6 STRAIGHT-TALKING

Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna on why couture in India must move past wedding wear to become a space for artistic, global, and everyday expression

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Since August 2000, when the first Lakmé India Fashion Week was launched, couture has always evoked a vision of red lehengas, ceremonial silks, and elaborate drama – the quintessential hallmark of weddings. Perhaps, even before that, couture in India – a land bursting with craft excellence and textile brilliance, has been forced into the conforms of a bridal experience. At RGRK'S Atelier, we worry about this limitation, looking to paint beyond a singular event, drawing the art, craft, and expression of couture into its true global identity under the spotlight of stages from Paris to Milan and New York to Mumbai. To truly bring Indian craftsmanship to the global stage, it is imperative to view fashion and couture as existing outside only bridalwear.