Menswear Took the Front Seat at Lakmé Fashion Week 2026

Menswear is no longer waiting for its turn to shine at Indian fashion weeks. At this year’s Lakmé Fashion Week x FDCI 2026 held in Mumbai, menswear labels not only opened the season, it became a space witnessing growing interest from designers—those levelling up their game, new entrants, and even women designing menswear. This year’s showcase is only a glimpse into what we can expect from menswear going forward.

It signals that fashion for Indian men is no longer restricted to a three-piece suit or a crisp white T-shirt and denim look. Instead, it is speaking a new language—one that reflects a risk-taking, style-conscious man who is unafraid to experiment with his personal style and embrace what resonates with him fashionably.

Unlike previous seasons where menswear appeared sporadically, this edition delivered a notable density of strong menswear moments. From The Boy Club opening the week to Kartik Research making its Indian runway debut, and Payal Pratap launching her menswear line, men clearly had the most fun with layered silhouettes, Korai grass man purses, diamond studded socks, embroidered denim, and Supima corsets and more. Here’s what menswear designers brought to the runway all the best menswear looks to get inspired by:

The Boys' Club

The Boys' Club opening at Lakme Fashion Week brought four distinct menswear voices into focus. From Countrymade's sharp meditation on menswear that echoes the past, present, and what remains, to Vivek Karunakaran's mundus, sheer bombers and temple gold jewellery spotted on men, menswear surely got its moment. Moreover, Dhruv Vaish leaned into utility with leather bags, long shorts and chunky boots, while Sahil Aneja closed the runway with colour-led accents through socks, bags, sunglasses and a deliberate flash of pink.

Amit Aggarwal

The designer sharpened his signature tension between fluidity and structure, letting sculptural drapes collide with cleanly tailored blazers and bombers that felt controlled and deliberate.

Payal Pratap

Making her menswear debut by looking inward and inspired by her mother's garden, Payal Pratap created space for menswear in her collection that revealed itself in inky blues of denim shaped by cyanotype experiments, punctuated with sharp pops of red and olive. Denim is treated with a lighter hand, finished with crochet, patchwork and block prints while the brand's womenwear sensibilities slipped seamlessly into menswear.

AK| OK

Anamika Khanna built the menswear collection on a refreshing premise of perfection being overrated. The clothes favoured ease, sharp tailoring saw itself letting go into fluid drapes and silhouettes. The menswear looks reflected versatility, adaptable separates and leaned into comfort over perfection.

Kartik Research

Kartik Research's India runway debut at Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI is understated in the best way. Fresh off the success of showcasing internationally, the collection for men revealed comfort in handmade processes with layers, clashing textures and patchworks doing the heavy lifting. Embroidery was placed exactly where it needed to be and print appeared in restraint.

Crcle

The Circular Challenge Winner, eco-conscious brand CRCLE made debut as all menswear label that's craft-led, emotional and rooted in community. The collection showcased conscious sustainable pieces like Weganool shorts and jackets embroidered and quilted khadi denims and Korai grass man-purses.

Line Outline

Centred in the geometry of the city, the collection balanced clean cuts and architectural lines with lived in finishes like washed denim, raw edges and laser cuts, while modular layers. scarves and tasselled details added movement and adaptability.

Taarini Anand

The label treated Ajanta Caves beyond its mythological connotations this season. Instead, it used it as a reference to create layered pigments and carved forms to translate the archeological heritage site into knit-led winter looks.

Anurag Gupta

Anurag Gupta challenged the conventional silhouette through bold shapes that were dialed up in scale with natural fibres and engineered using plasma technology.