Adding new chapters to the India fashion story

This was the year of too many fashion trends but none shining brightest.

- Pooja Singh [e-mail]

If "brat summer" and "very mindful, very demure" crowded our social media feeds spring-summer; in fall-autumn, leopard-core and animal prints were everywhere from high-end to fast fashion stores. In between, many lapped up the "minimal bride" look inspired by celebrities who wore pastel-coloured ensembles on their wedding day. One thing was clear though: it was the year Indian fashion spoke loud. With international brands entering or expanding in the country, or dropping special India collections (like Bvlgari's kada bracelet and Christian Louboutin's Diwali edit), the conversation was about India being in the process of emerging as the next luxury hot spot.

Ample instances signalled Indian designers' resolution to ensure the world considers India a hub of design and innovation rather than a manufacturing centre-global collaborations like Barbie x Anita Dongre, H&M x Anamika Khanna and Rahul Mishra x Tod's; red carpet appearances such as Alia Bhatt and Sabyasachi Mukherjee during the Met Gala; and the expansion plans of independent brands with the likes of Gaurav Gupta being available at multi-designer store Neiman Marcus in the US.

As Gaurav Gupta told Lounge at the start of 2024, "We are a young industry established some three decades ago. Earlier, we focused on dressing Indians only in lehnga-choli. Now, while we continue to focus on wedding clothes, we are also dressing the world in garments that have a global appeal. I think what makes India so unique is that we are looked at as people who think globally but are still very Indian at heart."

This global appeal will only grow in 2025 as designers collaborate with international names, shop for international addresses, hold shows, dress international celebrities and create garments beyond bridalwear. Here's a look back at some of the big moments of 2024.