I have a child-like curiosity: Rahul Mishra
In a freewheeling chat, Rahul Mishra talks about his deep connection with spirituality, Trikaldarshi Brahma, his Paris Couture Week ‘Cityscape’ and ‘Crow’ ensembles, why Bandhani is important as we revisit the present while keeping the “rear-view” mirrors open to pay homage to the past. By Asmitaa Aggarwal He did create a buzz with Gen Z favourite Jahnvi Kapoor getting out of a Nexa, with paparazzi following her, a group of photographers, an event she handles almost every day bravely, they follow her. The set was rear view mirrors, almost 50 of them lined in the show area, as the yesteryear beauty Parveen Bobbi iconic Raat Baki from Namal Halal played in the background. Cutwork jackets, patchwork denims were interesting, some Issey Miyake style, space suit sleeves, and in this mix was Mithun Chakravarthy iconic moves on “Jimmy Jimmy aa ja” and Sanjay Dutt’s rehearsed steps on “Tamma tamma Loke” as the background score. Rahul Mishra and his quiet but impactful wife Divya, presented their line AFEW, at the LFW X FDCI showcasing for the silver jubilee of India Fashion Week, with exaggerated shoulders, big bold flowers, in sequins of course, pants came covered with net. The eye grabbers were exaggerated waists a bit like Comme des Garçons but his interpretation of Bandhani was engaging, in above the knee dresses with exaggerated shoulders, sleeves and bows. The check coats, his continued love affair with flowers, padding and bulges, appliqued hens on jackets, with golden paws, as well as Matrix style black floor length coats explained his love for the unpredictable. “We discovered Henri Rousseau (French post-impressionist painter) work which is on display in this collection as well as the art of Pichwai, but my belief is when you want to create something new you have things which are old like Bandhani. It is like you are driving a fast car, but you have to keep looking at the rear-view mirror to see what you are leaving behind. Crafts become the idea and you create a new version of it,” he says. He took many cultural references from the Silk Route, the products are deeply rooted in traditional craftsmanship. AFEW used painterly old motifs which were found when the Silk Route started, then thrived. “Silk route was an exchange of art, culture and motifs; it was not just about trade. This collection looks at various ideas whether it is from Japan or the Kutch region,” says Rahul. So you have Tanchoi or what Rousseau has done, but in the collection, there is a simplification of all those ideas, few find their own relevance. “Something which is easy, but beautiful,” he explains, adding, “My mind I feel kind of works way too much in multiple directions. Stargazing late at night using my amazing telescope which is the most scientific portable telescope available. I keep wondering about life and cosmos, I also read the Gita, try to connect wit myself. I observe insects–amazing creatures. My mind is never quiet, I am always thinking, maybe I need meditation. I feel I have more ideas but less time,” he smiles. He admits he is sensitive about his surroundings, especially of news. “It lives rent free in my mind. Divya tells me sometimes thoughtlessness is needed, I am sometimes absent minded also. I’m dreaming and thinking. Thoughts entangle me. Maybe it’s not the best thing, but it is a big fuel for finding new ideas and perspective,” he explains. Fashion is quite personal for Rahul, it is about his fears, experiences, tales, dreams, and it comes as an inspiration, out of an observation. “I share my ideas with the team. The way the human mind works is amazing. I can see the person, who is creating an artwork, how it comes from collective thought and dream into an entire garment. I think trends are the most overused ideas. Humans try to discover patterns in almost everything. If it is constellation and trends are based on human emotions, trends are powerful things, but I don’t care about them. I feel like there can be micro trends. The globe is one–generation on Insta and is savvy with technology. People get influenced very easily with choices,” he confesses. He believes the addiction to social media is so deep, that we are making free choices we feel, but we aren’t. “When you look at today’s world nobody can escape –we are victims to ideas and losing cultural identity as trends are strong,” he adds. The magnificence of his creations for Paris Couture Week, can be seen in the way he has constructed a “Cityscape” ensemble, because how cities are now it’s not about how much time it took, but how big skyscrapers made him feel. “No one can escape trends, it’s impossible. The Crow ensemble is a thought I was living with for a long period of time. It was a trigger point for me. Cityscape, when I look around to see how we have made concrete jungles,” he explains. Crows are scavengers, it became his leitmotif after his father passed away, “you look at everything. You render the bird–it looks realistic and fits into my story telling. These hits and trials take lots of re- improvement–it is not linear, and takes a lot of time. It is an attempt to showcase artistry at its best,” he says. If you look at his Insta page, he tries to add a series of celebrities— from Priyanka Chopra and her daughter’s beautiful moments to singer Shreya Ghoshal whom he “finds amazing. We pay respect to all regions of the world; we fulfil all requests. Whether it is Liza from Thailand for her first performance, Queen Latifa for Grammy, Mindy Kaling, Fan Bing Bing or Poorna Jagannathan. This is not our focus. We are very humbled. All celebs are global — Indian or Chinese,” he adds. Rahul is also a man of collaborations–Tod’s was happening for a long time — it was a right fit. Italian and Indian handmade craftsmanship; it was sold out even after the pricing has gone three times
Butterfly Effect by Somya
Repair and reuse are Somya Goyal’s mantras, as she works with Bemberg to tackle global warming, intermingling with fabrics created out of waste, converted into cords, in her line “Pivot”. By Asmitaa Aggarwal Her father has been running a successful label Rich Look for the last 30 years in Delhi, but Somya Goyal, the Nexa Spotlight designer at LFW X FDCI knew she wanted to do her own thing. After studying fashion design at Pearl Academy, in 2019 she took the leap of faith, launched her label. “Since childhood I have seen my father create menswear, I developed a love for textiles, early on, playing with transparent cords, wanting to make things that are not worn by everybody in the same room—breaking similar-ness,” says Somya, 30. Hoping to offer uniqueness, clothes with personality, material explorations, unconventionality, 3 D textures, playfulness, these were her templates. “There are two types of clothing—classic, and statement pieces, which are edgy,” she adds. She begins with a texture, then adds hand embroidery, maybe she learnt this and more at her internship with Bodice by Ruchika Sachdeva, and a few short-term courses from Central Saint Martins. “I understood the business aspects from my father—production to marketing, how he used to communicate with clients, maintain a relationship, he taught me well,” she smiles adding, her first show was in GenNext 2022 at LFW. Her USP remains repurposed transparent cords, made from surplus leftover fabrics, crafting new textures, as she stuck to classics—charcoals, electric blues, ombré and mori greens giving each look a Star Trek look, a kind of “transport me back to the mothership” with the set resembling a futuristic stage. She experiments with PVC, metallic wires, horse hair sheets, jute, and cotton cords, using also hemp, bamboo, Bemberg, and crystals sometimes for a constructed jacket. Minor details make a major impact like Raglan sleeves, placement embroidery, Bemberg being sustainable, it has a cooling effect on the wearer tackling humidity well. “Hemp and tencel add wearability and you get a lot of use out of it,” she confirms. The oversized look works well for Somya, as “Pivot” the name of her collection, uses the theme of “Butterfly effect”, one small step leads to a huge transformation—she took that too. “Clients want comfort, after covid that has stayed, plus, we also give repair services,” she concludes.
Luck by Design
Somaiya Kala Vidya, is creating a space for artisans from Gujarat working with Bandhani, Ajrakh, block printing to applique, equipping them with skills that combine—marketability with design prowess-craft is just not art. By Asmita Aggarwal You would never expect a chemical engineer from the acclaimed NIT, Trichy to be working in the development sector, but there is a lot more to Nishit Sangomla than just his degree. He won the SBI Youth for India fellowship which took him to the Barefoot College, Rajasthan, established by visionary Bunker Roy in 1972, hoping to empower rural communities. In “Solar Mama”, how to fabricate solar panels, lights and photovoltaic circuits is taught 110 km from Jaipur, Tilonia village. Nishit began working with them, and it changed his life forever. He had found his true calling many years ago. Though he did notice it was dominated by women, as the men had gone to bigger cities to work in mines, never sent money home, forcing them to fend for themselves. Agriculture was not an option—but the region was loaded with crafts—they worked with leather, made durries, everything was laboriously hand-crafted—a gem waiting to be showcased to the world. “They are skilled, but did not know the technical aspects—marketing to supply chain management. After all, erstwhile kings wore crafts that are now museum pieces, all they needed was design direction,” says Nishit. This gave birth to the design lab they set up, to dig deeper into concepts, educate artisans, the seed of the idea came when Nishit met the legendary Judy Frater, an anthropologist from US, who came to Kutch, Gujarat in the 70s, the rest is history.. Judy, lived 30 years here, with artisans, particularly women embroiderers, studied their traditional crafts, Kala Raksha Trust she set up in 1993, to empower artisans. After the 2001 earthquake, she founded the Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya School in Meghpar, Anjar, Gujarat, the first design school for traditional skilled artisans. Bonus: they are setting up a natural dyeing research lab, which anyone can use. When he met Judy in 2016, she mentored Nishit, in 2019 she wanted to go back home, Nishit took over as the vision was clear. Bandhini, Shibori, Batik, weaving, block printing, patchwork to applique—artisans are taught how to modernise and sell. There were many hurdles he faced —in the one-year program, women artisans’ families were not comfortable to send them to a residency (12 women, 12 men trained every year, number varies). Interestingly, the age is dropping for students, earlier it was above 30, now younger artisans are joining, who had given up this generational skill. There are six modules— they can learn from street markets, retail stores, and exhibitions—colour development to trend forecast, experimenting with motifs, each skilled artisan is taught various verticals to enable him to be market ready. “When we take interesting calls like increasing dips in indigo the results are spectacular—innovation is the game,” he smiles, adding they also added violet to Ajrakh giving it a new spin. At LFW X FDCI Somaiya Kala Vidya showcased Ajrakh by Ziad Khatri, Alaicha (Mashru) by Amruta Vankar, ‘Anatomy’ by Mubbasirah Khatri, ‘Mystery’ by Muskan Khatri, ‘Tradition to modern’ by Shakil Ahmed, the school has now been taken over by Somaiya Trust, which is a prestigious educational institution based out of Maharashtra since 1942. Amrita Somaiya, who owns the school, has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Simmons College, Boston, and her husband did Chemical Engineering from Cornell University, a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University. Their family originally belongs to Kutch, Karamshi Jethabhai Somaiya, was an Indian educationist, who founded educational institutes in Maharashtra, was awarded the Padma Bhushan, Samir his son is carrying forward his legacy. “My father-in-law worked relentlessly after the earthquake to build Kutch, then my husband met Judy, as she was looking for opportunities to continue the craft work,” says Amrita. Amrita’s father is an architect, mother an interior designer, she inherited the love for aesthetics from them, crafts has been her mainstay, thus subsidised education for artisans at Somaiya Kala Vidya. “Real craft is handmade, each artisan who showcased had a personal story in the collection, like Shakeel bhai and the beautiful Batiks, it was contemporary, but soaked in craft,” she adds. An avid lover of textiles, from Ajrakh to Bandhini, hand woven is her go to, she spends time in clusters, and from grassroots understands how to bring awareness to the processes. Juhi Lakhwani, business development officer at Somaiya Kala Vidya, joined this year, but her experience is vast—she won the Naropa Fellowship, which took her to Ladakh. She worked with traditional artisans in carpet weaving, realised handicrafts are losing their identity, and wanted to teach them social entrepreneurship. “The products worked well, but Covid hit, we had to pause. The key was teaching them e-commerce, digital merchandising, it worked in their favour,” Juhi says. At Somaiya she helps them market their products, with design intervention—Soof, Rabari embroideries are much loved along with Batik. Somaiya Kal Vidya has opened another school in Karnataka, Bagalkot; they have a store in Prag Mahal in Bhuj. “The reason why Gen Z does not buy craft is the lack of awareness, they have been brainwashed by Westernisation. Artisans have saris and stoles, and silhouettes need to be taught to serenade a younger clientele,” Juhi adds. When you see artisans like Mubbasirah combine traditional Ajrakh blocks with hand painting, or Amruta’s new developments for Mashru, you know they are set to succeed. Alaicha translates to Mashru in Kutchi, it is associated with the Ahir community, each pattern reflects legacy —they have a new palette, in some ways redefined it. Mubassirah is the first female artisan to step into the male dominated Khatri Ajrakh artisans rejigging it with freehand painting! Craft is business now, not just art. “I began learning from my father six years ago after he returned from SKV, I’m the only woman in three generations from Ajrakhpur to take this up,” says Mubbasirah. Ajrakh means “leave it for a while” in Kutchi, it takes
Bengali Babus
18 century “babu” culture of Bengal dandies gets a fashionable makeover by Abhishek Roy through his smooth velvets and zardozi. By Asmitaa Aggarwal What happens when you grow up in a fulfilling environment away from the craziness of city life in Santiniketan? Well, you have an alternate world view just like Abhishek Roy from Kolkata. Showcasing at the FDCI Menswear show Boys Club, he admits his bachelors and post grad from the historic place, sharpened his mind. Since 2014 he has done costumes for Bangla films like “Bonkesh”, and 2015 launched his label with an inclination towards textiles. For years he has upcycled weaves, specially kanthas, along with Jamdanis, but what’s interesting is his love affair with zardozi. Though he effortlessly amalgamates velvet with Jamdani in his line “Nawabs of Bengal” paying a tribute to Bengal’s rich culture, babus of the 18th century smattered with crafts like “alpona Naksha”. “Santiniketan has multi-cultural diversity, what we learn is not from a syllabus but the sustainable environment. Plus, my grandfather was a professor here and first muralist of India, Shuken Ganguly along with the iconic Nandlal Bose,” he says. What is reflected in his line is what he observed and soaked in as a child growing up in Santiniketan, there was no entertainment, so he began designing outfits for theatre, using paper cutting and moulding techniques to flower ornaments– he loved creating characters through costumes, it interested him. “It was an adrenaline rush doing movies,” he laughs. His FDCI line has shawls, kalidar and side slit kurtas, Sherwanis, bandhgalas, to dhotis something he wears which got him the attention of the Nawab of Pataudi Saif Ali Khan. He loved the pleated pure muslin ones, and soon a relationship developed. “Saif is in touch with his Bengali roots due to his mom Sharmila Tagore. I visited the Musheerabad Museum to understand the zardozi influence on Bengali culture,” says Abhishek. His next is uplifting Kesh weave, where you mix old saris with khadi, adding applique to elevate the look!
Boy from Biskohar
Anurag Gupta’s 3D, jacquard knits and intense screen prints tell us you can do a lot with menswear sans sequins. By Asmitaa Aggarwal Imagine growing up in a village, Biskohar, (Itwa) not so far from Ayodhya, the city of Lord Ram, in a home where forget conversations about fashion, there were not even “pucca” roads, what catapulted him was sheer grit. Anurag Gupta has a lot to be proud of, when he walks the ramp after the FDCI Boys Club menswear show this season at the Lakme Fashion Week 2025. NIIFT (Northern India Institute of Fashion Technology) kind of changed his life, along with a teacher who came to his nondescript school, (near the Nepal border) from Allahabad and taught him not just English but gave him the wings to fly away to the Metro city-Delhi. “I knew I had to leave, the place was too mind constricting, I had big dreams, but no exposure, I didn’t know one word of English so had to learn and unlearn everything as I wasn’t born in privilege,” he says. In 2018, he launched his label, in a glitzy world of fashion knowing that survival here is a challenge- but he did hone his skills- under Varun Bahl and Manish Arora for five years to grasp the business and marketing ethos maybe quirkiness too. “Biskohar had no internet, while I was growing up, but what did help me was that I was curious—even though the only channel was DD and scraps of newspapers from which I got information. My parents ran a medical store, so income was just barely enough,” says Anurag. Fashion for him was an escape, he admired Hrithik Roshan’s dance steps to his sunshine yellow tees, denim jackets in Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, so any hopes of his father to make him an IAS or engineer were incompatible. “I never had that kind of education,” he admits. Anurag admits unlike the swish set he is not inspired by Maldives or Seychelles, rather things he observes around him—sports shoes knitting process, which he converted into necklines, or his intricate screen prints which are laborious but the results are stupendous. “I have developed jacquard knits, deconstructed garments—used from door handles to medical equipment, tyres, tubes to make a line that is also paying homage to 3-D printing,” he admits. Fashion can be daunting-so in 2023, when he read Ambedkar’s book and was inspired to do a collection on “The Failed Promises” (1943) on the exploitation in manual scavenging, how it should be abolished, due to the ignominy, he says many were not interested to write about him. “I am the outsider, and will remain so,” he confesses. Maybe that’s why his line “Metamorphosis” is personal as it encapsulates his story, of how from his “cocoon” he emerged victorious-flew away. Though along the way he has included artists who have inspired him– MC Escher to movements like the Industrial Revolution. “The Dutch artist Maurits C. Escher (1898-1972) had a profound effect on me-specially his ‘mental imagery,’ which gave birth to puzzling architectural mazes and bizarre optical effects,” he concludes.
Khadi adopts new ‘vibe’
Hoping to wean away GenZ from fast fashion, Co-Ek has launched khadi resort wear-think wrap skirts and summer dresses. By Asmitaa Aggarwal It is always invigorating to observe seismic changes in the way Khadi has been perceived and elevated— leaving its traditional starchiness, adopting a modern nomenclature. This year Co-Ek (Centre for Excellence for Khadi), powered by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), crafts dresses instead of saris. It was a concerted move, to serenade GenZ, maybe learning from Moscow Fashion Week, where Nargis Zaidi, head of apparel Co-Ek met khadi lovers, who told her “My grandmother was a Gandhian, I love its imperfections.” The shapes of khadi are now global, jackets skirts, pants, layered magic, inner wear, relaxed fits, also in the process Co-Ek recycles and upcycled katrans, channels circularity while creating statement pieces. “When we sort out fabrics, we do it colour wise, indigos stitched together for example, to offer a discerning palette,” says Nargis. Khadi is a versatile fabric, it may be Swadeshi, but it has international appeal, as she had gone ahead and crafted blazers with it. Since 2021 her efforts have been to start a new narrative, break mindsets and barriers, introduce new colourways (yellow and reds, or charcoals and reds). “We were trying to tell a story—paying homage to little things that often go unnoticed, but impact sustainability, that’s why you see tiny embroidered beetles on resort wear; our line of gamchas, we had the yardage increased while weaving to create wrap skirts,” she adds, hoping this will be an effective alternative to GenZ shopping at Zara and H & M. For the FDCI khadi show, at LFW 2025 she took her experience working with FabIndia and Avaram, forward, by weaving it in Bengal, Gujarat, Punjab to down South, each region bringing along its uniqueness. “We have students from fashion colleges coming to do final projects on khadi which is heartening. A Japanese fashion lover from Tokyo wrote to me on how she was doing her thesis on khadi. Unfortunately, in India, we take it for granted, globally they love the natural textures,” she adds. Hand spun, keeps you cool in summer and warm in winter, organic, a politically powerful fabric, no fabric has this much history!
Nikki’s Khadi Resort wear
After 42 years in fashion, perfecting block printing, Nikki Mahajan pays tribute to khadi not through predictable kurtas, but dresses with baroque elements and French prints. By Asmitaa Aggarwal She began almost 42 years ago, in the 80s when she was newly married, at 20, studying in Lady Shri Ram college of Commerce, English literature, had no clue even about the word fashion, she would call herself a “tailor”. But Nikki Mahajan knew when she was taught needle work and smocking in Loreto Convent school, Delhi, she started making clothes and embroidered it herself for her friends’ moms — this would be her calling! Ten years ago, the business dynamic altered, she moved to working with Japan, Middle East and US markets, special collections, about after 42 years in the business. Self-taught, the 62-year-old knows the challenges of running a brand, “In the late 80s, there wasn’t any fashion school, only polytechnics, which were not considered great, but I found my way around,” she says. She used to take her two kids to play tennis in DLTA, Delhi where she saw the exodus of Kashmiri women, in the early 90s, sitting opposite, looking for work, she decided to help, hired them as embroiderers utilizing their skill and providing employment. “Bindiya Judge’s store Signature in Hauz Khas Village, was the first one that sold luxury designer wear, but unlike today’s generation, we had to find our own niche,” she explains. For the FDCI khadi show at the LFW, Nikki has done what she does best-block printing, which even her Japanese clients love (she made a 3000-piece line for Anthropologie too). She found a way to make the uneven blocks as they are hand done into some form of evenness by digitizing it for her buyers abroad who wanted “sameness”. “I digitize the fragments I get while visiting various museums all over the word-Egypt to Uzbekistan, Amsterdam to France, and this line is an amalgamation of all those shared experiences,” she confirms. She takes pics and then makes a collage and starts work on the storyboard. To this she added Baroque elements and French prints, dexterously executed on Khadi, even though she works with mostly cotton and silk, she loved the textiles and unevenness khadi offered. “When you wear linen it crushes easily, khadi doesn’t and that’s its beauty–I discovered and admire its slubbiness,” says Nikki. Fashion is now easier. It has Pinterest, Instagram, the new breed of designers are intrepid, they aren’t insecure, it’s the same masala box, but they are cooking up a storm with it. She is back on the runway after 10 years, but decided not to make the usual kurta with khadi rather went opposite-resort wear, carefree and fluid!
No white collar, it’s silver for Anamika
After almost 25 years, Anamika Khanna is hoping women in lucrative careers want something that is not just suits and blazers –maybe a silver tie, suspenders, daddy briefcase and some pearl encrusted denims from AK-OK! By Asmita Aggarwal India is all over the world, and it isn’t just “in India”, anymore maybe that’s why Anamika Khanna’s AK-OK for working women, is timed right, the market is ready for this, especially as professions are now unconventional. One could see nostalgia—daddy suitcases cleverly revived, splashes of colour, even though monochromes are her thing, denim is now slowly moving to her favourite list. Above all, no one can beat her in texturing—how she combines various techniques—patchwork, applique to mirror work at her show for LFW X FDCI. The ignition of the idea came from Rabari tribe who are movers never static—Gujarat, Rajasthan and have some Afghan influences too, she began researching, and found their silver stacking jewellery was phenomenal. She took those—and modernized it with suspenders, ties, chain loop belts, “you don’t need to wear silver only as a jhumka, if it can be a silver collar too”. She had that too—literally, workwear equals—”silver collar”, also the name of her line—like you have blue collar and white collar. “Let me tell you what I think is my biggest strength—I don’t think of the garment but the woman,” says Anamika, understanding the changing needs of modern women, their intimate relationship with clothing, and how it changes their mood. After 25 years in business, every time she does a line, she wants to incorporate something “forgotten or lost”, last season she also paid tribute to the Bonda tribe from Odisha. “Women bring not just power to the boardroom but also emotions and compassion onto work, I wanted each of the 50 pieces to reflect that,” she adds. If you look closely, the styling, it has a churidar, with a dhoti and collared skirt, each reference was out of India, but how to make it fashion Anamika knows. The show was about 9 to 5, and how workwear rules are being broken, in between this mix she revived her dhoti pants of the year 2000, churidars which she loves, as well as tattered holes and cut outs. “Designing as a profession is challenging, lot of people tell me take it easy, take a break, and while I am talking you, I’m sticking applique on a dress, this is my life, I live for fashion,” she smiles,
Clothes with feelings
From serenading poets to artists, Rina Singh’s Eka is a case study of craft upliftment. By Asmita Aggarwal If clothes could have feelings Eka would be a right fit! Rina Singh, who built a brand, brick by brick, over 13 years believes it took years of developing product knowledge and working closely with clusters and weavers that helped her finally launch a brand. Unlike Gen Z who know marketing, but learn about product excellence along the way, their skills are so polished that business turns out to be good! “They do it right out of college, I took several years to have the courage and wherewithal to launch my label,” says Rina, adding, “the world of design has changed unequivocally.” Eka and Eka Core are two different ethos—but same mothership, the latter is ready-to-wear, younger, less moody, uses archival textiles and repurposes, so circular in ethos. Rina overdyes it, uses quilting, makes it trans-seasonal as most are leftover fabrics. Eka is known for its love for hand spun and slow, thus the making process is not instant and takes a year of planning. She took a concerted decision to be on the ramp, after a hiatus, to offer woven wonders from Bhagalpur, Banaras, Kota to Bengal, telling a story in Muslin, lace, inspired by Amer, Jaipur with its imposing mirror mosaics, for LFW this year, but she has interpreted it differently—appliqué to tiny embroidered motifs. The idea was to have movement in clothing, like choreography, how clothes adapt to the body and its wearer; as the DNA of the label remains the same every year, but the inspirations are rooted in craft upliftment. You may have boxy trousers, laces only show shifts in moods, things you can wear from Kutch to Tokyo, as it remains feminine, layered, and translucent—this time it’s silks, gossamer and diaphanous. “Sandeep my husband, is a pillar of support—he manages operations, so I am free to design, it takes a huge load off me, in the last decade, he has been a backbone. But I have learnt marketing needs to be loud, brands must have their own voice, and over the years I have learnt not to be rigid about my product,” she adds. Kurukshetra where she was born to agriculturalists, made a deep impact on her psyche growing up, she valued crafts and the “thinking before doing” process of clothing, where you deliberate rather than buy –it is laborious, time consuming, and expensive, but it is also timeless and hand spun, the beauty is unmatched. “I come from a Rajput family where traditionally women invest in weaves, pearls and Kashida, as well as vintage shawls, they understand aesthetics,” she says. Working with the European markets, especially Japan, Rina believes the real jewel in the crown in India is ready to wear, yet we are focussed on weddings, a money churner. “I know the Indian woman likes to be comfortable, yet classy, so why not give her craft-soaked offerings with hints of colour?” she concludes.
Colour me anything — say men
From canary yellow shoes, to men in corsets, sequinned flowers on power shoulders, slogan tees that told you to ‘Grow’, the Chivas Luxe Collective Perfumes presents FDCI India Men’s Weekend 2025 was an eye opener for the intrepid new man-unafraid of embroidery and red. By Asmita Aggarwal When you get trained by the best in the business, you have an undeniable edge, Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna was his first job. After Central Saint Martins, Sahil Aneja didn’t want to get into his family business which was anyway fledging-printing press for local newspapers. Though what he did learn from there was colour theory, and of course, participating in painting competitions in school, which was the propeller for him to try design. After a master’s in business management from Auckland, he knew fashion and specifically menswear was his calling. “I have seen men take a lot more chances, quirky hues to fun factors are now part of their wardrobes. That’s what we have done in ‘Play’ our collection for India Men’s Weekend—graphics to denims,” he says. To this he added slouchy, oversized, and layering rather than structured shapes. Though he credits social media, celebs, and influencers with the innate desire to look different. ‘Play’ comes armed with power shoulders, olive green hoodies, checks with flying threads hanging from mildly embroidered jackets. As slogans are now everywhere, Sahil is not far behind, from ‘Grow’ with mushroom prints, to baby elephants riding a bicycle, done in polyblends, crushed cottons, and linens discovering his niche after ten years. “I wasn’t sure if my clothes would sell, but I realised you have to keep adapting, moving forward, best to go with your instincts,” he smiles. Pawan Sachdeva’s C’est Chic Influencer Ms Coco Queen Sukhneet Wadhwa opened the show in a tee which announced what was to come- C’est chic. ‘Lights camera and fashion’, ‘Transform criticism into creativity’, it said on men’s blue shirts, along with bottle green co-ord sets. Magenta is now officially a man’s hue, they have adopted it religiously, and tie ups are deliberately left untied. Faded prints are everywhere along with paint splatter, Zig zag threadwork running all over monochrome dresses which told us in bold, ‘Creatives are new athletes’ and ‘Your comfort zone will kill you’. Ah yes, how can we forget TV actor Shalin Bhanot and his antics on the runway! Varun Bahl’s sequinned florals What happens when red and black shimmer from atop a fort that is almost 200 years old? Magic! Can it get better? Floral placement embroidery, sheer kurtas, harem pants, in gossamer white and delicate watercolour florals. When you keep it white like Varun, with splashes of colour, add little shimmer in the flowers, as if a child has coloured inside them, pop of sequins, you know style is all about less not more. Varun’s models decided to abandon briefcases and clutch shimmering unabashed crimson handbags. Dhotis sparkled with red dots, hoping you can share them with your wife too! Japanese style Obi belts, but broader, were thunderous; his constant companions in 20 years have been florals, maybe it’s his trips as a child to Kashmir that subconsciously spills on to his collections. Rohit and Rahul’s placement embroidery The newest thing in menswear is how you play with embroidery, the duo known for their clean cuts in a golden palette, and fabric belts gave us a heavy dose of beadwork jackets, in the form of droplets on well-toned shoulders. Pearls are now making sure they replace zardozi, as cowl necks edge out traditional collars. Though if you are intrepid enough you can try a fully sequinned pants suit or their engineered kurtas with unexpected cuts that accompanied Peshawari juttis, as 20s flapper tassels swung on jackets. Mandira Wirk’s pastel prints What happens when you begin a show with a bare-chested Sahil Salathia, and a saxophone player? Well, you get everyone’s attention. Icy blue prints, bodysuits, interesting abstracts, trench coats, basically a lot of Sex and the City appeal. Think sarongs, the line was young and fun just like the designer, and her first outing with menswear. Mahima Mahajan If you like big, bold flowers and velour, in shades of navy blue as well as oversized coats, with crystal butterflies with wings spread over sherwanis, she is your girl! Nikita M’s men in corsets Listen men can wear cappuccino prints and the tiger is really enjoying his day in the spotlight, sometimes inverted on dresses. Nikita got men in high waisted denims, sequinned vests placed under natty bomber jackets. The new place to place embroidery is the shoulders and back, just putting it out there. Lastly, men are now in corsets, denim ones, no longer a reserve for lithe women. Ashish Soni’s icy blue check suits Sailors are now making it to runways (metaphorically), that is their caps and pure whites, only this time, with checks on suits. Men are unafraid to wear super roomy shorts, lace ties, and check jackets with happy little embroidered flowers. Denim has really changed colours—decided to go white, as blush pink check suits, and lemon-yellow jackets make sure, men are embracing colour like never before. Those with a certain rocker attitude can try the denims which caress the bottom of your sneakers and you get those turned in hems, by sheer wear and tear! Well, that’s now fashion! Shantanu and Nikhil’s poet Nikhil’s young son Vivhan opened the show with a book, tulips and a poem, of course wearing a cropped jacket. There is something about men in skirts, which requires courage; the brothers had their signature draped pleated kurtas in ivories and sometimes just bunched up which looked natty. The ode to a Bengali poet, literature lovers, bespectacled men took you to the baitaks of old Calcutta only this time the ensembles were British pants reminding you of colonial era, complete with broad waistbands. Men have made space in their wardrobes for roomy chiffon palazzos. Really! Not kidding. Manoviraj Khosla’s funky shoes If there is anyone who can put men in all kinds of colours of