Femina and Grazia Fashion Runway East 2026: Inside the Shows Celebrating Contemporary Couture and the Nostalgia of Heritage

The Femina and Grazia Fashion Runway East 2026 held in Kolkata over the weekend, brought together designers, institutions and craft communities for a showcase that honoured Indian heritage, while reinterpreting it through contemporary design and sustainability, showcasing an overall future-oriented evolution of fashion.

J.D. Birla Institute presented Threads of India - A Journey Through Heritage, exploring four distinctive Indian textile traditions: Jamdani, Indigo, Gamcha and Ajrakh. The collection moved from the delicate motifs and intricate craftsmanship of Bengal's Jamdani to the checks and stripes of the everyday Gamcha, along with the geometric artistry of Ajrakh. The skill of weavers, dyers, printers and artisans was the real star of the show, exploring how heritage can continue to evolve through modern fashion.

House of Indus by Indu Kapil came next; Kapil, a NIFT graduate, hails from a background with Fine Arts and a decade working under Sabyasachi. His eponymous house works with Indian embroidery, regional weaving and artisanal techniques. Its collection Back to the Roots made use of its skillset to explore craftsmanship as memory and identity. painting heritage as not ancient, but as something that lives in the present.

INSD Kolkata presented NAVAROOPA, a collection exploring the many dimensions of womanhood through nine distinct looks. The concept examined a woman's inherent ability to reinvent herself while remaining connected to her past. Each look represented another emotion, strength or contradiction, eventually coming together in the final ensemble. The show was put together by 21 student designers under the mentorship of Vandana Gupta, founder of the Vandana Gupta label and Master Mentor at INSD Kolkata with actress Sayantika Banerjee served as the showstopper.

Label Forever Naveen Kumar, was up next, bringing its collection Shine Brighter Than the Night - Inspired by Rachika Suresh Pageantry, to the runway. Known for his work across major Indian and international fashion platforms, is particularly recognised for his proficiency with feather wings and hand-worked sequin costumes - this collection too, placed sequins at the centre of an indulgent aesthetic. Rachika Suresh, a model and daughter of a farmer who has walked runways across 20 Indian states and represented India at the Cannes International Film Festival 2026, served as the showstopper.

Also part of the inspiring lineup was Rural Craft and Cultural Hubs, a UNESCO initiative implemented in partnership with the Department of MSME and Government of West Bengal, presenting a sustainable fashion collection during the pre-finale. 22 traditional sarees from West Bengal were featured, alongside accessories and bags made from natural fibres such as grass and reed. Besides the obvious showcase, the goal was to draw attention to the livelihoods and stories of women and young artisans involved in these practices, highlighting the necessarily sustainable route fashion must take today.

Then came Aristocrat, led by entrepreneur, designer and Managing Director Rohit More, alongside finance head and Director Naina More. Their presentation explored the intersection of functionality and fashion, the silhouettes representing comfort and character. Actress Nusrat Jahan served as the showstopper.

Finally, Sandip Jaiswal presented RED × BLACK - THE HERITAGE OF TOMORROW, drawing on the designer and stylist's nearly two decades of experience and memories.

The collection used red and black to evoke nostalgia through references to old photographs, vintage cinema and ancestral wardrobes and forgotten craftsmanship using embroidery choices like Kantha and handloom to reinterpret retro-inspired silhouettes and textures, offering innovative insight on reinventing the past for the present.