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For almost four decades now, designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla have stood as the bastions of Indian couture: revivalists of heritage techniques, devotees of Indian textiles, and purveyors of unapologetic opulence.
First and foremost, though, they consider themselves craftsmen at heart. Ever since they entered the world of fashion with their now-shuttered boutique Mata Hari, the duo have become synonymous with intricate surface work from chikankari and gota to phulkari, zardozi and mukaish. “We are perpetually obsessed with every Indian craft and textile, as it forms the core of our design expression,” says Khosla about the language they are constantly reinventing.
That sensibility has allowed the duo—both admirers of British fashion designer John Galliano—to craft an aesthetic that is unmistakably their own: maximal, flamboyant, and firmly rooted in craft and colour. It is precisely such “original design and hand craftsmanship that will define luxury in the years to come. Slow fashion will rule. Easy come will always be easy go,” says Jani.
While they have witnessed growing enthusiasm for such authenticity among the new generation of Indian luxury consumers, they also believe many of them are still discovering their personal style. Their muses, however, have long been women of impeccable taste— from Dimple Kapadia and Shweta Bachchan-Nanda to members of the Ambani family.
Even beyond their celebrity loyalists, the duo’s journey has been a decorated one: they were among the earliest Indian designers to have a retail presence in London, and have dressed global icons including actor Dame Judi Dench and singer Beyoncé. Over the years, their universe has expanded beyond couture and into interiors and lifestyle projects, along with diffusion labels Gulabo and Asal that bring their aesthetic to a wider audience. “We are very poor businessmen,” insists Khosla. “We create by pure instinct and are completely devoted to the art of fashion,” he adds.
“We had nothing when we began our design journey. But it never stopped us from creating the most extravagant clothes,” reflects Jani. “We proved that it is possible to take massive risks and refuse to cut corners or compromise on quality when you are building a dream.”
Amit Aggarwal’s gravity-defying constructions were on full display when musician Björk wore one of his creations to perform at the 2026 Brit Awards—a masterclass in intergalactic futurism, decisively innovative and boundary-pushing. Then again, that could be said of everything Aggarwal does.
Since launching his brand in 2012, Aggarwal has redefined how fabrics can be imagined—fusing fashion with architecture to create silhouettes beyond conventional form. “I remain deeply drawn to Banarasi textiles. There is something timeless about their woven memory,” says Aggarwal, who frequently returns to them in his collections
“At the same time, I am constantly exploring how heritage fabrics can be re-engineered through contemporary processes such as lamination, corded structuring, and metallic infusions. The dialogue between handloom and futuristic materiality continues to fascinate me.” He admires Azzedine Alaïa—“the discipline of his cuts and architectural understanding of the body”—as well as Gaurav Gupta’s positioning on the global stage.
Aggarwal, whose couture has become a staple for weddings and red carpets, also relaunched his ready-towear line, AM:IT, this year. “It meant creating a parallel universe instead of a simplified extension. It was a risk, but it allowed clarity of identity and protected the integrity of both worlds,” he says.
Technology has been intrinsic to his work. “AI allows us to visualise and iterate faster, but the understanding of beauty will always lie in a discerning eye,” he says. “Discernment—still—is the final luxury.”
When Anamika Khanna launched her label in the early ’90s—and subsequently introduced her nowsignature dhoti sari and cape-skirt silhouettes—she transformed contemporary Indian occasion wear in one fell swoop. “It was commercially risky,” she admits, but the move went on to define her design language, spawning countless knock-offs in the process.
“It was an unconventional idea at the time. Retailers didn’t know how to place it because it didn’t fit traditional categories,” she recalls. But Khanna wasn’t interested in following convention; she wanted to give modern Indian women clothes in keeping with their pacy lives. “They move, they work, they travel. They need ease and strength at the same time.” Khanna’s designs continue to deliver on both counts. Over the years, Khanna’s freespirited and fluid reimagination of traditional silhouettes has influenced an entire generation of Indian designers.
The Kolkata-based designer launched her business without any formal design training. Much of her process remains intuitive, often guided by her own personal style: glamorous, but a little undone. “Early on, I assumed that good design would naturally sell itself. But fashion is not just creation; it’s communication. If you don’t shape your story, the market won’t understand you.”
The elusive designer has, however, long cemented her place in India’s growing fashion industry. Now, her diffusion label AK-OK, created in partnership with Reliance Brands Limited, along with the active involvement of her twin sons, Vishesh Khanna and Viraj Khanna, is steering the brand towards global ambitions including an outing at London Fashion Week last year.
For Khanna, exclusivity or rarity alone cannot define luxury. “Those are easy to manufacture,” she believes. The future of craftsmanship lies in depth and intention. “People want to know who made their clothes and what they stand for. Luxury is about emotional value and integrity. If something doesn’t carry honesty and meaning, it simply doesn’t feel luxurious, no matter the label.”
Anita Dongre built her empire on a series of savvy business decisions early in her career. “I’ve found I’m a bit of an enthusiastic futurist. I see value in things yet to come,” says the designer.
She scaled prêt brands And, as well as Global Desi before building her eponymous couture label. “It made me realise the importance of understanding how people actually live and dress. It shaped my design sensibility and business philosophy.” Such forwardthinking strategies have been the hallmark of Dongre’s journey — from securing an investment from US private equity house General Atlantic in 2013 to becoming an early mover in opening stores in global hubs like New York, Dubai and, most recently, Los Angeles. “This was before Indian craft was being appreciated the way it is today,” she reveals.
Her most recent headline-making undertaking has been the Rewild shows—staged at Jaipur’s City Palace and Vadodara’s Lukshmi Vilas Palace thus far—that help raise funds for wildlife conservation while reimagining what a fashion show can be. Dongre’s design sensibility is for women and by women. She helped take the weight off bridal wear, introducing practical details such as pockets in lehengas. Her audience—“confident, contemporary Indian women who shape soft power and culture”— has embraced this vision.
Patrons are drawn to Dongre’s mindful approach to luxury—one that is steeped in sustainable practices and grassroots initiatives that empower the women artisans she works with.
Rajasthani crafts including gota and Pichwai feature prominently in the designer’s work. Currently, she is fascinated by handwoven macramé, a highlight of her Rewild 2026 collection. “It has a raw honesty and a visible human touch that feels deeply relevant today,” she says. Indian designers, she believes, must remain rooted in craft even as they evolve with the times. “Our new wave of designers dedicating their practice to craft are a hopeful beacon for what is to come.”
For over two decades, husband-wife duo Falguni Peacock and Shane Peacock have become synonymous with a refined glamour that marries contemporary Indian silhouettes with maximalist embellishments. This sensibility has found a global audience—whether through their presentations at New York Fashion Week or a lehenga cameo in And Just Like That. “We believe in honouring Indian craft not as decoration, but as legacy. Every embroidery, every tone, and every motif should carry narrative weight,” says Falguni Peacock. This is also the direction luxury is moving towards. “Five years from now, luxury will no longer be defined by price, scarcity, or even access. It will be defined by meaning—moving beyond exclusivity into emotional permanence.” The success of their eponymous label has been built on this understanding, as well as key lessons learnt early on. “There was a phase where we said yes to everything: more shows, more markets, more categories. Momentum felt like success, because this industry rewards visibility. But a global moment means nothing if the backend can’t support it,” says Shane. “Sometimes, the boldest business move isn’t expansion; it’s control—protecting the brand and staying true to your DNA,” adds Falguni.
Today, Falguni Shane Peacock spans couture and readyto-wear, capsule collections, as well as a recent collaboration with Katrina Kaif’s Kay Beauty. The brand made news in November last year, when RPSG Ventures Limited, part of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group*, acquired a 40 per cent stake in FSP Design Private Limited, the parent company of the fashion label. As the brand forges ahead, the founders underscore their emphasis on surface ornamentation and craftsmanship, revealing that they “want to continue working with textiles as material memory and handloom weaves that celebrate the rhythm of human hands”.
Since entering the industry in 2004, Gaurav Gupta has carved out a distinctive space within Indian occasion wear. “I’m obsessed with sculptural draping and engineered surfaces, where textile behaves like architecture,” he says. “Techniques like fluid metal embroidery, gravitydefying corsetry, and new-age Banarasi brocades that feel futuristic. I’m fascinated by how tradition can be pushed into a new dimension without losing its soul.”
Gupta’s vision plays out on the runways of Paris Haute Couture Week and across the world’s most storied red carpets. But showing couture that didn’t conform to trends or seasonal expectations was a calculated risk that Gupta chose to take. He wanted to champion “craft that couldn’t be rushed, ideas that couldn’t be copied overnight, and design that feels almost spiritual in its intention.”
“I chose to slow down when the industry was speeding up, to go deeper instead of wider. It wasn’t always a safe move commercially, but it protected the brand’s integrity.” He found inspiration in Vivienne Westwood, Hussein Chalayan, and Alexander McQueen. “They remind me that fashion can be poetic, political, and deeply human all at once.” Gupta’s own outlook has a deeply innate Indian component to it, one that is now making waves globally—be it putting his interpretations of the sari on Western runways and celebrities or using Indian culture as the defining inspiration in his work and storytelling.