INDIA FASHION WEEK AT 25: WHAT IS HOLDING BACK ITS GRAND AMBITIONS?

Last week marked 25 years of fashion weeks in India, and that would include Mumbai's Bollywood powered Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) and Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) supported Delhi Fashion Week. Just for comparison: Paris is in its 52nd year, Milan in its 66th, and New York, in its current format, is in the 32nd. Its legendary figure, Fern Mallis, is often credited with creating the format upon which Indian, Moscow and Berlin built their respective fashion weeks.

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India's fashion weeks are relatively young, but not so young that we can't be self accountable. And a silver jubilee is a good occasion to look back — and forward.

Indian-origin American actor Kal Penn hosted the evening at the Jio Convention Centre; Lakmé veteran, actor and crowd favourite Kareena Kapoor Khan took to the stage to announce her return to the brand and the ramp. But the loudest laughs were reserved for LFW head and Reliance Brands' Group Vice President Jaspreet Chandok's quip that the evening's seating was decided by AI, not his team.

An A-list roster of 30 Indian designers, including veterans such as Anamika Khanna, Suneet Varma, Tarun Tahiliani, Sanjay Garg's Raw Mango, but also younger creatives such as Bodice, and Jason & Anshu, showcased two archival looks from their past finale collections. A star was missing, though. Sabyasachi Mukherjee, of the eponymous fashion house, who got his start at LFW, celebrated his own 25th year this January, with what is considered the 'show of 2025'.

"We need to operate as an industry, and not as individual entities, if we want the fashion week format to grow. Brands must commit to show as part of the official calendar consistently, year after year — just as is the standard at international fashion weeks."

"I lived this show for the last three months, combing through, recreating, and reworking these archival pieces," shared senior stylist Gautam Kalra, who worked on the gala show. It was not just nostalgia; Kalra and the designers revisited a time when Indian fashion weeks weren't as heavily bridal-focused. True fans will remember Tahiliani's jewelled T-shirts and Malini Ramani's all-year-round resort glam.