Coming from a lawyer family, my first exposure to handloom was not through fashion – it was through the black and white uniform my father would hastily put on every morning. Every six months, Appachu (grandfather) would buy meters of white Khadi and have it tailored into shirts for my father to wear to court. One whiff of the starched white shirts would shake me off my sleep and there started my day.
Walking into the Akaaro flagship store at Ballard estate, every brand at display had a distinct story up their sleeve. From Chennai-based mens-wear brand CRCLE, to the Lucknow based brand Salooka, five young design voices share the space with the onus of continuing evolution of Handmade in India. Conceptualised by social impact organisation Save The Loom and design brand Akaaro, V: NEXT is also a by-product of a long standing friendship between the two brands, “we are all believers of a larger similar idea,” shares Akaaro founder Gaurav Jai Gupta.
With its inaugural edition now at the Akaaro flagship in Mumbai from September 30th to October 4th, 2026, this initiative brings together five handpicked design brands every alternate month; and will run for five days.
The Idea
“There is a significant gap between discovering young design talent and helping that talent build a sustainable design business. India has platforms that can give an emerging designer a moment of visibility — a runway, a competition, a pop-up or an exhibition — but there are far fewer opportunities that help them understand what comes next,” says Save The Loom founder Ramesh Menon. At its inception, every new brand is faced with establishing themself in the market, and more importantly establishing an operating flow that will optimize its return on investments. This is what V: NEXT attempts to address, “we want to create a more sustained pathway between being discovered and building a presence in the market,” says Menon.
When asked about what they look for in the brands they collaborate with, Akaaro founder Gaurav Jai Gupta is firm on one thing — a brand that is transparent, strong, and grounded in its process. “All of this is largely missing from Indian fashion in terms of compensation. And right now, the discourse is more about storytelling, theatrics. I personally think it’s very gimmicky,” says Gupta. He questions the opulent visual stimulation that retail has to offer today, and stresses that mere conversations about sustainability and recycling is not enough. “We are beating the same drums. We need to move the conversation forward… I do think retail is very stereotypical, it is a very plasticised way of looking at fashion,” pointed out Gupta.
I also got the opportunity to interact with the five young designers who are now at the helm of this initiative.
CRCLE – founded by Varshne B
It is with childlike wonder that I listened to founder Varshne B explain the various traditional crafts her brand works with. “We work with kala cotton khadi denims, handwoven Korai Grass from Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu to make bags; hand woven cotton fabrics from Chennimalai, Tamil Nadu; to name a few of our hand crafts materials we use. We also incorporate crochet, embroidery, and natural dyeing to our pieces,” shares Varshne. She also shares how the brand recently worked with a new plant based material — Weganool (nool in tamil stands for thread), which is made from blending organic cotton with the Calotropic plant.
LeelaLer – founded by Shaila Nambiar
Walking into the store, the first segment that grabs your attention is LeelaLer’s Sensory Station with a mix of materials ranging from regenerative fibres like Vaidehi (brown cotton from Maharashtra), to compostable elastics made from natural rubber. “Our own composting tests have shown natural breakdown in approximately eight months, without leaving harmful residues behind…For us, tradition is not a fixed aesthetic; it is a form of material intelligence that can inform new ways of making,” shares Nambiar. The brand also supports rural employment by creating a connected system where all stakeholders remain part of the same material cycle.
Mouli – co-founded by Ruchi and Indrajit De
With an abundance of nostalgia driven products in the market, Mouli makes it clear that they are “less interested in preserving them as objects of nostalgia than in understanding what they can become in today’s lifestyle.” This motto is rather evident in the brand’s integration of the traditional Kheta embroidery in day-to-day products. What matters to the brand is not the individual parts of a process, but rather the whole – how material, technique, craftsmanship, and design come together in balance in an expression of “love, rigour, and companionship.”
Paiwand – Ashita Singhal
It is with an equal fascination that I saw the brand’s bestseller, an organza kimono with upcycled embroidery float on the racks. With even the name Paiwand, loosely translating to patch or repair; the brand aims at transforming remnants to constantly push the boundaries of what it means to upcycle. From braided neckpieces to coasters, repair is not seen as a limitation but is rather weaved carefully into its design language itself; giving it an experimental edge that the youth of now are constantly adopting.
Salooka – Subhangi
Placed strategically at the intersection of age-old embroidery techniques and boxy silhouettes, Subhangi’s brand aims to open up new avenues for the artisans. “Because right now Chikankari is concentrated. In the ethnic women’s wear space. But when you open another avenue. It just gives another market to the craft cluster,” said Subhangi. She also pointed out how they are reviving techniques such as Daraz and Hathkati traditionally used to ornament the construction of the garment.
For the Handloom Lover,
It is with wonder that I also heard the story of a twelve-year old customer who visited the store the other day. Representing a generation that has been born into a climate crisis, she encompassed what is truly needed to fight this glaring monster. Awareness, and the right people. Menon and Gupta couldn’t agree more. “The body of work done by everybody in the last 15 years, probably is the next phase. Now there is more maturity, the audience is there, and people understand,” shares Gupta. “The young designers in V: NEXT are not simply preserving traditional practices; they are questioning them, adapting them and finding new contexts for them. That, in many ways, is where the Gandhian idea becomes contemporary,” said Menon.
For a middle class household in India, handloom may mean a static uniform; for a twelve-year-old, handloom may be something her mother introduces her to on weekends. It is this shifting relationship with handloom that challenges the assumptions often made about today’s youth. Add to that a platform that actively champions the evolution of handloom, and you have the beginnings of what could be the next chapter in its story.
