BY CHIARA DI LEO

Rahul Mishra’s 2026 collection

As Rahul Mishra himself stated: “My work thrives on nowness, what feels relevant today, yet it is grounded in tradition. We start with centuries-old techniques and give them space to evolve. A 200-year-old embroidery may become a silhouette that feels like the future. People call it a break from tradition; I see it as expansion. We honour every stitch’s lineage but refuse to let it stand still. By seeking newness from within history, we keep tradition alive and dynamic for a global audience.” These words perfectly capture his design philosophy and set the stage for his latest creation, “Devi, the Eternal Muse,” his Fall 2026 couture collection.

Based in New Delhi, Mishra recently emerged as a world-renowned couturier, most notably becoming the first Indian designer invited to show at Paris Haute Couture Week. His collection is deeply connected to his heritage, and it is evident how antique Indian sculpture influenced all the dresses presented on the runway. This collection was born from a deep and conscious reflection on sculpture: just as Michelangelo did many centuries later, ancient Indian artistic and spiritual philosophy viewed sculpting as a reductive act, where you remove excess stone to free the subject. Long before the Italian Renaissance, inside sacred temples, artisans used to transform blocks of sandstone, granite, and basalt into eternal muses, devis, and celestial dancers. We can surely affirm that those artisans, and now Mishra, and specifically their works, are enduring repositories of memory. Mishra is inspired by the sculptures located in the temples of his native country, but views his art more through “accumulation”, threads that, embroidered one with another, build a three-dimensional figure.

Throughout his life, he has also been very close to the feminine side of his family and deeply connected to the concept of Shakti (the feminine force), which he wants to represent through his work. These beautiful works of art, after their debut in Paris, were presented triumphantly at India Couture Week 2026. Thanks to reports from Asian News International, we can further understand these masterpieces. The garments are made with a famous Rahul Mishra embroidery technique called ektaarka. It is this micro-embroidery that makes the dresses three-dimensional and gives them a sculpted stone texture. “Carved in thread” is the expression Mishra uses to describe his work. Blogs like Reet Lifestyle, which have covered the designer, raise an interesting question: Is there a line between a dress and an art costume in haute couture? The answer could be a resounding no, as Mishra’s couture is museum-worthy, and the dresses presented on both runways are wearable masterpieces.