Sharmistha Ghosal

Only a handful of Indian couturiers can make menswear that you can live in. Pawan Sachdevaa definitely counts among them. His latest collection, Recast, showcased at the Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI, reimagined traditional textiles and craft in gender-fluid silhouettes. Age-old techniques like bandhani, shibori and kantha came alive in high streetwear, office wear and formals in denim, kala cotton khadi, khadi silk, matka silk, habotai silk and boucle. Pawan shares more details.

Among the designers whose work stood out for their individuality and purpose at the recently concluded Lakme Fashion Week in partnership with FDCI, Ankur Verma's name shines brightly. His collection, Still Becoming, looks at skin in relation to moss. Just as moss settles onto a surface, spreading slowly, building texture and creating its own landscape, skin, too, evolves with time. The much-dreaded and often erased signs of ageing, including freckles, wrinkles, and pigmentation, are actually markers of growth.

Varun Bahl's latest Autumn-Winter collection, On the Record, resonates with the idea of finding beauty in what we keep. And such beauty in small things is often discovered in weddings and kept with precious care. Be it a handwritten note, an invitation saved long after the celebration, or a photograph that brings a moment back. Varun's fall-winter bridal collection stems from this instinct to preserve and explores what happens when a garment becomes a part of the memory.

The gender-fluid label Huemn by Pranav Misra and Shyma Shetty is known for its non-conformist design elements that often reflect the tales of the time. Their provocative showcase in collaboration with R|Elan at Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI evoked extreme feelings of adulation and abhorrence.

In 2023, Margot Robbie brought Barbie and her world back in the spotlight in Greta Gerwig's eponymous film. It renewed interest in the world's most famous doll, which shaped how fashion is perceived in a consumer-driven economy.

Marking two decades in fashion, Samant Chauhan sets out on a journey that is actually a quest to find his true home. Growing up in Bihar's Bhagalpur district, Samant developed a close relationship with tussar silk and the region's weaving traditions. His roots, however, lie in Rajasthan, a region whose history, culture and clothing traditions have continued to influence his work. His first collection, Rajputana Couture, explored these influences, and twenty years later, his collection, Where My Home Is?, brings together these different ideas of home, roots and migration.

Marking two decades in fashion, Samant Chauhan sets out on a journey that is actually a quest to find his true home. Growing up in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district, C

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has come a very long way from a poor boy and an unkempt, craggy labour leader to the high tables of global politics. But no less remarkable is the fashion transformation the man underwent down the years which is often described as the one of the most calculated and successful image makeovers in the league of world leaders.

The gender-fluid label Huemn by Pranav Misra and Shyma Shetty is known for its non-conformist design elements that often reflect the tales of the time. Their pr

Known for bright colours and maximalist silhouettes, couturier Siddhartha Bansal has drawn inspiration from Vesara temples and the textures of the natural landscape for his latest collection. The edit,