COS Finally Comes To India
The global cult brand meets modern India as it finally opens doors in Delhi
For years, COS has existed in the suitcases of returning travellers. It has existed in the alleys of Seoul, the bricked walls of Milan, and the overcrowded shopping streets in London.
Before, COS was a discovery, a treasure you had to hunt down abroad. But now, that’s about to change. This autumn, the cult Swedish brand finally opens its first store in India—200 square metres of clean lines and elevated essentials, tucked into Delhi’s Select CityWalk.
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And honestly, it’s about time.
From Cult Favourite to Fashion Week Headliner
If there was any doubt about COS’s recent global dominance, New York Fashion Week put it to rest. Sandwiched between heavyweights like Ralph Lauren and Coach, the H&M-owned label commanded attention with a 47-look show that was nothing short of a masterclass. Brutalist set, muted palette, coats that pooled with quiet drama—this was minimalism with muscle. The front row was filled with Naomi Watts, Jodie Turner-Smith, Lauryn Hill.
But that’s always been COS’s power move. Founded in London in 2007, it became the thinking person’s answer to fast fashion: timeless pieces that are made with quality materials and a modern sensibility. Where H&M is about speed, COS is about permanence. You don’t throw away a COS coat after a season—you live in it.
Karin Gustafsson and Why COS Fits In India
Few people embody the brand better than Karin Gustafsson, COS’s design director. She’s the face of the brand’s ethos: minimal, functional, quietly striking. Gustafsson joined COS back in 2006, straight out of the Royal College of Art, and has spent nearly two decades refining its vision of effortless, elevated style.
“It’s never been boring for me, because there’s always something happening,” she said during her recent India trip. “Each season feels like new and I’m still enjoying it.”
On paper, minimalism feels like an odd fit for India—a country that thrives on opulence, sparkle, and maximalist self-expression. But COS is not about being plain; it’s about letting craft, cut, and fabric do the talking. Its pieces are quietly flamboyant with texture, cleverly extravagant with detail. And in a cultural moment where “quiet luxury” has replaced logo mania, India feels more than ready.
The line of COS blurs gender, season, and trend—something that resonates with today’s Indian shoppers as much as with COS’s loyal global community of architects, designers, and creatives.
The New Local Ritual
Will COS in Delhi stop Indian shoppers from hunting down stores abroad? Unlikely. Half the fun of travel is stumbling into a COS in Milan or Hong Kong, running your hands along rows of sculptural dresses and perfectly cut trousers. But the arrival of COS in India means something different: a recognition that the country is ready to play host, not just spectator, in the global fashion conversation.
Delhi locals will get first dibs—the brand won’t be available online in India just yet—and prices will be on par with London. More stores will follow, but for now, this feels like a landmark moment.
So yes, it’s time for COS to settle in, quietly but confidently, into Indian wardrobes. And we can’t wait for it.