Redefining survival
Payal Singhal, whose occasion-wear label serves clients in India and the US, sees the slowdown as both structural and cultural. “The market is over-cluttered and the customer is confused,” she says. “If fashion weeks don’t discern between what is a designer and what is a mass brand, what are we expecting customers to do?” Going into 2026, her response is to pare back output: “We’re intentionally producing less. My benchmarks now are calm, profitability and stability—not scale.” She feels, “Only the fittest will survive. It’s not about design anymore. It’s about business structure and brand recall.”
Aneeth Arora, founder of péro, offers a different kind of resilience. Her slow, small-batch artisanal brand was among the earliest Indian firms to establish a presence in Italy and Japan, markets that are historically difficult to access. “When you build relationships over time and focus on quality, not quantity, shocks don’t affect you in the same way,” she says. Today, péro’s business is split almost evenly between India and overseas. “We’re not highly dependent on any one market.” Collaborations with Liberty London and Hello Kitty are designed to expand reach without overproduction. Anjali Patel Mehta, founder of Verandah, frames the moment as one for deliberate risk management. “I chose a more expensive, compliant structure because the world will change, and
I didn’t want to be exposed when it does.” Her company is registered in the US and operates with full local compliance.
Her conscious resort wear label retails at 140-plus global stockists, including Bergdorf Goodman and Moda Operandi in the US, without operating a single flagship store, focusing on demand-led production and long-term planning. “I won’t open a store if the math doesn’t make sense. I don’t have money for vanity projects,” she adds. Mehta notes that 2025 was a strong year for Verandah, with demand outpacing supply.
Market choice
With volatility now a constant, Indian designers are sharpening their approach to market selection, compliance and partnerships. Dhruv Kapoor, known for his modern, experimental, denim-centric brand, sees 2026 as the era that rewards consistency over expansion. “Consistency itself becomes momentum,” he says. “In a considered market, long-term relationships matter more than chasing volume.” While Western markets are “tighter and more selective,” Kapoor observes momentum building in Russia, Korea, Japan, China, Australia and the Middle East.
On January 15, Kapoor will open his first standalone store in Delhi, a deliberate investment in presence and craft as “culture is becoming increasingly digital and AI-driven.” His response, going into 2026, has been to rethink collections: “Production is more intentional now. There’s a greater focus on expanding proven bestsellers, reducing risk on new silhouettes and building modular pieces that work across seasons and markets.” Longevity, he adds, is increasingly defined by adaptability and real-life relevance.
On the luxury handloom front, restraint is often a necessity rather than a choice. Manish Saksena, business lead at the handloom-focused textile brand Aadyam Handwoven, says, “Buyers are more careful about how much they stock,” with growing pressure for just-in-time deliveries—a challenge for handmade systems built on slow, deliberate processes.
With the US a very small part of Aadyam’s business, its focus remains on Europe and a strong domestic market. “The key is working with buyers who understand our backend processes and can manage expectations around handloom,” he adds. The brand plans to expand into new artisan clusters and broaden its range across price points. Rather than signalling alarm, Saksena sees the current global slowdown as something the system will absorb over time, provided international growth is guided by alignment and education. Mehta draws a distinction between export manufacturers and designer brands. “Tariffs squeeze exporters on low-margin, high-volume models. But designer brands, if they know their customer and control production, can still sell—even with tighter margins.” The pressure, she says, lies less in demand than in “compliance, legislation and the cost of doing business. Demand is selective, not absent.” She describes diversification as survival, not ambition. “Putting all your eggs in one market doesn’t make sense anymore,” Mehta says. “The world is too volatile for that.”
New intentional customer
Perhaps the most consequential shift is in consumer behaviour. Designers describe buyers who are more deliberate, patient and discerning than ever. “Interest hasn’t vanished but behaviour has changed,” Singhal stresses. NRI clients are finding ways to work around tariffs—rerouting shipments or waiting longer—rather than abandoning purchases. In 2026, Indian fashion is learning that visibility does not always translate into viability. The year ahead will favour those who can turn presence into practice, and intention into sustainable business.