘The honour here is greater than any elsewhere’, he gushes. Even as he tells his story while receiving the honour at the Persistent Auditorium, the audience falls silent, eager to capture even the sound of his breath. Of course, he says, his story is still going on, unfinished .. so “I actually cannot tell the story that is still being scripted”. But his story is full of cinematic twists and turns and unexpected hair-pin bends that make good stuff for films or fiction. Even if he tries to be sort of matter-of-fact, Manish Vaid cannot keep himself away from emotion when he tells how he was way-laid and kidnapped for money in Jamaica where he spent a few years making whatever living. There were times when he struggled to earn even a couple of dollars, and there have been days when he basks in wealth of his own creation.

Creation! Yes, that is the buzz-word for Manish Vaid. He is all the time creating -- designs as well as wealth in material terms. Yet, even though he appears steeped in that activity, inside him is another Manish who rejoices in creative moments and forgets everything else. That is where Manish Vaid is to be found -- deep within. He is still a family-boy. Sitting in the auditorium, he tells the person sitting next to him, ‘You know, that man walking slowly -- he is my Dad’, with an unmissable pride and sense of belonging in his hushed tone. Standing in thickets of people outside the hall where he attended a special session titled ‘Manthan With Manish’, he talks of how family is all-important to him, of how he spends at least two hours in the morning in the gym -- to stay very fit. One can sense his rippling muscles inside his well-tailored (and of course well-designed) attire -- a shirt and a denim-sort-of trousers and a jacket.

Honestly, ‘fashion’ does not show on him. What is visible is something that absolutely fits him. It is almost hard to believe that luxury resort and swimwear are his specialities, so to say. His signature beaded collection for an exotic holiday can be seen anywhere in elite spots around the globe. Equally appealing are his kaftans that beautiful women around the world long to wear. Fashion-writers the world over gleefully say that his exotic sense of styling and meticulously hand-crafted designs make his brand stand out. It is only natural that he has become a part of many fashion weeks and a jury member for Mrs. World Beauty Pageant ...! The list of his high-profile engagements is long. But the list of his exclusive stores around the world is also promising to get longer. At the moment, he has moved to Paris to master-mind his European operations. Yet, talking to him, one realises that this eternally young fashion-designer cannot be limited by a small domain of current operations. The world is his canvas. Nothing less.