Rahul Mishra closed Lakme Vogue Week in Mumbai with a grand finale that includes the autumn iteration of AFEW, his “easy-to-wear” line made in partnership with Reliance Model. Coming residence to his native India wasn’t solely sentimental, however reasonably an astute syncing up with the nation’s rising luxurious client base. Youthful generations in India, he stated, are anticipating “thrilling trend” that’s extra reasonably priced than his elaborate high fashion creations.

Excessive trend in India targets the profitable market of luxurious weddings and different milestone events. Mishra not too long ago dressed Mark Zuckerberg and his spouse in couture, and greeted Invoice Gates for some buying on the label’s Mumbai boutique, all three of whom had been among the many 1,200 friends attending the lavish festivities celebrating Anant Ambani and Radhika Service provider, scions of billionaire Indian households. With a Rihanna efficiency and the biggest drone present ever made, it certainly was a celebration for the ages. 

Mishra’s AFEW could also be “straightforward to put on,” nevertheless it retains the designer’s inventive flamboyance intact. The present was held on the sprawling Jio World Conference Centre, constructed by the Ambani household and inaugurated in 2023 with acceptable pomp. Measuring as much as the magnitude of the venue, the present offered some entertaining theatrics—a revolving round platform in the midst of the catwalk featured small pyramidal sculptures that had been surrounded by imposing summary artworks by the younger Indian artist Ajit Paraker. Known as Sculpt, the co-ed assortment reprised a number of the bugs, foliage, and florals of Mishra’s current Paris couture outing, which he toned down and rendered in regionally sourced light-weight materials like cotton, denim, and jersey.

Restraint was extra an intention than the precise final result, nonetheless. Sculptural appliqués of dragonflies and butterflies graced broad-shouldered shirts with curved sleeves formed by inserted wires, whereas 3D embroidered shrubs cascaded on ample denim trench coats with sweeping pleated sides. Shapes alternated between structured and fluid, and elaborations abounded all through. These had been each graphic, as within the black-and-white damier motif embroidered on a black duster with an imposing shoulder line, and colourful, just like the sequined practice of a draped night costume, impressed by the plush foliage of Henri Rousseau’s well-known work. 

The present’s entertaining coup-de-théâtre got here when fashions walked onto the round platform, unfolding the pyramidal sculptures into trapeze-shaped coats and jackets, embroidered with the define of mountainous landscapes. “Pleasure must be a part of trend, if not what’s the purpose? The world doesn’t want yet one more black jacket from me,” Mishra stated . “I wish to hold and nurture my inventive aspect, as I like to create and experiment.” He’s additionally dedicated to abiding by the moral ideas he’s established: Materials had been largely sustainable and sourced in India; the present’s casting of native abilities was age, gender, and physique form inclusive; and the less-elaborate-than-couture strategies required to supply his AFEW items nonetheless produce jobs. Ticking all of the bins, Rahul Mishra appears properly underway to changing into certainly one of India’s brightest trend stars.