Five picks from Lakmē Fashion Week x FDCI 

The recently concluded Lakmē Fashion Week in partnership with the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) saw designers celebrating indigenous crafts and going back to the essence of heritage techniques while lending ready-to-wear a contemporary spin.

Daywear demi-couture emerged as a growing category. “We see daytime couture as an evolving space, one that demands versatility without losing impact. In Velora, this comes alive through lighter, elevated silhouettes crafted with functionality and fluid glamour. There is a play of contrast: delicate pearls framed with Gothic-inspired architectural lace, muted shimmer with sheer corsetry,” says Nikhil Mehra of Shantnu and Nikhil, adding that hard, malleable chains were paired with soft drapes in their outfits. “The duality of materials allowed every look to transition effortlessly from day to night, embodying the modern woman’s rhythm and restraint in equal measure.”

Here are our five noteworthy picks from the fashion week:

Akaaro

Titled Starlight, the collection focussed on underscoring the beauty of handwoven silk, khadi silk, cotton, and signature kinjis. The collection comprising saris, jackets and layered separates was crafted majorly in silk. Even in khadi pieces, designer Gaurav Jai Gupta used silk. Talking about the materiality, the designer shared, “The colour takes beautifully to silk because of its glaze, and that is what gives the radiance and depth.”

For Gaurav, material selection is one of the most crucial factors when he weaves, it defines how the fabric will behave, how it will take colour, and ultimately how it will feel. The textiles have been in the making for almost a year-and-a-half, while crafting garment was a relatively quicker process. “I have been deeply engaged with colour for the last four or five years, ever since the blue collection, and the more I work with dyes, the more I understand their nuances. With this collection, we wanted to keep the intensity and impact of the colour intact. It is modern, it is pink, it is fuchsia, but it has an edge to it. That is where the spark lies,” he adds.

Shantnu and Nikhil

Shantnu and Nikhil’s collection Velora exemplified their characteristic savoir-faire drawing inspiration from the cinematic glamour of the 1930s, an era that defined the language of the red-carpet siren. The designers reimagined their signature house codes: structure, drapery, and defiance, for a new feminine identity. Sculpted bodices had a conversation with fluid lines, and hand-embroidered pearls, crystals, and sequins sparkled like captured light. While the brand has been long recognised for its architectural menswear, this collection channelled that same discipline and artistry into womenswear, balancing strength with sensuality. The collection was an evolution of the woman the designers have always designed for; from the bride they once dressed for the aisle to the woman who now claims her place on the red carpet. Talking about one of the most compelling pieces from the collection, a corseted gown, Nikhil says, “It feels almost sculpted from shadow, a play of structure and sensuality. Built on a handwoven base of Chantilly lace, it is layered with tonal embroidery and adorned with a constellation of bugle beads and obsidian black crystals. Every detail demanded control, from reinforcing the lace to ensuring that the drape moved like liquid around a structured core.”

Nearly 700 hours went into its making. Moreover, the theme of corsetry was dominant across ensembles as it is something that has always been central to the Shantnu and Nikhil design vocabulary. “It’s where structure meets sensuality, a form that sculpts, empowers, and liberates. For us, the corset is not about constraint but control; a dialogue between discipline and desire. It’s the evolution of the blouse into something far more powerful; a silhouette that remembers tradition yet redefines femininity for the modern stage,” adds Nikhil.

Inca

For the brand’s founder and artistic director Amit Hansraj, it always begins with understanding the craft in its raw, honest form — the rhythm of its making, the hand behind it, and the context it came from. Only then does he start to imagine how it might live differently today. With Inca, the idea is not to replicate, but to reinterpret. His absolutely desirable and wearable ensembles enriched with kantha, leheriya, and shibori echoed this thought. “These are all techniques rooted in repetition and rhythm — kantha’s running stitches that wander intuitively, leheriya’s resist-dyed lines that mimic the movement of wind and water, shibori’s meditative folds and binds. We’ve used these not as motifs but as languages — expanding them into panels, textures, and layers that build dimension rather than decoration,” shares Amit.

At the studio, much of this process was self-taught and instinctive. The designer hand-drew and stitched kantha-inspired surfaces onto lightweight jackets; translated leheriya’s geometry into printed stripes on sheer organza; and explored shibori’s fluidity on draped dresses and separates that carry its soft, tidal gradients. “Sometimes we push boundaries — printing animal motifs on handwoven tissue or pairing brocade with raffia — to find that balance between familiarity and freshness,” he adds.

According to Amit, the Inca touch lies in this reinterpretation — stripping the technique of its ceremony and giving it ease, movement, and a sense of play. “It’s about letting these time-honoured crafts find new rhythm in contemporary life, without losing the pulse of the hand that made them,” he quips.

Anurag Gupta

A graduate of NIIFT, Mohali in 2012, Anurag’s collection at Lakmē Fashion Week Gen Next Winter/Festive 2018 show encouraged him to launch his label. His latest collection, An Ode to Hokusai was a homage to Japanese artist and painter, Katsushika Hokusai, whose Hokusai art form was based on the Ukiyo-e method. It was the waves and forms of this inspiration, as well as the paintings that Anurag reimagined into a language of bold, daring, deconstructed forms. The intricate flow and movement of the apparel appeared for the architectural silhouettes and the interesting surface ornamentation, to achieve a powerful collection.

Anurag partnered with IIT Delhi driven by a desire to bridge design and innovation in India. As a label that constantly looks for material evolution, the IIT incubation provided the ideal platform to experiment with plasma-treated textiles and to pioneer a new category of sustainable, high-performance denim made with Indian wool. The partnership allowed imagination and research to meet, where fashion could literally embody the “idea of change” which remains the central philosophy of the label.

The designer’s experimentation with Indiwool denim was a collaborative journey between design and science. “The process was one of continuous dialogue with meticulous research. Experimentation meant letting the wool and indigo interact in unpredictable ways, testing how plasma innovation could transform their behaviour. The result was a textile that carries both rawness and precision, mirroring the energy of Hokusai’s waves, which is what this season’s collection is all about,” says Anurag.

Indigotex’s (IIT Delhi originated company) patented ECOTEX PLASMA is a waterless technology to finish the wool and wool-blended fabrics at continuous range.

Pankaj Nidhi

Design duo Pankaj and Nidhi presented Araquis, reconfiguring evening wear with a slice of futurism sending out warrior princesses in a panoply of sensually charged ensembles. The designers envisioned an unapologetic maximalist who inhabits the soul-searing desert dunes. Think jewel tones and statement-making pronounced shoulders from the 80s. This season, the brand evolved its signature appliqués and 3D embellishments to feel more sculptural and elemental. “The work is more nuanced. We wanted to translate the balance of strength and fluidity into clothing that feels both powerful and poetic, much like a warrior princess that might rule the lands of Araquis,” shares Pankaj.

Like always, the designers proposed a wardrobe comprising versatile statement-making separates, which can be mixed and matched for both day and night time outings. One particular look from the collection featured a cut-out fitted dress that works beautifully for the day. “Come evening, layer it with our cowl-sleeved embellished cape for an effortless day-to-night transition,” suggests Pankaj.