Meet the new generation of designers changing the Indian fashion industry

A new pool of talent in the Indian fashion industry is not only innovative but also mindful of the practices they follow 

The fashion industry in India, while being a cut-throat business, is also a thriving community of creatives who have a lot to express through the medium of clothes. While showcasing their collections on the ramp is the aspiration of many young designers, only a select few get the opportunity to present their ideas and innovations. We speak to the five Gen Next designers showcasing this time at FDCI x Lakmé Fashion Week, and who are paving the path towards attempting to build a sustainable future. 

Somya Goyal

The focus of Somya Goyal’s new collection ‘New Light’ is to create clothes that become not just vehicles of self-transformation but also a manifestation of our larger-than-life selves. “New Light is (inspired by) an aspiration–to mold ourselves into that which feels like us, but larger and bigger,” says Goyal, who is showcasing this collection for the first time at Lakmé Fashion Week, after starting her eponymous label in 2019. With a blend of textures and textiles, Goyal explores, experiments and reimagines a garment beyond its function. “A garment is an amalgamation of fabric, colour, textures, construction/functional details and most importantly, for whom it’s made. It becomes very subjective when we speak of favourites; each piece is my favourite since it's made with a reason,” she says.

When asked about the challenges faced as a designer, Goyal  doesn’t shy away from telling the truth. “Starting a label has never been easy for anyone. In terms of pricing, the contemporary line in India is challenging as it has a very niche market. As a slow fashion label, it is very important to cope up with fast fashion as our consumer percentage is very minimal in comparison. It needs a lot of courage to just keep going every day because the process of work is in-depth—from planning to execution,” she explains. Despite the challenges, the designer insists that every morning starts with a ‘new light’ and sees a brighter future. “Our plan for the next year will be exploring PVC yarns with handlooms,” says Goyal, whose goal is to have her own flagship store in the near future.

Ankur Verma

Ankur Verma’s life changed when he won a scholarship to work with Bottega Veneta as a part of a collaboration with Università Iuav di Venezia in 2017. But that’s not it. Verma comes with an impressive resume, having worked with designers like Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Anju Modi and Varun Bahl, and Carlos Osman in Milan. “What a journey it has been. It’s very important to understand what we, as individuals, really like and enjoy as craft. Fashion is quite vast as a subject and I am still exploring and learning every day,” says Verma, who studied leather designing at NIFT, Kolkata, after which he acquired a masters degree in fashion and textiles from the Domus Academy in Milan.

Founded in 2022, Verma’s label Til draws ideas from various bodily textures such as wrinkles, freckles and moles. “Til is nothing but a vague interpretation of my surrealistic dream which has a completely different reality,” he explains. His collection consists of versatile and season-less pieces with relaxed silhouettes that can take you from “any other normal day” to a celebration. As a designer, while his goal is to see Til go global, Verma would also like to change the perspective that Indian fashion is only about bridal wear. “We have a bunch of masters in our industry doing such great work. Look at Antar-Agni, Pero and Bodice–in terms of how they are exploring craft and going global,” he points out. “I definitely see my brand forming great relationships across age groups,” says Verma.

Ateev Anand

“We are launching a new line called ‘re- ceremonial’ which is our way of elevating recycled cotton textiles to very refined and elegant clothing suited for Indian celebrations,” says designer Ateev Anand, who established his label ‘re-’ three years ago, after many years of research to understand the nuances of conscious craftsmanship of clothing from circular processes like recycling. “Recycled textile yarns have long been used as a substandard raw material. When adapted to the hand loom and crafted with patience, they are capable of being turned into modern-day heirlooms. This slow, circular approach to clothing is what inspires us,” he explains. Armed with a fashion degree from L.S. Raheja College in Mumbai in 2008, Anand went on to pursue the Cordwainer’s Programme in bespoke shoemaking at London College of Fashion.

When he came back to India, he co-found the label ‘a.k.a.bespoke’ that custom-made high-fashion footwear and accessories before shifting gears to recycling of textile waste. “I feel there is a growing niche that is seeking to wear their values on their backs. They might find the conversations we are trying to have through re- quite interesting and we hope we can create a space of community for these individuals through our brand,” says the designer, who is showcasing his collection on the ramp for the first time, including a piece that took over 200 hours to make. “The combination of a silk saree with a knit blouse, for me, really embodies the soul of this collection. I enjoy how it is naturally synchronous with the flat-knit blouse, which is machine-engineered through future-positive technology,” says Anand.

Arshna Raj

The COVID-19 pandemic was a troubling time for most of us but for Arshna Raj, it was a productive period. “During the pandemic, I ran an Indian wear brand. At the same time, the idea of Stoïque [her brand] was born, and after a year, it became a reality,” says Raj, whose love for fashion started as a child, watching her mother sew. It only grew from there on as she went on to work with designers like Anuj Sharma of Button Masala and Karishma Shahani Khan of Ka-Sha. Inspired by the emotion of longing for home and finding meaning, her new collection, ‘Rising,’ attempts at embracing culture, people and the simple things. With the focus on form and proportions, it includes light, breathable, natural fabrics that are hand-printed, dyed and quilted.

“The underlying emotion of the collection is that of grounding and is rooted in spirituality. We believe that old classics are not exhausted yet and aim to reinvent them in a strong way while keeping their purity intact,” explains Raj, who wishes to take her brand to many places and cultures. “We have a deep regard for the crafts and techniques India has to offer, and we aim to add more of these with each subsequent collection and touch as many lives as we can as we go along, while keeping the international appeal in mind,” she adds. Raj has her eyes set on the goals ahead, challenges notwithstanding. “Like all fields of work, fashion, too, comes with a similar set of challenges—from managing a team to doing accounts or getting the orders shipped out on time. But I think what's specific to fashion is subjectivity. Everyone wears clothes, and, naturally, everyone has strong opinions about it, which is difficult to cater to. Each new collection is like a completely new set of products, with attempts at marketing and production that start from scratch. It's both a boon and a bane, and that's what is fun about it,” she shares. 

Aseem Kapoor

On the Instagram account of label Aseem Kapoor, the hashtag #thinkglobalactribal resides as the brand’s identity. The luxe bohemian aesthetic of the brand has found a fan following in celebrities like Shilpa Shetty, Taapsee Pannu and Vidya Balan. For Aseem Kapoor and Pooja Haldar–the duo behind the label–their collections are the means to celebrate Japan’s wabi-sabi aesthetic, infused with tribal influences. Kapoor, a graduate from NIFT, worked with  designer Tarun Tahiliani for 15 years before starting his own label. The duo’s recent collection ‘Ambi’, showcased at Lakmé Fashion Week, is a tattered nostalgia of a vintage kanni jamevaar spliced with Byzantium jewels and aged metal yarns. “The story goes back to my mother’s inherited  heirloom–rare, woven Ambi tapestry which we later stretched on a wooden frame and hung on the wall. It was long forgotten in the corner of our home, and as it aged, I saw it rotting and tearing apart. With each passing day, the small holes between the foreground and lining kept getting bigger, and the wrong side was fully exposed, leaving the motifs deconstructed. It made me question its state, while being in the delicious ambiguity of beauty or ruins. That has always inspired me,” says Kapoor.

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