MASSTIGE MANIA: How Gen Z Is Ditching Luxury Labels for Trend-First Fashion in India

Today’s youth aren’t chasing logos — they’re chasing likes. With Instagram as their style compass and speed as their currency, a new wave of masstige fashion brands like Urbanic and NewMe are rewriting the rulebook.

- NANDINI BANERJEE

Affordable, aspirational, and always trending—this is the new face of fashion in India.

Once upon a time, luxury labels ruled the fashion hierarchy with their iron-clad exclusivity and untouchable price tags. Today, a silent revolution has taken over the Indian market—one that’s rewriting every old-school fashion playbook. Welcome to the era of masstige—where mass meets prestige, and where Gen Z wants trends, not tags.

At the heart of this revolution are brands like Urbanic and NewMe, who are not just playing the game—they’re rewriting the rules. At the recently concluded IREC X D2C Summit 2025, Rahul Dayama, Founding Partner, Urbanic, and Sumit Jasoria, Co-Founder and CEO, NewMe, break down why fashion’s new frontier looks more like a TikTok trend than a couture campaign.

From Catwalks to Clicks: The Birth of Masstige

“The culture hasn't changed,” says Rahul Dayama of Urbanic. “It’s the access that has. Luxury fashion was always aspirational, but we were never able to reach those consumers who admired it from afar. Today, we tap into those very aspirations by meeting them halfway—through social media.”

Take Urbanic’s viral “silk scarf top” as an example. “Four years ago, we noticed people on TikTok and Instagram tying silk scarves into tops—it was all over. So we designed an actual silk scarf top based on that trend. I was in Goa a week after we launched it, and I saw at least three girls wearing it—each styled in their own way. That’s how fast and powerful this model is.”

The Algorithm Behind the Trend Machine

Sumit Jasoria of NewMe doesn't just chase trends. He manufactures them—at a pace even fast fashion giants would find dizzying.