Gaurav Gupta: The designer reshaping India’s global fashion story

With almost two decades of experience, Gaurav Gupta is a shaper of India’s global fashion narrative, though in many ways his journey is only just beginning.

If Gaurav Gupta had to write his own epitaph, he says it would read: “I did it my way.” There’s a touch of Sinatra swagger to the statement, but in Gupta’s case, it’s less about bravado than survival. With nearly two decades in fashion, he has carved out a language so distinct that a Gaurav Gupta silhouette is instantly recognisable: sculptural gowns that ripple like liquid, sari dresses that coil across the body, and futuristic tailoring that still bows to hand embroidery. He calls his style “future, primitive”, and it is one that has found global acceptance, with his designs retailing at leading multi-brand department stores across the world. Earlier this year, in a collaboration with the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, Gupta created a five-piece edit rich with micro crystals, micro glass beads, and intricate micro bead embroidery. There is no question: Gaurav Gupta is an Indian label with global outreach. He has done what many Indian designers dream of.

In many ways, Gupta’s story mirrors India’s own slow but sure ascent in the global fashion narrative. Two decades ago, India was still more often invoked as the anonymous backroom of the luxury system: embroideries fo French maisons were outsourced, and most European luxury houses relied on India’s textile tradition, yet it was the industry’s best-kept secret. So, when Gupta walked into the Paris Couture Week schedule in 2023, he wasn’t just marking a personal milestone; he was staking a claim for India on fashion’s most exclusive stage, joining Rahul Mishra as the only other Indian designer on the official schedule. The two are now often spoken of as the twin flagbearers of South Asian couture on the global stage. “I always knew I wanted a global platform,” Gupta says. “People would tell me from the beginning that my work was suited for international audiences. But Paris Couture felt like the right moment. We had done 15 years of couture in India, honed the craft, and it was time.”

Only a carefully selected number of maisons make the official schedule as entry is tightly controlled, with the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode acting as gatekeeper. For an Indian designer, the symbolism was enormous: India was no longer just supplying embellishments for gowns by European luxury houses; it was showcasing its own. Paris also gave Gupta something else: positioning. “The prestige, the visibility, the infrastructure to be seen as truly global.” The effect was immediate. Buyers and press who might never have flown to Delhi were suddenly front row, and his pieces began appearing in windows far beyond India. Today, Gaurav Gupta is stocked at Neiman Marcus, Harrods, and Moda Operandi.

For years, India’s relationship with global fashion was paradoxical: it was everywhere and nowhere. Luxury depended on its ateliers for embroidery, beadwork, and embellishment—but rarely acknowledged those crafts beyond the fine print. Gupta, part of a generation of designers who came of age in the early 2000s, refused to accept invisibility. He believed Indian design could stand on its own terms, not just as a service industry for Europe.

A graduate of Central Saint Martins, Gupta’s debut collection at Lakme India Fashion Week in 2006 already revealed a rebel. Drawing inspiration from designers like Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood, he charted his own path—one that was Indian at heart but still felt very international. It gave a new language to fashion in India. His early collections in Delhi and Mumbai showed a taste for the avant-garde—architectural forms, abstract draping, and a deliberate move away from convention.

While other Indian couture designers speak in terms of craft and sustainability, Gupta focuses on shape, form, and silhouette, confident that responsibility is inherent in couture. “By definition, couture is sustainable. It’s made-to-order, it’s crafted by hand, and it’s meant to last generations. I believe in investment pieces, clothes that can be returned to again and again, not disposable fashion.”

What sets Gupta apart is his ability to translate Indian craft into a futuristic idiom. His gowns may resemble liquid metal or alien forms, but they are built on the oldest techniques: zardozi and aari embroidery are always present in his collections. “The techniques are centuries old,” he says. “I just give them a new language.” This fusion of past and future has made him a favourite for women seeking individuality. His clothes don’t just dress a body; they sculpt it, exaggerate curves, create movement, and sometimes seem to defy gravity. They are less garments than wearable architecture, instantly photogenic in an age where fashion lives and dies on the screen.

And then there’s his iconic sari gown: “I’ve always believed that the sari is the most fluid, timeless garment”, he says, recalling that his second collection introduced his first concept sari, and from there came the silhouettes that became synonymous with the sari gown. Born in 2010, around the time Gaurav Gupta first stepped onto the India Couture Week calendar, he recalls: “I was working with French Chantilly lace, embroidering the blouse and stitching the saree, and I just thought, let’s put it together. And it just happened. Since then, I think the sari gown has become a staple in every designer’s collection and every Indian girl’s wardrobe.” He adds cheekily, “Sometimes I see cheap versions in a market or on a TV serial and think, what have I done?” But to Gupta, the sari gown is a testament to how the Indian sari as a silhouette adapts and stays alive: “Where else in the world do you have an ancient garment that remains the most definitive piece of clothing for a country?” However, according to veteran stylist Gautam Kalra, who styled many of Gupta’s shows in India, Gupta brought more than drape to the sari. “First we had Tarun Tahiliani, the master of drape, and then came Gaurav. His use of boning and structure gave Indian draping a global voice—it was something entirely new.”

Today, the sari gown—whether Gupta’s signature take, Rahul Mishra’s interpretation, or even Chanel’s—has been embraced by a growing roster of international celebrities. It’s a testament to the garment’s universal appeal: a centuries-old Indian silhouette reimagined for the global red carpet. Gupta reflects on how his work is perceived internationally: “It’s like Suzy Menkes—I remember she came to my store in Mumbai, and she was really impressed, and she said that it’s all really beautiful, but it doesn’t seem very Indian. And I’m like, ‘Okay, I wanted to really sit down and have a serious conversation.’ You know, the thing is, for me, I was born to tickle brains, to kind of tickle notions and perceptions.”

When asked why Indian designers often look to the West, Gupta rejects the notion that it stems from a colonial hang-up. Instead, he sees it as a strategic engagement: “To change the order, you have first to become part of it. Hollywood is very powerful. America and certain European countries hold immense soft power. One becomes part of that order to kind of change it, to bring about a shift.” For him, dressing global celebrities isn’t vanity—it’s deliberate. “Fashion is about visibility. A single image can reach millions in seconds. Whether we like it or not, it matters. It’s not just kowtowing to the West; it’s participating in a system that allows Indian design to be seen and respected.”

Gupta’s career demonstrates that while the West may set the rules, designers like him can rewrite them—proving that innovation, craft, and cultural identity from the Global South can claim the same global stage as centuries-old European maisons.  Says Kalra, “What makes Gaurav special is the way he combines boning with Indian textile craft and embroidery. That balance can only happen in India, with the incredible skill of our artisans. It’s distinctive, beautiful, commercial, and timeless designs that can be passed down for generations. I always knew it would be a matter of time for the world will truly see him for the original he is.”

Gupta’s designs have found particular resonance with women seeking drama yet modernity. No Indian designer has his track record of celebrity dressing: Cardi B at the Grammys, Sharon Stone in sculptural silver at Cannes, Megan Thee Stallion coiled in midnight blue, and Beyoncé whom he dressed three times during her Renaissance tour. Gupta sees investment in celebrity dressing as a brilliant strategy. “Fashion is about visibility. A single image can reach millions in seconds.”

Madonna remains on his wish list, as does Shabana Azmi: “I have been wanting to dress her for 20 years. In fact, I should just make her a sari.” Of course, his real muse is his long-term partner and well-known poetess Navkirat Sodhi, whom he first met in high school, and with whom he has collaborated numerous times. She also closed his last Paris Couture show. “The putting together of poetry and fashion is unusual, but there is something so liberating. Both of these media are about soul searching.” According to her, Gupta’s magic “is that he makes anything happen. He refuses to hear ‘no’.”

Last June, Gupta was meant to present his fourth Paris collection. Instead, tragedy struck: a fire accident left Gupta hospitalised with hand injuries and Sodhi in a critical condition in intensive care. The show was cancelled, replaced by an intimate showroom presentation and a short film. “There was not a second he wasn’t by my side; he was so sure of my recovery, and doctors never told him how bad the situation was, as they knew he would accept it.” Navkirat’s recovery was a miracle. “He became a medical expert, looking at every report like a NASA station.” Sodhi, a long-time practitioner of meditation and mindfulness, remembers times when she was ready to give up but never him. Says Gupta, “Navkirat literally has divine light inside her.”

For Gupta, this moment forced a reset. “It’s made me more intuitive and more focused,” he reflects. “I don’t know how to put it, somehow it’s made me easier. It’s taken away a lot of the edge, the unnecessary stress of everyday living. Because you’re so grateful for life. I’m grateful for miracles.” That brush with fragility didn’t dampen his ambition; if anything, it clarified it. Gupta returned to work leaner, sharper, and more determined to build something lasting. The experience reinforced his core belief: fashion should be about meaning, not just spectacle. And you can see a new soul in his work.

Next year marks 20 years since Gupta launched his eponymous label. “Twenty years have felt like a blink with GG because he hasn’t let the light fade for a single moment. Even his dreams are full of movement and charisma.” says Sodhi. “It’s phenomenal to watch his journey, the body of his work, and the fact that he still has the fire he had when he was 14—it baffles me and inspires me as a fellow creative,” she added.

Perhaps that’s why, almost two decades in, Gupta chose 2025 to stage his first dedicated bridal show. For an Indian designer, it was almost counterintuitive—bridal is the bedrock of the business, most start there. Gupta did the opposite: he built an avant-garde couture vocabulary first, then circled back to bridal once his language was fully formed. “I didn’t want to enter the full world of bridal until I knew I could do it my way,” he says. Gupta may be looking to expand globally (and is currently planning to open a showroom and atelier in Paris). Still, he is deeply proud of his Indian heritage and plans to expand his retail base in India too.

He is reflective but restless. “What I’m proud of is that we’ve built a language of our own. When someone sees a Gaurav Gupta piece, they recognise it instantly. To create an identity that’s global yet rooted in where we come from—that’s everything.” It is a landmark, but there is still much more to do. “Let’s not forget the industry in India as a whole is young. Look at fashion week here—it’s just 25 years old. That’s the age of a young person.”

—By Sujata Assomull

—Styling: Gaurav Gupta  

—Photo: Abhishek Khandelwal