Fashion’s boldest statements in 2019

Ekaya Banaras and Masaba Gupta got the Banarasi moving

The campaign for the collaborative collection between the designers had saris and lehngas draped on girls playing cricket—a nod to Gupta’s father, former cricketer Viv Richards. It was a far cry from the traditional representation of these weaves on graceful and poised models, and highlighted their fluidity and wearability.

MIXX T-shirt, beyond gender binaries

After their first T-shirt proclaimed “Girls Equal Boys", the Unborder Collective, a media agency focusing on gender equality, unveiled a second T-shirt with the words “Human > Gender". As definitions of gender evolve, transcending stereotypes, the T-shirt was a simple way of encouraging people to spread the word—what matters is that at the end of the day, we are all human.

Indian streetwear got real

A slew of independent streetwear labels like Gundi, SIX5SIX Street (campaign pictured above), Jaywalking and Biskit are marrying international trends with Indian craftsmanship and aesthetics. Gully Boy (2019) helped popularize the movement.

Zivame presented its mastectomy bra

The Indian lingerie brand launched a range of mastectomy bras that are wire-free, with side pockets beneath the cups for the breast prosthetics to be fitted

Suket Dhir started tailoring for women

The designer who used to focus on menswear launched his first womenswear collection of suits this year.

Adidas and Puma broke barriers

When international sports brand Adidas announced a brand endorsement deal with the running sensation from Assam, Hima Das (pictured), last year, it signalled a change in track. This year, Adidas launched its She Breaks Barriers campaign with Das, even as Puma signed a two-year endorsement deal with sprinter Dutee Chand

A fresh batch of Indian faces arrived on international runways

Naomi Janumala, Kangkan Rabha, Pratik Shetty, Tuhir Brahmbhatt and Tarun Panwar were some of the new South Asian models spotted on international runways and campaigns. Rabha, Shetty, Brahmbhatt and Panwar walked for designers like Louis Vuitton and Marni, Janumala (pictured) starred in Rihanna’s campaign for a collection fro

Tan France gave a nod to the Sherwani

For the Emmy 2019 awards, Tan France from Netflix’s reality hit show Queer Eye paid homage to his South Asian roots by donning a gold-and-white Tarun Tahiliani sherwani with gold kasab embroidery and a cummerband. It was refreshing to see France’s East-meets-West spin on the Indian staple with fitted trousers and gold jewellery.

Khadi had a party at FICCI

The industry body’s “Khadi Goes Global" event saw designers like Rohit Bal, Rajesh Pratap Singh and Rina Dhaka reinterpreting the textile.

FAE campaigned for makeup for everyone

Free And Equal (FAE) Beauty’s vegan and organic makeup—so far just a lipstick—has been designed to suit Indian skin tones. Their campaign, too, was an inclusive boost.