Indian menswear designer Manish Tripathi will unveil his flagship store in Doha, Qatar in March next year and says that his couture label is for the "royal family" and other high profile people in the region, a good market for Indian wear.
"My work was introduced to Sheikh Dr. Hamad Bin Naseer Al-Thani by my very good friend Mitesh Sharma. After seeing my work, he invited me to Doha to discuss more about it," Tripathi, who has a store here, told IANS in an email interview.
"But to my astonishment he had already made up his mind to partner with me and start a new couture label meant only for the royal family and who's who of Qatar."
"This is how the concept of Manish Tripathi Couture came into being and my flagship store will be launched at Porto Arabia (Pearl of Qatar), Doha," he added.
The couture line is being designed considering individuals' demands. Fabrics are also as per clients' desire. But essentially the collection is around the best silk.
In addition to the exclusive pieces, Tripathi says there is a special range being crafted using gold in the outfits.
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"We will be mixing the Middle Eastern themes with the Mughal era, thereby creating a line that will not only reflect the royal culture of the two worlds, but will also be a befitting symbol of unparalleled royalty," said the designer, who has created outfits for celebrities like Madhur Bhandarkar and Ashutosh Rana.
Al-Thani believes Tripathi's collection is unique and will do well in neighbouring countries too.
"Collection is unique, especially in Middle East. Manish's choice of fabrics and colours is wonderful. This new store concept by Manish will be a breakthrough in fashion industry not only in Qatar, but the entire MENA (Middle East and North Africa)," Al-Thani, who was introduced to Indian wear by the designer, told IANS in an email interview.
"No, never thought of it (to own Indian wear) ever before meeting Manish. But now I do have the Indian style of Nehru Jacket," he said.
He also believes that Indian wear will do good business in the Arab market.
"Indian wear is different from the traditional Arabic wear but there are a lot of possibilities for traditional Indian wear in Arabic market," said Al-Thani.