Man Up And Dress Up

We ask sıx industry veterans about what men today get right, wrong, and what they can do better

- By Niraj Kakade

There’s a difference between putting on clothes and actually dressing up.

Most men approach big occasions like a checklist. Outfit? Bought. Shoes? Somewhere. Hair? Managed. And then they step into a ballroom, a wedding, a black-tie dinner, and look like they’ve shown up rather than arrived. Most also think a big occasion just means buying something expensive and hoping the lighting is forgiving. But it wasn’t always this way. As a veteran designer, JJ Valaya puts it, men were once the original peacocks. They dressed with code. With intention. With pride. Occasionwear was character. Somewhere along the way, though, we got lazy. We started mistaking price for polish, and “safe” for stylish. So instead of guessing, we turned to the designers who've spent decades shaping how Indian men show up for their biggest nights: Abraham & Thakore, Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna, and Valaya himself, along with Raw Mango's Sanjay Garg. Known primarily for his womenswear and textile-led approach to craft, Garg offers an interesting outside perspective on menswear, arguing that the future of how men dress may lie not in adding more, but in doing less.

Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna

Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna unveiled their Spring Summer Couture 2026 collection Abyssal, inspired by the mysterious architecture of the ocean's depths. Sculpted silhouettes, mineral tones and crystal embellishments echoed the quiet shimmer and structure of the deep sea.

What are the most common mistakes men make when dressing for cocktail parties, galas and formal celebrations?