In these times of strife and war, what stands out most are not peaceniks making ephemeral expressions, but a community that stands together. Fashion is one of them. At the just-concluded Lakmē India Fashion Week powered by the Fashion Design Council of India with Reliance Brands Ltd, March 2026, at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai, fashion went beyond the power-packed collabs, aesthetically and visually arresting fashionscapes, set designs, music, choreography and showstoppers – which were all there in spades – but at the end of the day, it’s about people coming together, many of them Gen Z, wishing to make their own statement, to create wearable art, uplift communities, and forge connections.
“Every edition of Lakmē Fashion Week in partnership with FDCI is an opportunity to reflect on how far Indian fashion has come and where it is headed next,” says Sunil Sethi, Chairman, FDCI. “Mumbai feels especially meaningful as we continue to build a platform that supports designers at every stage of their journey. This season is about encouraging creativity, strengthening the business of fashion, and creating real opportunities that help Indian design grow with confidence and purpose.”
“Lakmē Fashion Week x FDCI continues to be a platform where creativity, collaboration, and talent come together in meaningful ways. The Mumbai edition brings forward designers who are not just showcasing collections, but shaping the future of Indian fashion. Working closely with our partners, we’re proud to support initiatives that encourage innovation, sustainability, and long-term growth for the industry”, adds Jaspreet Chandok, Group Vice President, Reliance Brands.
Jaspreet Chandok (Group Vice President, Reliance Brands Ltd), Sunil Sethi (Chairman FDCI), Partha Banerjee (Senior Executive Officer Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki India Limited), Actress Malavika Mohanan and Designer Anurag Gupta
Khadi, Never Gets Old
When you look at the figures, India’s ‘freedom fabric’, catalysed by Gandhiji, under the Khadi Village and Industries Commission (KVIC), today has a turnover of INR 1,7 lakh crore, and employs two crore artisans. Every year there has been a khadi-centric show, and this year, the theme given to four design houses – Samant Chauhan, Shruti Sancheti, Pawan Sachdeva, and COEK-Khadi India was ‘Navdhara’ – a new generation of khadi. “In our current geopolitical situation, khadi is not only sustainable, but keeps you warm in winter and cool in summer,” says Shruti Sancheti, who brought out easy separates for the India launch of her prêt label, Across 29 (referring to Indian states).
Shruti Sancheti's Showcase for 'Navdhara Khadi' with musician Raja Kumari performing
Shruti operates 10 looms in her factory in Nagpur and works with three artisanal clusters, creating textures, mixing her threads with wool, to create Nagpur checks and stripes, Warli dolls in modern avatars, appliqué of the letter ’A’ in Devnagri, Bengali, and Sanskrit scripts. “I just want to appeal to the younger generation,” she says. She did, and how. With a show that brought in chanteuse Raja Kumari from New York City – who rocked Alisha Chinai’s ‘Made in India’ who wore a khadi-wool skirt and jacket. “Milind Soman was in the audience, and he wanted to get up and dance, and that was a real moment,” says Shruti. “The whole show reinforces the belief that khadi can be young, global, yet Indian, much like Raja Kumari.”
Shruti Sancheti's Showcase for 'Navdhara Khadi' with musician Raja Kumari performing
Community takes centre stage
For LFWxFDCI debutant Saim Ghani, who had a show under the NIF Presents Gen Next aegis (that first catapulted Rahul Mishra) it was a chance to finally put his name on clothes that were more celebratory (he channelled the essence of India through Goddess Durga), with purely black and white outfits in silk chanderi with patchwork, pearls, and metal embellishments (with some outfits carrying 200 tassels). “I want to introduce comfort into festive, with the tiniest detail,” says Saim, “Most of the drapes are in jersey, allowing for fluidity in movement.” Saim says he’s found his tribe in Mumbai, where making clothes is not just a business. Formerly manufacturing in Kolkata, he says he turned to his friends, who lent him their workshop for two months. “I just want to focus on community and fashion,” he says. “For my masterji it was a full circle moment, he was so excited to come to Jio and see all the clothes he’d made.”
Saim Ghani, Jubinav Chadha and Taarini Anand - this year's selection for the GenNext showcase presented by NIF Global, at the Lakmé Fashion Week x FDCI
On Set Creativity
For Show Director Anu Ahuja, the chance to work at an mini-offsite within Jio – in the Art Room – a special, small presentation for AK|OK by Anamika Khanna, gave her a break to pick a neater, simple format and presentation. “Her collections are always artistic, and her separates are all so wearable,” she says.
Anamika Khanna takes a bow after her AK|OK showcase
The fact that this edition LFWxFDCI was condensed to four days instead of five, comes as a relief to many like Anu. “It’s like a breath of fresh air,” she says, “There is no fashion fatigue, and the first day’s brilliant concept, of all the shows in off-sites within Jio.” The typical Runway/Atelier format was eschewed, from the first show, The Boy’s Club menswear show (on a lower floor, basement), to Abraham & Thakore collab with French lifestyle brand Atelier 1664 that was by the fountain area, and the art house for AK|OK.
Behind-The-Scene at the set construction for AFEW by Rahul Mishra
Her work extends beyond choreography. “From conceptualisation to final implementation, I sit with the designers, and work on the presentation, the set design, the music selection - it is all a collaborative effort between the designer and myself,” she says. To create the set for AFEW Rahul Mishra, who partnered with Supima cotton (his second collab, recreating the finesse of the lightest muslin inspired by Empress Nur Jahan), Anu recreated a large cotton field. “We had life-sized dragonflies and ladybugs peppered above the cotton field,” she says. “Rahul likes to have a three-ramp format so that everyone can enjoy a front row seat. So the cotton field was supposed to be a bit shorter, but because of production issues, it was too tall. The models were originally meant to be walking within the field, with the seating behind it, but then we had to swap seating. These things happen in every show. You just have to think on your feet.”
Divya Mishra, Ananya Pandey and Rahul Mishra take a bow with models at the AFEW show
For Amit Aggarwal’s futuristic show with Banarasi textiles and mirrorwork, paired with Indriya’s polki jewellery, one of his sleekest and most glamorous yet, Anu and her production team found an artist who works with wood and rubber to create the giant boulders on set. “We can’t use non-sustainable material, and we actually got real rocks and slate, and wet them so they look dark,” she says.
Amit Aggarwal with showstopper Disha Patani at Orizon by Indriya x Amit Aggarwal
Some of her most creative collabs this year have been with Gen Z designers like Jajaabor (by Nilanjan Ghose and Kanika Sachdev), whose outfits were created with Jamdani weaves from their native Kolkata, in a show set to Bengali music. “Young designers bring so much energy, and their way of thinking is very different,” says Anu. “I love working with them.”
Designers Nilanjan Ghose and Kanika Sachdev with showstopper Nimrat Kaur at the Jajaabor Show
Tech at your Tips
If someone were to look back, perhaps years later, what might be retained as a POV image or memory from LFWxFDCI March 2026, that remained with us over time? Would it not be splendid if the information we saw with our own eyes could somehow be captured for posterity and stay with us? This is something that Meta experimented with this very season, with its AI glasses (we saw some of the crisp footage backstage at Rahul Mishra). “Meta gave some of us front-row seats for us to take videos with the AI glasses,” says model-influencer Parth Dutta, who watched Aisha Rao’s show ‘Inter-Hana’. “I took loads of videos, which are very high quality, which were handed over to Meta. Of course, you have to give it a verbal command, ‘I am recording’ so that people know you are recording, and get consent.”
NEXA Spotlight winner Anurag Gupta's futuristic set at LFWxFDCI March 2026
NEXA Spotlight winner Anurag Gupta showed a tech-forward show with laser lighting, inspired by a Japanese artist, with a lot of oversize, at times caricatural presentations that seemed right out of a manga strip, using a special textile he has developed, made from natural fibres and engineered using plasma technology processing, to give it flexibility and durability.
A Final Cohesion
Actress Aneet Padda walks the ramp for Péro’s ‘Out of Office’ collection
No LFWxFDCI March 26 commentary is complete without mentioning the sheer detailing of Aneeth Arora’s grand finale show for Péro’s ‘Out of Office’ collection, that created history. With minutiae of a large office, with desks, chairs upholstered in her handloom fabric – everything from the set to the garments was two-toned in ivory and indigo – to ambient (live) music for office clicks and rings, a female announcer, dancers and even a lift door that opened to an Aneet Padda padding out in a 3D flower appliqué dress and navy bouclé jacket. For many, it was a complete package, a format that was cohesive, with a uniformity of concept that pleases the senses. “We had 67 models, with 80 percent new talent; it was the largest show,” says Daman Choudhary, model manager. “The show encapsulated the excitement of the end of office hours; it was beautifully done, even the press kit – with a fabric-covered notebook and crochet pencil keychain, was creatively done.”
A theatrical showcase capturing the excitement of the end of the work day, by Péro’ by Aneeth Arora for the Grand Finale of Lakmē India Fashion Week powered by the Fashion Design Council of India
Made with Gen Z talent, it took the world’s breath away.
A theatrical showcase capturing the excitement of the end of the work day, by Péro’ by Aneeth Arora for the Grand Finale of Lakmē India Fashion Week powered by the Fashion Design Council of India