Is The Veshti The Next Tux?

With Adayalam, Vivek Karunakaran proves tradition and today can share the same runway

- By Niraj Kakade

For years, Indian traditional wear felt like a punishment. Kurtas, Bandhgalas, hand-me-downs from your older siblings, basically something your mom forced on you. Style? Forget it. But things are changing. Designers are finally asking the right questions: what if Indian wear wasn't just a uniform? What if the veshti could meet modern tailoring, the sari could flirt with gender-fluid cuts, and centuries-old weaves could show up in shapes you didn't even know were possible? Clothes are starting to feel like choices, not chores. Vivek Karunakaran has never been interested in clothes for the sake of clothes. His work asks bigger questions about meaning, heritage, and identity. At the Chettinad Heritage Festival, he opened with Idam, a collection that reimagined the veshti, the sari, and Madras checks through a modern, gender-fluid lens. Red-and-white weaves, moody blacks, metallics, and sculptural jewellery came together in looks that felt like tradition with a wink.