Navaratna marks Tahiliani’s return to Bikaner House, where he last showed Bloom on a conventional runway in 2019, but this time the venue becomes the narrative itself. Corridors and rooms frame couture pieces in intimate settings, with technology used to create atmosphere rather than spectacle. The project underscores his belief that true luxury lies in craftsmanship and thoughtful storytelling.
Tarun Tahiliani is not staging a runway show at India Couture Week this season. In its place is Navaratna, an immersive, off-site showcase at Bikaner House in New Delhi that transforms the historic building into a walkthrough spanning nine spaces, each named for one of the navaratna, or nine jewels, and each revealing a different facet of the house's craft and material vocabulary. Guests move through the venue rather than watch from a seat, encountering garments at close quarters amid projection mapping and digital scenography built to frame the embroidery and construction rather than distract from it. The presentation returns Tahiliani to the same address where he closed India Couture Week in 2019 with Bloom, on a conventional runway. Navaratna is scheduled for July 26, 2026, at Bikaner House, New Delhi. Robb Report India spoke with Tahiliani ahead of the presentation.
I don't think people have lost the ability to engage deeply. They've simply had fewer opportunities to do so. When the experience is thoughtfully curated, people are naturally curious. They want to explore, to discover, and to understand. Navaratna isn't asking guests to spend more time for the sake of it. Every space reveals something different, a new emotion, a different craft vocabulary, or another facet of the house. The journey unfolds gradually, much like couture itself. The more time you give it, the more it reveals.
Bikaner House has an extraordinary sense of character. It carries history, but it also has the flexibility to be reimagined. When we presented Bloom, it served as a beautiful backdrop to a runway. This time, I wanted the architecture itself to become part of the narrative. The corridors, rooms, and transitions naturally lend themselves to a journey rather than a destination. Returning to the same venue in a completely different way felt symbolic. It reflects how the house continues to evolve while remaining rooted in the same values.
That's a difficult question because each space has its own personality. If I had to choose, I would say the moments where guests unexpectedly encounter the garments at close quarters. There is something incredibly moving about seeing the craftsmanship from just a few feet away. You begin to notice details that are impossible to appreciate on a runway. Those quiet moments of discovery are what I'm looking forward to most.
Technology gave us the ability to create atmosphere rather than simply a backdrop. Instead of asking people to imagine the world around a garment, we could place them inside it. The projections create movement, emotion, and scale without distracting from the craftsmanship itself. For me, technology isn't there to impress. It's there to create context. It allows the garments to exist within an immersive narrative that evolves as guests move through the exhibition.
I hope they become less concerned with identifying the next trend and more interested in understanding the making of the garment. When you're standing close to couture, you notice the precision of the embroidery, the layering of textiles, the engineering of a silhouette, and the countless decisions that shape the final piece. I want buyers and clients to connect with the value of craftsmanship, because that is ultimately what defines true luxury.
India Modern has always been about creating a dialogue between heritage and the contemporary. Scenography allows that dialogue to become immersive. Rather than simply watching the collection, guests inhabit the world it belongs to. Sound, light, architecture, technology, and craftsmanship all work together to communicate the philosophy of the house. It becomes less about presenting clothes and more about creating an experience that expresses what the brand stands for.
Innovation has always been an important part of my practice. While I have enormous respect for the runway, I've never believed tradition should prevent us from asking new questions. This season, the collection itself called for a different format. We wanted craftsmanship to be the central protagonist, and the exhibition allowed us to tell that story more honestly. Sometimes evolution isn't about changing what you create. It's about changing how you invite people to experience it.
I don't believe in replacing one format with another. Every collection has its own voice, and the presentation should serve that voice. Navaratna is the right expression for this moment because it allows us to celebrate craftsmanship in a way that felt necessary. Whether future collections take this form or return to the runway will depend entirely on the story we want to tell. What I hope continues is the willingness to experiment. The language of fashion should keep evolving, just as craftsmanship has always evolved over centuries.