The latest fashion news and launches to know

Fashion rarely stays in one place for long. This month, the industry moves between heritage and innovation, with new launches, international expansions and cultural collaborations shaping the conversation.

INDIAN CRAFT MEETS BYZANTINE ART

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the greatest cultural institutions in the world, has joined hands with Sabyasachi, India’s leading luxury house, for a landmark multi-year collaboration. It begins with a Byzantine-inspired High Jewellery collection that will debut at a runway presentation during New York Fashion Week on September 15. Every piece in this collection will be conceived, developed, and handcrafted in India. The pieces will be available at the Sabyasachi flagship located at 160 Christopher Street in New York City’s West Village, other global Sabyasachi stores, and select specialty retailers worldwide. The multi year partnership will see the designer draw from the museum’s vast collection of more than 5,000 years of global art and cultural objects, transforming selected historical objects into contemporary luxury through Indian craftsmanship.

IN HIGH SPIRITS

Nicobar’s latest campaign, Off the Turf, celebrates the Indian Women’s Hockey Team, bringing together 19 players in a rain-soaked Bengaluru for a portrait of camaraderie. Captured between training sessions, the campaign focuses on the spirit of playing for something bigger than oneself. The celebration comes at a significant moment for the team, following gold at the FIH Nations Cup in New Zealand and silver at the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup Qualifiers in Hyderabad, with the upcoming World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands, along with the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya adding to the momentum.

HYBRID PAIR

For Louis Vuitton’s Cruise 2027 collection, Nicolas Ghesquière gives footwear a futuristic makeover. The hybrid sneaker-boot pairs steal the show in flats, block heels, with ruffles, and Keith Haring-inspired designs. The craftsmanship highlights strips of leather sewn together across these shoes in metallic shades, some solid hues, and others in playful colour-blocked styles.

GLOBAL OUTLOOK

AK|OK, the ready-to-wear label by Anamika Khanna, has launched at an exclusive shop-in-shop at Selfridges London. Called AK|OK Resort, this is the brand’s first international collection which embraces versatility, inviting the wearer to style each garment as an expression of their personality. It consists of lightweight cottons, washed linens, fluid silks, and airy knits. The colour palette of the collection is drawn from sun-faded memories: chalk, stone, sand, weathered olive, washed indigo, burnt earth, and quiet black. True to the spirit of AK|OK, the collection remains gender fluid and seasonless. The launch reinforces the brand’s vision of presenting contemporary Indian design to an international audience.

INDIA TURNS MUSE

For the first time, the Pirelli Calendar turns its lens entirely on India, presenting a portrait of the country that resists a single narrative. The 2027 edition of Cal™, titled ‘India, Beyond a Single Gaze’, marks another historic first: it brings together two distinct photographic perspectives, those of Norwegian photographer Sølve Sundsbø and Indian master Raghu Rai. Following Rai’s death, his daughter and acclaimed photographer Avani Rai stepped in to realise his vision, making the project a deeply personal continuation of his legacy. The calendar features nine prominent Indian women, including Anoushka Shankar, Rupi Kaur, Padma Lakshmi, Freida Pinto, Aditi Rao Hydari, Avantika Vandanapu, Lakshmi Menon, and Bhavitha Mandava, alongside Rai herself, as well as women from everyday life. Together, their stories, landscapes, and identities create an expansive, layered portrait of India—one shaped by contrasting yet complementary gazes.

KEEPING UP WITH SKIMS

Global loungewear and shapewear brand SKIMS, co-founded by Kim Kardashian, is set to make its India debut. In collaboration with Reliance Brands Limited, SKIMS will launch stores in Delhi and Mumbai—the brand’s first stores in Asia. The label’s collections span sculpting bodysuits, bras, underwear, leggings, dresses, sleepwear, and relaxed separates designed for a wide range of body types. “The excitement we’ve seen from our community in India has been truly incredible, and we can’t wait to welcome them in our stores for the very first time,” says Kardashian.

This article originally appeared in Harper's Bazaar India's August - September 2026 print issue.

Image credits: Courtesy of the brands

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