India Couture Week 2024 highlights: French grandeur to installation fashion, unpacking themes which dominated the runway

The final week of July was a star-spangled affair for Delhi with some of the country’s most prime names descending upon the national capital to showcase their latest lines. This year’s bustling-as-always Hyundai india Couture Week, in association with Reliance Brands Limited, an FDCI initiative, oscillated between yawns and awes with some designers playing it safe and some pushing their house identity within imaginable reach. Amid all the hits and misses, here’s taking a look at the major fashion highlights that dominated the runway in the week that was. It’s a wrap on India Couture Week 2024: Major highlights fresh off-the-ramp(Photos: X) Vintage cuesReal talk — horical grandeur as a theme can feel repetitive. That being said, a layered lehenga flanked a cape or a veil, both of which made quite the staple silhouette suffix across several shows, enjoys a legacy which invokes a tinge of nostalgia strong enough to mostly pass the critique. Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla’s ‘Asal and Mard’, a revelry-dunked celebration of Indian silhouettes displayed against ‘Disco Mujra’, fits the bill in this regard. Its ensembles for men in particular appreciably flaunted varied colour palettes across silhouettes which were classic yet reworked to add a contemporary touch. Full props to the choreographed chemry which significantly elevated the production value. Day 4 of ICW saw JJ Valaya present ‘Muraqqa’, which followed the same brief albeit across the trifecta of anbul, Isfahan and Delhi as inspiration with a heavy hand of Art Deco patterning. Jayanti Reddy followed suit on day 6 with her Nawabi ode to the Nizami aesthetic. The lineup felt familiar, though the modern couture-coded silhouettes elevated the final visual payoff. Falguni Shane Peacock’s ‘Rang Mahal’ was the final show for this year’s ICW, making for a banging finale. Hory met pop palettes as the designer duo unabashedly layered bling and crystals on Banarasis and Kanjeevarams in their first proper tryst with Indian weaves. Installation fashionMoving away from the expected runway ensembles, installation fashion made quite the resurgence. While installation-esque ensembles may be a dead ringer for high fashion, the craft and conscience behind them runs way deeper. Case in point, Suneet Varma’s ‘Nazm’, showcased on day 2 of ICW. Hand-embroidered applique work on soft metallic tissue, organza, and chiffon formed the basis of the couture line, with the designer’s one-of-a-kind blouse silhouettes taking the cake. On day 5, came Amit Aggarwal’s ‘Antevorta’, a futuric reinterpretation of traditional Indian silhouettes with “space, time, matter, energy, and information” as the crux for his inspiration. Think Indian-esque Art Deco, but from 2050. Stiff swirls, ornamental face-pieces and subtle metallic bling best capture the mood board for this one. European grandeurEuropean inspiration reigned big at Couture Week this year with multiple designers weaving their collections around it, each dynamically different from the other. Isha Jajodia’s ‘Roseroom’ lineup on day 2 was much like its name, delightfully feminine, drawing inspiration from opulent French architecture. Soft palettes, trailing silhouettes and accessory details like bows, pearls and masks made the whole affair quite fairy tale-coded. The very next day, Siddartha Tytler presented his sartorial lineup inspired from controversial Roman emperor Caligula, boldly labelling the showcase ‘Caligula’s Feast’. Dark tones, lavish embroidery and sultry showstoppers screamed indulgent opulence which left a mark. The penultimate day saw Rimzim Dadu pass the much-romanticised Renaissance era to focus her creative energies on the endless possibilities of Baroque architecture and music. Embroidered cages and statement shoulders on fuss-free silhouettes formed the brief for her metallic cord-encased lineup. Floral femininityFlorals for Spring? Groundbreaking. If you don’t get the reference, florals have been done to death and beyond. Using it as a euphemism for femininity is even more uninspired. But then this is where brand USPs factor in. Isha Jajodia’s Roseroom fits the brief for this too, with its French-inspired, lace infused bodice gowns. Dolly J too tapped into flora for her couture showcase, experimenting with whimsical hems and a heavy dose of tulle and crystal, feeling almost Victorian. Rahul Mishra’s ‘Nargis’, presented on day 5 doubled down on this, with one of its standout inspirations being the name-adjacent Mughal Gardens. And despite the hiccup on ICW’s penultimate day which saw Tarun Tahiliani call for a complete redo of his show, TT’s pieces felt like a soft embrace, also simultaneously championing Indian craftsmanship through the kashidakar, mukaish, and chikankari work. Which couture showcase was your favourite at this year’s India Couture Week?