12 November 2025, Mumbai 

The classic kurta-pyjama, long seen as a symbol of South Asian heritage, is having a modern renaissance. Once reserved for festivals and ceremonies, it has been reinvented as a statement of everyday style a reflection of India’s cultural self-confidence meeting global fashion sensibilities. This evolution, often dubbed ‘The Great Unstitch’, has turned the once-humble garment into a powerful economic force within India’s booming men’s apparel industry.

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From ritual wear to runway relevance

For decades, the kurta-pyjama was an occasional indulgence, worn at weddings, Diwali gatherings, or religious functions. But in the last few years, it has entered the mainstream as part of wardrobes, workplaces, and wedding selfies. Its rebranding from a traditional outfit to a contemporary lifestyle choice reflects broader shifts in India’s economy and culture.

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The data backs the transformation.

Sources: Business Research Insights, IMARC Group, Technopak This table underscores a telling trend: men’s ethnic wear is outpacing the broader menswear market, expanding nearly three times faster than Western apparel.

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Rising incomes, rising confidence: the economic tailwind

The growth of India’s aspirational middle class especially in Tier-II and Tier-III cities has turned fashion into a key expression of identity. With household disposable income per capita projected to reach Rs 2.2 lakh by FY2028 (CRISIL), spending on premium and branded ethnic wear has grown. For many young Indians, particularly in semi-urban markets, a stylish kurta or bandi jacket has become a marker of taste and success akin to owning a well-fitted suit in the 1990s. This shift has created a fertile market for both organized and designer-led players who are redefining men’s celebration wear.

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How e-commerce wove ethnic wear into everyday life

If disposable income was the spark, digital retail was the accelerant. The explosion of e-commerce and social media has turned ethnic wear into an always-available, always-visible fashion category.

Table: India online apparel market 2030 projections

The fusion effect

The modern Indian man no longer sees tradition and trend as opposites. The kurta-pyjama has evolved in silhouette, fabric, and styling to keep pace with the country’s changing fashion vocabulary. The rigid rule of pairing a kurta with a pyjama has broken down, giving way to the wildly popular Indo-Western look, where tradition meets comfort. The most visible element is the Nehru jacket or bandi jacket, which is now a versatile wardrobe staple. Pairing an intricately embroidered jacket with a plain kurta and trousers instantly transforms the outfit for a formal or semi-formal look. The pajama or churidar is frequently replaced by dhoti pants, Jodhpuri trousers, or even well-fitted chinos/jeans for a younger, casual twist.

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The modern men's kurta ensemble is defined by its dramatic cuts, fabric innovation, and focus on versatility.

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Regional artistry goes mainstream

Artisanal crafts like Lucknowi chikankari, Banarasi silk, and Rajasthani block prints have moved from local boutiques to e-commerce storefronts. What was once regional exclusivity is now part of a nationwide design language, thanks to digital logistics and online curation.

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The brand wars

Manyavar, the market maker: When Vedant Fashions launched Manyavar in 1999, it transformed ethnic wear retail from an unorganized cluster of local boutiques into a category-defining segment.

Manyavar positioned the kurta and sherwani as celebration wear, turning them into aspirational purchases. Its campaigns featuring Virat Kohli and Ranveer Singh elevated ethnic attire to premium status.

The brand expanded via a Company-Owned, Company-Operated (COCO) model, maintaining consistency across over 500 stores and strong representation in diaspora markets.

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Manyavar’s success proved that cultural authenticity, when coupled with design innovation and brand storytelling, could yield scale comparable to Western wear giants. The success of Manyavar attracted major corporate players, further pushed up the market's transformation.

Tasva (Aditya Birla Fashion + Tarun Tahiliani): Launched aggressively, focusing on bridging the gap between designer wear and accessible luxury. Tasva has reportedly seen its business double in the last year, with an expansion plan to add hundreds of new stores, highlighting the market’s enormous potential.

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Ethnix (by Raymond): Raymond, an established giant, also scaled up its Ethnix line to target Tier-II and III cities, which comprise an estimated 85 per cent of the market, with competitively priced, modern ethnic wear.

Fabindia Men: Fabindia operates in a distinct niche, prioritizing craft, sustainability, and authenticity. While Tasva and Ethnix focus heavily on wedding and celebratory occasion wear (sherwanis, indowestern suits), Fabindia Men offers a wider range of ethnic apparel, including options for daily wear and conscious consumers.

The brand’s aesthetic is classic, relying on the intrinsic value of its fabrics and handiwork. Consumers who prioritize ethical sourcing, natural materials, and authentic Indian craft over fast fashion or high-gloss occasion wear.

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With handloom and sustainable focus it offers a lifestyle choice that stands apart from the occasion-wear-dominant market.

Table: Big brands in men’s ethnic wear market

Global demand for Indian aesthetics

As Indian diaspora communities grow in North America, Europe, and the Middle East, demand for ethnic menswear abroad is rising sharply. Export-oriented D2C brands like Kalki, Qbik, and Rohit Bal Men now cater to NRIs seeking designer looks delivered worldwide.

As per IMARC, the global ethnic menswear export market from India is expected to exceed $1.5 billion by 2028, driven by weddings, cultural festivals, and film-inspired fashion.

Thus the Indian men’s kurta-pyjama has transcended its traditional confines.

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No longer symbolic of just heritage, it now represents a modern Indian masculinity that is confident, expressive, and globally aware. With fashion cycles shortening, fabrics diversifying, and digital sales multiplying, the line between ethnic and everyday wear continues to blur. The next phase of this $38-billion market will likely be defined by sustainability, personalization, and export growth where the unstitched will keep weaving new stories.

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08 November 2025, Mumbai 

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Raymond has released a stunning musical tribute film created entirely using generative AI.

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The 3.5-minute film leverages technology and narrative to offer a modern take on storytelling for heritage brands, featuring AI-generated models with remarkably realistic human personas.

The ambitious project kicked off on August 16, 2025, when the creative agency Marketing Mojito was tasked with transforming Raymond’s vision into an AI-driven cinematic tribute.

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Every component of the film - from the initial scripting and storyboarding to generating the final frames, characters, and environments - was created from the ground up using artificial intelligence.

The team worked almost non-stop for 15 days, overcoming significant technical challenges like server crashes and rendering errors to deliver a compelling piece that captured Raymond’s century-long spirit of innovation just in time for the milestone event.

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This centenary tribute not only honors Raymond’s extensive legacy but also signals its embrace of the future, highlighting the convergence of creativity and technology.

While the brand actively uses AI to craft new stories, its foundation remains firmly rooted in the craftsmanship and values built over its hundred-year history.

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Rohit Khanna, Head of Corporate Communications, Raymond Group, emphasizes on the vision, saying, the brand aims to create more than a tribute - a living bridge between a century of legacy and the limitless future ahead.

By harnessing AI, it united heritage and innovation into one evocative story.

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Delivering a project of this scale in just weeks stands as a testament to their team’s agility and to what becomes possible when human creativity and intelligent technology work as one.

Rahul Arora, CEO, Marketing Mojito, adds, tis project proves that AI doesn’t replace human creativity; it amplifies it. The firm aimed to fuse technology with emotion, and the Raymond tribute was the perfect canvas.

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It sets a new benchmark for how legacy brands can use innovation to tell timeless stories.

As AI continues to reshape the marketing landscape, projects like this demonstrate how brand storytelling is evolving beyond simple communication into immersive, human-like engagement.

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For Raymond, using AI to celebrate its centenary was a deliberate choice reflecting the strong emotional bond the brand has forged with generations of consumers, employees, and partners.

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11 November 2025, Mumbai 

Fashion and lifestyle brand Wrogn as launched its fifth store in Bengaluru, India, located inside Lulu Mall. This opening further solidifies the brand's physical retail presence in the metropolitan area.

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The new Lulu Mall location is expected to enhance Wrogn reach within Bengaluru’s highly competitive retail market and support its current omnichannel strategy. It offers a key touchpoint for customers to experience the brand's offerings firsthand.

Wrogn other existing stores in Bengaluru are strategically situated in prominent locations, including HSR Layout, Indiranagar, Jayanagar, and Jala Hobli, reflecting the brand's consistent expansion across the city.

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Co-created by cricket star Virat Kohli and launched by Universal Sportsbiz, Wrogn specializes in a wide selection of men’s casual wear, footwear, and accessories, targeting young, style-conscious consumers.

The brand's growth trajectory received a major boost in 2024 when Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail acquired a significant stake in the company through its subsidiary, TMRW.

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The launch at Lulu Mall underscores Wrogn’s dedication to providing a seamless shopping experience that combines style, quality, and accessibility for its growing customer base in Bengaluru. This move is part of Wrogn’s broader vision to expand its physical retail presence across major Indian cities, enhancing brand visibility and solidifying its position as a leading urban fashion brand in India.

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08 November 2025, Mumbai 

Parent company of the popular fashion and beauty retailer Nykaa, FSN E-Commerce Ventures reported robust financial results in Q2, FY26 that ended in September 2025.

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The company posted a net profit of Rs 34.4 crore, marking a staggering 244 per cent Y-o-Y increase from the Rs 10 crore recorded in the same period last year.

The company’s revenue from operations increased by 25.1 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 2,346 crore from Rs 1,875 crore in the prior year's second quarter.

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This strong performance was fueled by momentum in the beauty segment and a noticeable revival in the fashion business.

Profitability also strengthened, with Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) rising 53 per cent to Rs 158.5 crore. Consequently, the EBITDA margin expanded to 6.7 per cent from 5.5 per cent a year ago.

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Nykaa’s consolidated Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) hit Rs 4,744 crore for the quarter, a 30 per cent Y-o-Y jump. Gross profit grew by 28 per cent to Rs 1,054 crore, achieving the company's highest gross margin in the last 12 quarters and marking the twelfth consecutive quarter of mid-20s percentage revenue growth.

Nykaa expanded its retail footprint significantly, adding 19 new stores across nine new cities and reaching a total of 265 beauty stores across 90 cities.

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The cumulative beauty customer base grew 31 per cent Y-o-Y to approximately 40 million.

The in-house lingerie brand, Nykd, achieved an annualized GMV run rate of Rs 175 crore, growing approximately 30 per cent Y-o-Y.

Nykaa Fashion showed a strong recovery from the previous quarter, delivering 37 per cent Y-o-Y GMV growth to Rs 1,180 crore.

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The unit’s financial health improved dramatically, with the EBITDA margin (as a percentage of Net Sales Value) moving from a negative 9% in Q2 FY2025 to a much-improved negative 3.5 per cent in Q2 FY2026, signaling progress toward its breakeven goal.

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Customer traction remained high, with monthly active unique visitors and orders both increasing by 30 per cent or more.

Overall, Nykaa demonstrated strengthened profitability supported by an increased share of House of Nykaa brands and enhanced scale efficiencies.

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11 November 2025, Mumbai 

A premier retail destination in Bengaluru, Orion Mall has announced the opening of the debut Gant 5.0 concept store in South India.

The development marks a significant step in the mall’s ongoing mission to bring globally loved and forward-thinking brands to Bengaluru shoppers.

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The new Gant 5.0 concept store redefines the premium casualwear retail experience, seamlessly blending Scandinavian aesthetics with global sophistication.

Designed to offer an immersive and contemporary shopping environment, the space clearly reflects the brand’s core values of heritage, innovation, and effortless style.

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Known worldwide as a pioneer of the ‘American sportswear’ movement, Gant continues to evolve its retail design philosophy. The Gant 5.0 concept focuses on creating warm, welcoming spaces inspired by natural textures, light wood finishes, and clean design lines.

Crucially, this new store seamlessly integrates digital touchpoints and experiential zones, inviting shoppers to interact with the brand in a more personalized and engaging way.

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Located on the Ground Floor of Orion Mall, the Gant store showcases the brand’s signature collection of timeless essentials- ranging from classic shirts and chinos to contemporary lifestyle apparel- designed to appeal to today’s modern, style-conscious consumer.

With the opening of Gant 5.0, Bengaluru shoppers can now experience the future of fashion retail, where craftsmanship meets technology.

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08 November 2025, Mumbai 

Entrepreneur and creative visionary Isha Jain officially launched her new brand, A29 Wellbeing, in Mumbai. Held on November 6, 2025, the event attracted a celebrity crowd of leading names from the worlds of fitness, fashion, and entertainment, including Suniel Shetty, Sonu Sood, Krishna Shroff, Arjan Bajwa, Madhur Bhandarkar, Gulshan Grover, and Shriya Saran, among others.

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At its core, A29 Wellbeing represents a new era in modern wellness. It seamlessly blends premium activewear, holistic practices, and community-driven experiences into a comprehensive lifestyle movement.

The brand's initial collection introduces high-performance activewear for both men and women. The pieces are crafted with breathable, dynamic fabrics engineered to support comfort and movement throughout the day.

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The range includes essentials like t-shirts, sports bras, leggings, shorts, joggers, and hooded vests, all designed to embody confidence, functionality, and effortless style.

The apparel line is complemented by a curated selection of accessories such as caps, bags, bottles, and yoga mats, which combine innovative utility with minimal design, making A29 a complete wellness companion for everyday life.

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Currently, the full product range is available exclusively online at A29wellbeing.com, ensuring easy access for wellness enthusiasts across India.

A29 is founded on the belief that wellbeing is a lifestyle, not a luxury. The brand aims to move beyond simple fitness by creating a culture where design meets discipline and self-care meets simplicity.

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While activewear marks the initial step, A29’s long-term vision is expansive, extending to the creation of gyms, recovery centers, and wellness spas, alongside expert-led programs focused on nutrition and mental wellbeing.

This ambitious plan aims to build a truly holistic ecosystem of health, movement, and mindfulness.

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11 November 2025, Mumbai 

Spanish clothing giant Inditex is significantly increasing its involvement in India by acquiring an additional stake in its JV with Trent for the Zara brand.

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Inditex's shareholding in the Zara JV, known as Inditex Trent Retail India (ITRIPL), is expected to increase to 80 per cent, from its current 65 per cent.

This increase follows a buyback offer of Rs 146 crore (approximately $17.5 million USD) made by the Spanish company last week.

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Inditex already holds an 80 per cent stake in its second JV with Trent for its luxury brand, Massimo Dutti. Neither Trent nor Inditex were immediately available for comment regarding the transaction.

Inditex increased its shareholding by acquiring a 14.06 per cent stake from Trent for Rs 105.08 crore. That transaction boosted Inditex's stake from 51 per cent to 65.06 per cent, simultaneously reducing Trent’s holding from 49 per cent to 34.94 per cent.

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Separately, in the Massimo Dutti JV, Inditex had previously increased its shareholding from 51 per cent to 80 per cent in March 2025, acquiring a 29 per cent stake from Trent for Rs 20.75 crore.

Following that deal, Trent's remaining stake in the Massimo Dutti JV stands at 20 per cent.

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08 November 2025, Mumbai 

In Mumbai’s growing luxury corridor, alliances are no longer confined to boardrooms. When the Birla family, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Neerja Birla, Ananya Birla, and Aryaman Birla collaborated with the 130-year-old French maison Galeries Lafayette, it marked more than a social event.

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It was a statement of intent: that India’s luxury economy has matured from aspiration to experience. The private soirée hosted in Mumbai was less of a party and more of a strategic showcase, a carefully choreographed convergence of art, fashion, and affluence.

It reflected how India’s new generation of business dynasties is repositioning cultural capital as economic leverage in the global luxury narrative.

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The experience economy comes to life

In keeping with Galeries Lafayette’s legacy of turning retail into theatre, the event unfolded as a floor-by-floor experiential journey, each level translating a commercial category into a story.

Lower Ground Floor, La Beauté: Beauty as a prelude

Guests entered through an immersive beauty lounge where perfume, skincare, and music merged. The soft resonance of a live cello underscored the subtle message: luxury begins with mood, not merchandise.

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Ground Floor, La Coupole: Indulgence and inventory

Here, commerce glittered openly. Over 800 designer bags were displayed as if on a trading floor of aspiration. Champagne flutes and miniature desserts added an atmosphere of Parisian indulgence, signaling Galeries Lafayette’s retail philosophy that shopping is performance art.

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First Floor, L’Atelier: Creativity as capital

This level blurred the line between atelier and art gallery. Sketches, canvases, and couture pieces stood as metaphors for design-led innovation a subtle nod to the future of fashion as intellectual property, not just product.

Second Floor, L’Édition Femme: The power of the female consumer

Amid champagne and violin notes, over 250 dresses and accessories spoke to the changing center of gravity in luxury consumption, women driving purchasing decisions through discretionary income and lifestyle influence.

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Third Floor, ’Édition Homme: The tailored revival

A saxophone and whiskey bar set the tone for the men’s section, where sharp tailoring and subdued confidence symbolized how India’s male consumers are evolving from conspicuous spenders to refined investors in personal aesthetics.

Translating Paris to Mumbai

The décor across all levels was not simply aesthetic, it was brand architecture. Each floor recreated a microcosm of Galeries Lafayette’s Parisian identity, while adapting its energy to Mumbai’s youthful luxury consumers. From ornate salons evoking Paris’s Rue de la Paix to contemporary spaces mirroring the optimism of Bandra and Worli, the venue reflected how luxury brands are localizing emotion. This blend of familiarity and aspiration has become the defining strategy for foreign maisons entering India’s Rs 6,000-crore luxury retail market.

The rooftop crescendo

The evening culminated at the Turner Terrace rooftop, where a cross-cultural symphony unfolded a business metaphor in itself. Performers like Victor Espinola (harpist), Purbayan Chatterjee (sitar maestro), Suyaka Kurokichi (Japanese violinist), Satyajit Talwalkar (percussionist), and Shikhar Naad (drummer) delivered a live collaboration that fused East and West echoing the very hybrid identity Galeries Lafayette and the Birlas are scripting for Indian luxury. In a sense, the music mirrored the market: diverse, improvisational, and increasingly global.

Who attends matters

The guest list read like a who’s who of India’s creative economy. Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Aditi Rao Hydari, Arjun Kapoor, Tamannaah Bhatia, Angad Bedi, Neha Dhupia, Armaan Malik, Anuv Jain, Shankar Mahadevan, Tarun Tahiliani, and Ahaan Shetty were among those present. Their attendance underscored a key insight that luxury visibility today depends on cultural influence as much as on financial capital. For Galeries Lafayette, this was brand introduction through India’s soft power. For the Birlas, it was an evolution of image from industrial to lifestyle leadership.

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Behind the elegance lay a deeper strategic narrative. Galeries Lafayette’s collaboration with the Birlas signals its serious intent to anchor in India’s retail ecosystem, particularly after its announcement of flagship stores in Mumbai and Delhi. For the Birlas, whose retail arm Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) already represents global names like Ralph Lauren, Ted Baker, and The Collective, the partnership aligns with a broader pivot towards luxury and experiential retail.

The soirée thus doubled as a symbolic merger of markets French heritage meeting Indian growth. As India’s luxury consumption grows at nearly 10 per cent annually, such alliances suggest that global brands now view India not just as an emerging market, but as an emerging mindset.

Beyond fashion, a cultural investment

At its core, the Birla-Galeries Lafayette soirée wasn’t just a brand, activation; it was a blueprint for how India’s new luxury playbook is being written through storytelling, emotion, and curation. It blurred boundaries between art and commerce, transforming a retail showcase into a dialogue between two civilisations one known for its craftsmanship, the other for its cultural ambition. If Paris invented the department store, Mumbai is reinventing its meaning.

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