Heritage is Dominating the Fashion Conversation, Celebrated Designers Speak on the Revival

Homegrown Indian luxury brands have now ushered in a wave of heritage revival. The offshoot is an array of one-of-its-kind, meaningful pieces that blend age-old silhouettes with an of-the-moment flavour. The Indian luxury market is currently focused on ethical sourcing, offering support to artisan communities, and reaching out to clients emotionally through vibrant cultural narratives.

Fashion is cyclical and often looks backward while moving forward, drawing inspiration from history and culture. When designers look at heritage, they are not merely recycling old styles; they are catalysing an artistic dialogue with time, inculcating elements of the bygone era into the present. This conversation between the past and the present results in garments imbued with a sense of depth and story.

Revival for Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla

For Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, the revival of heritage is not a mere trend; it is a core value of the house’s design philosophy. One that the designers champion through their design expression consistently through the years. “It is never enough to merely revive a heritage technique; our focus is on reinvention. We return time and again to create anew. To constantly hone and improve on a technique and give it a brand-new standard of finesse and elevated beauty,” says Abu Jani. A constant exploration of the new possibilities held by the already established is an absolute passion for the design house.

2025 saw the brand draw deep from its own history and create collections that evolved from work it created three decades or more ago. “It was hugely satisfying to see how relevant those designs and techniques remain when given new meaning and life. Our crushed silk collection was a glorious exploration of fashioning fabric to create masterpieces in jewel tones accented with mirror and zardozi embroideries. The result was breathtaking, high-impact garments that oozed romance, nostalgia, and soul,” says Sandeep Khosla.

For the OTT show, The Royals, Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla created a fashion show for its climax sequence, which featured the brand’s couture inspired by clothes the house had first created 30 years ago. The designers reinvented their Phulwari collection from the 1990s, reimagining it in pure zardozi as a jacket and a column skirt.

Moreover, their fashion show at Art Mumbai saw Tabu as a showstopper in an architectural coat featuring silver embroidery on noir satin. This was a new avatar of the brand’s architecture collection from 1995.

Revival for Abraham & Thakore

Another great example of this wave of revival is Abraham & Thakore’s “Warp & Weft” collection, where they have reimagined the humble dhoti and lungi. The designers relooked at the conventional menswear dressing – a case in point being an applique style shirt juxtaposed with a checkerboard tie and worn with a dhoti with belt loops and pockets. Rooted in tradition yet impossibly modern. The designers also offered a new spin on occasion dressing with a fully hand embroidered bandhgala in white and gold beads, which was teamed with a gold tussar silk lungi.

The designers also technically explored a single ikat developed in pure Tencel yarn to create softness and fluid drape. “Oversized floral motifs shifted the language of ikat away from more familiar and traditional expressions," says Rakesh Thakore.

Revival for Vaishali S

Heritage revival is also at the heart of the couture house, Vaishali S, which was born out of the love of old and dying hand weaving techniques. In the brand’s 25th year, the designer launched her menswear, a creative blend between heritage and modernity. “I used indigenous draping techniques, adapting my signature cording technique, and it came out as a man deeply rooted in clear ancient indigenous details yet with a very modern look,” says Vaishali.

The designer believes that revival is here to stay. “The hunger for more ‘real’ fashion, for bespoke luxury, for skilled workmanship, all lead to heritage revival. I strongly believe this is the big wave that India must ride: we are the only country with this rich heritage, and it can give us a unique advantage and provide a boost to the whole textile sector. But we must make it ‘understandable’ to global audiences and young people too,” she adds.

The revival of indigenous silhouettes is about more than just style or a trend—it’s a socio-cultural commentary steeped in cultural preservation, inclusivity, and identity.

We’ve reached a point where fashion can’t be divided into narrow brackets like modern and traditional. With geographical boundaries blurring, homegrown designs being celebrated across fashion capitals, a relentless revival has ushered in a cultural revolution of sorts. By reimagining indigenous silhouettes and craft techniques, designers are paving the way for a future where identity, artistry, and sustainability co-exist beautifully.