The 2026 show marked the 15th year of collaboration, with the Mijwan chikankari also being showcased at Malhotra’s Paris Haute Couture show. Do you have any idea that some of the finest couture glamour of India often begins not in Mumbai ateliers but in small villages? A journey from Kaifi’s idealism for rural empowerment to the bright world of Manish Malhotra couture, Mijwan’s craft and its weavers continue to be a confluence of fashion and social change.
Today, we’re going to narrate the tale of the popular hand-embroidery in Mijwan, a village in the Azamgarh district, which has been quietly contributing to India’s fashion narrative with its intricate craft and the women who practise it. The village’s name today finds special mention in Manish Malhotra’s couture, as well as the Mijwan fashion show that happens annually.
Its first livelihood initiative began with one woman, Sanyogita Prajapati, in 1993, to help women develop skills that could generate income without necessitating their migration, according to the organisation. Mijwan, in association with Manish Malhotra, has been working since 2010, after the designer adopted the Kaifi Azmi Sewing and Embroidery Centre. Mijwan is a village in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, India, known for having been the birthplace of the renowned Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi. It is also the legacy of his work and the home he returned to, which led to the creation of the Mijwan Welfare Society. The organisation’s activities go far beyond just embroidery. The organisation’s mission is to foster rural development through education, training, employment, and good governance, focusing on the needs of women and girls. It provides girls with education, computer education, sewing, tailoring, and other services. Such an impressive list of activities has made this place famous far beyond its embroidery. But what exactly gave this village international acclaim? Let’s take a closer look at the specifics. At the core of Mijwan’s fashion universe lies chikankari, the delicate hand-embroidery traditionally associated with Lucknow and the surrounding region. The Mijwan Welfare Society’s livelihood initiatives train and empower women in embroidery and stitching. Over time, embroidery became an important livelihood for women affiliated with Mijwan, and then came Manish Malhotra. The designer has integrated the hand embroidery of Mijwan women artisans into his couture lexicon. The designer went into the creation of contemporary fashion by asking the master craftswomen to interpret chikankari in present-day silhouettes. The effort represents an attempt to take the craft into the future by developing it into modern couture. The collaboration soon ventured beyond the atelier, and Mijwan became synonymous with annual fashion showcases that highlighted Manish Malhotra’s couture. It featured some of Bollywood’s biggest names over the years, with celebrities such as Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Sonam Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Shweta Nanda, Jaya Bachchan, Vicky Kaushal, Alia Bhatt, and Farhan Akhtar walking the ramp wearing Mijwan’s pride.
