As design Indianises, new careers open up
Indian designers are increasingly integrating traditional cultural aesthetics and functional techniques into modern design disciplines. This shift marks a departure from colonial-era European minimalism, reclaiming indigenous methods as a foundation for contemporary innovation.
Why it matters
It highlights a significant cultural and economic shift in the global design industry as non-Western perspectives gain prominence and redefine modern standards.
At the Paris Haute Couture Week this year, acclaimed Indian fashion designer Rahul Mishra made ancient Indian temples come alive on the runway. In his collection “Devi: The Eternal Muse” – ancient Indian temple forms came alive through raised, three-dimensional embroidery.
Unlike the norm, the thread work did not just embroider the fabric surface, it created strength and scaffolding to hold up the form itself. Embroidery was not superimposed on a western garment, it became the structure, the spine. This moment captures a larger phenomenon underway in Indian design. Across fashion, products, graphics, automotive, animation and interiors, Indian designers are treating our native cultures as a source of ideas, methods and perhaps – an emerging design identity.
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