Etihad Airways has partnered with Indian fashion designer Manish Arora as he prepares to showcase one of his iconic collections at Lakmé Fashion Week in Mumbai. The Paris-based designer, known for his love for vibrant colours and intricate embroidery, will show at the biannual event after a gap of six years. To mark the occasion, Arora will present Cosmic Love, a Parisian collection celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Lakmé Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2017 runs from August 16 to August 20, at the St Regis Mumbai, with designer Sanjay Garg’s opening show taking place at the city’s recently refurbished Royal Opera House. Bridalwear and celebrity designer Manish Malhotra will close the event. Some of the other designers taking part this year include: Amit Aggarwal, Nachiket Barve, Ritu Kumar, Masaba Gupta and Narendra Kumar. A special segment will highlight the latest menswear collections of designers Abhishek Paatni, Asa Kazingmei and Ajay Kumar; as well as plus-sized clothing by Wendell Rodricks. The “Etihad Airways Presents Manish Arora” show is on the evening of August 19, and the designer says of his Cosmic Love collection: “The line is inspired by the tribes of Africa and the outer reaches of the cosmos. Having spent 10 years of my working life in Paris, I have drawn much inspiration from my travels. It’s wonderful to be associated with Etihad Airways, an airline I have admired and travelled with for so many years.” The collaboration between Arora and Etihad marks the third time that the airline has participated at the biannual Lakmé Fashion Week in the past 12 months. In fact, last year Etihad signed an agreement with international talent agency WME – IMG in a bid to become a long-term presence on the fashion calendar, by establishing connecting routes to the fashion capitals of the world. During Lakmé Fashion Week, Etihad will also present Runway to Runway, a travel programme aimed at jet-setting fashionistas.