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Indian fashion is at an inflection point. London’s Design Museum recently unveiled a landmark exhibition “The Offbeat Sari”, marking the first time an international museum has done a deep dive on the iconic drape. The exhibition features the work of more than 60 contemporary Indian designers. And two Indian designers have been invited to be a part of the official calendar of Paris Couture Week, which will be held in July. Rahul Mishra will make his seventh consecutive outing at the event, while Gaurav Gupta, who made his Paris debut In January, also makes a return. While Vaishali Shadangule has shown on the official calendar once, this marks the first time two returning Indian designers are invited to be part of the event.
“I believe that India is the most exciting place to be a fashion designer right now,” says Mishra, who recently dressed Zendaya in a custom-made sari for a red carpet event held in Mumbai. “The kind of acceptance and acknowledgement that our culture and craft are receiving right now is phenomenal and utterly unique.”
An economical force is at play behind the rise of Indian fashion: as of September, the country is officially the fifth largest economy in the world with a GDP of $3.74 trillion, according to the International Monetary Fund (although due to population size, the per capita figure remains low, at $2,600). Market research firm Euromonitor International estimates India’s luxury industry to reach $6.1 billion this year. International fashion brands are investing more into their businesses in India, with some companies looking outside of major cities like Mumbai and Delhi to capture the country’s full growth potential.
Luxury brands from Dior to Chanel and Valentino have long relied on Indian ateliers to produce their clothes, however, their artisanship has been largely unsung until recently. Dior’s pre-fall show, held in Mumbai, shone a light on the local industry’s craftsmanship, via a partnership with Indian textile house Chanakya International. Dior’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri openly spoke of the fashion houses’ long relationship of working with local Indian craftspeople. “Chanakya School of Craft has the best level of haute couture savoir faire. You [may] find this precision in craft anywhere — in Paris or in Italy or in Chanakya — but it is important to celebrate where you find them,” said Chiuri at a press conference ahead of the show in March.
Celebrities are also highlighting Indian designers. Gupta, in the past two years, has become one of the red carpet’s most prolific designers, dressing celebrities including rapper Cardi B and actors Angela Bassett, Jenna Ortega, Sharon Stone and Ashley Park. Mumbai-based Indian design duo, Shane and Falguni Peacock, have dressed stars from Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez to activist Malala Yousafzai and comedian Mindy Kaling, and are slated to show at the next edition of New York Fashion Week.
That celebrity clout is translating to global expansions. Bollywood’s favourite designer, Manish Malhotra, known for his intricate wedding wear, is opening a mammoth flagship in Dubai Mall’s coveted luxury section towards the end of summer. Earlier this year, Anita Dongre also opened a flagship store in Dubai Mall, right across from Galerie Lafyette. The designer has also had a store in New York for six years. Kolkata’s Sabyasachi Mukherjee opened a flagship in fall of last year in New York’s West Village, having previously had his label stocked at Browns, Bergdorf Goodman and Selfridges. There was a queue that went around the corner to enter his store during the opening week. Contemporary label Ranna Gill opened a new shop in the Hamptons in May.
New York-based author Fern Mallis, a former senior vice president of IMG Fashion who’s been credited for creating the New York Fashion Week (NYFW) calendar, bet on Indian fashion almost 20 years ago. In the early 2000s, she gave Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Ashish Soni a chance to participate in the event and also took a handful of Indian designers to Coterie, the New York-based fashion trade event.
“It is a huge commitment to do business in the United States and most of the Indian designers just did not have the bandwidth to manage this back then,” Mallis says. “They were more focused on their domestic business in India, which is formidable. I believe the talent in India is exceptional and with proper business planning, would prosper in this market. It will happen now.”
“It is India’s time,” Gaurav Gupta adds. “It takes time for a particular industry to mature in a country. India is also having a big cultural influence on the world’s cultural mindscape now and that has given birth to ‘Made in India’ being recognised as a brand.”
A question of investment
Expanding internationally is easier with financial backing — Anita Dongre’s 2013 investment from American private equity fund General Atlantic helped spur her move to New York. But, in India, funding has been hard to come by for designers, with investors unwilling to look at the fashion sector until recently.
“Fashion is an expensive business that requires significant capital investment. For the longest time, the Indian fashion industry was a niche market. However, with a growing middle class and greater disposable income across economic brackets, Indian fashion houses now have larger earning potential,” Dongre says. “This has allowed financial investment in brands and thus finally allowed Indian designers to go global.”
Since 2021, two of largest Indian conglomerates, Reliance Industries Limited and Aditya Birla Group, have been on a shopping spree with Ritu Kumar, Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, Manish Malhotra, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Rahul Mishra, Tarun Tahiliani and Masaba Gupta being among the labels to receive investment. “The corporation of fashion in the country is giving designers the wings to experiment in global markets,” says Sunil Sethi, president of the Fashion and Design Council of India (FDCI). And these experiments have worked so far. “An overseas audience is now ready to savor artisanal offerings from a country that is internationally known for its handwork,” Sethi adds.
As the industry hungers for “slow” fashion – including made-to-wear and hand-crafted pieces – the Indian artisanal approach offers an answer, Sethi says.
Going beyond couture
India’s craftsmanship has lent itself to a big couture business for its native designers.
In July, the FDCI will host the 16th year of India Couture Week (ICW) with around 15 designers participating. Sethi believes India will soon have a cohort of couture labels showing in Paris and other important global events. “Watch the ICW space and the answer as to which designer will be chosen next will be an easy one.”
The rich legacy of craft traditions that India has is one few others can rival, from block printing to beadwork. Now, the new generation of homegrown designers are ready to take this heritage and give it a global spin. “Indian designers can use these techniques with an imagination born of generational comfort with these forms,” says Dongre. “Every Indian designer today brings a unique point of view to the global fashion vocabulary, informed by the craft history they have grown up experiencing and the grassroot truths they relate to.” And Dongre believes this can spill over into contemporary fashion.
Today, UK-based e-tailer Matchesfashion works with a handful India-made contemporary labels including Lovebirds, D’Ascoli and Harago.
“Our global customer base are interested in the artistry and craftsmanship that goes into creating collections and this chimes well with Indian designers and artisanal Indian craft,” says Liane Wiggins, head of womenswear at Matchesfashion. “We have several Indian designers who are based in India and around the globe — this always adds an interesting narrative to their collections and one which we are delighted to amplify.” She says that it is India’s textile craftsmanship and embroidery that makes it stand out.
As Indian designers draw on the country’s exceptional artisanal aesthetics with a global lens, they are now ready to capture the world’s imagination. “It may take a little more time to see a truly global footprint from the Indian designers, because we are yet to witness a larger retail presence in the world. But, it is indeed a movement to watch,” Mishra says.
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