Rahul Mishra Fall 2026 Couture Collection

Rahul Mishra Fall 2026 Couture Collection, all images all rights reserved.

“As I looked closely at ancient Indian sculpture, I realised that jewellery often became the garment itself, carrying identity, symbolism and beauty through every detail. Couture and high jewellery share the same values of patience, precision and exceptional craftsmanship. Together with Tanishq Natural Diamonds, we sought to reinterpret this idea through contemporary high jewellery, extending the narrative of the collection while remaining rooted in India’s artistic heritage.”
— Rahul Mishra, Founder & Creative Director

By Nermin A., Editor

PARIS, FRANCE - Isha Ambani arrives to the Rahul Mishra Haute Couture Presentation at College des Bernardins, already wearing one of the latest Haute couture looks from his show titled Devi - the eternal muse, which is a hommage to the rich art and history of India, while Fan Bingbing is wearing one of the latest looks on the catwalk admired by front-row seated Cardi B, arriving on time, Lauren Santo Domingo and others, the scene is set for one of the most spectacular shows by Mishra and that tells a lot. 

DEVI reflects on the eternal muse as an idea that has travelled across centuries, continually returning to the artist’s imagination. The women who wear Rahul Mishra Couture complete that journey, transforming ideas and memories into living presence. The show allows guests to travel back in time with this collection, to observe codes of femininity documented through these sculptures, we study what makes the eternal muse. From sculpture to sculptor, Mishra and his team ask what held the sculptor’s gaze, what compelled an artisan to return to the same figure for months, even years, and how a still material is made to suggest softness and the presence of a soul.

Whether Michelangelo ever made this exact statement remains uncertain, yet the fantasy endures; of an artist standing before a block of stone and already seeing the figure within.

For Michelangelo, sculpture was a reductive act. With each strike, fragments of marble were removed with precision, revealing what he believed had existed there all along. To his belief, he was liberating those figures from stone, in a way of discovering them and not creating them.
While Michelangelo’s contribution to the Renaissance cannot be overstated, the same philosophy echoes across the Indian subcontinent centuries before his time. Within temple complexes, cave sanctuaries and monumental carvings hewn from sandstone, granite and basalt, Indian artisans transformed stone into eternal muses, dancers, apsaras, devis, celestial attendants, divine lovers and gods. Temples, once important centres of social, cultural and economic exchange, became enduring repositories of memory preserving the stories, culture and rhythms of life that shaped Indian civilisations.

Bodies meticulously emerge over temple walls depicting visual codes through posture, costume, jewellery and even mudras or hand gestures. Adorned with layered necklaces, elaborate girdles, anklets, armlets and headdresses, these figures offer some of the most intimate records of how beauty was once imagined. Clothing appears only sparingly but jewellery assumes a role of dress. Every detail contributes to identity and expression, revealing a world in which the body itself became a site for symbolism and meaning.

Haute Couture, similarly, is a parallel act of time and handwork as it is fuelled by patience and meticulous repetition. If sculpture reveals through “subtraction”, Rahul Mishra’s couture reveals through “accumulation”, thread by thread. Hand embroidery traces the contours of sandstone, basalt, soapstone and bronze sculpture to imitate their timeless beauty. Ancient embroidery techniques including zardozi and dabka are combined with stones, crystals and bugle beads to create trompe-l’œil surfaces that appear carved rather than stitched. Master craftsmen at the Rahul Mishra atelier interpret these traditions through contemporary couture in featherweight garments.

The design team collaborated with local murtikar (traditional clay artisan) Sumant Kumar to create bespoke headpieces inspired by the ceremonial crowns depicted in these ancient stone sculptures. Extending his long-standing collaboration with the house, milliner Stephen Jones created the collection’s veils and additional headpieces for the runway, bringing together two distinct craft traditions within a shared couture narrative.
The show music, composed by Jayant Luthra, features instruments such as the mridangam, ghatam, temple drums, kanjeera, manjeera, singing bowls and thavil recorded inside The Ajanta Caves (2nd Century BCE), and is built with Fibonacci compositions, a complex ancient philosophy found in music, art and architecture from the region. Beyond its cultural and spiritual significance, the music experience aims to recreate the acoustics inside those ancient caves.

Extending their partnership with Tanishq Natural Diamonds this season, we co-designed a selection of high jewellery looks featured in the show. Rather than serving as complements to the garments, each piece was conceived as an extension of the couture itself, translating embroidery, movement and narrative into sculptural jewellery. Drawing from the dialogue between architecture and nature, the creations explore fluid silhouettes, intricate gemstone artistry and exceptional craftsmanship. Uniting Tanishq’s natural diamond expertise with Rahul Mishra’s couture perspective, the collaboration celebrates a contemporary expression of Indian luxury rooted in storytelling and artisanal excellence.
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Tanishq, India’s most-loved jewellery brand from the Tata Group, has been synonymous with superior craftsmanship, exclusive designs and guaranteed product quality for over two decades. It has built for itself the enviable reputation of being the only jewellery brand in the country that strives to understand the Indian woman and provide her with jewellery that meets her traditional and contemporary aspirations and desires.
To stress its commitment to offering the purest jewellery, all Tanishq stores, along with the Diamond Expertise Centres equipped with Diamond Caratmeter, Lightscope, Karatmeter and more, enable customers to check the purity and origin of their diamonds and gold in the most efficient manner and make informed decisions.
The Tanishq retail chain currently spans 500+ exclusive boutiques across more than 300 cities. For more information, visit www.Tanishq.co.in.

EXCLUSIVE SHOE PARTNER — RENE CAOVILLA

The Maison Caovilla provided shoe as exclusive partner to the show. It was founded back in 1934 in Fiesso d’Artico, near Venice.

Rahul Mishra, the first Indian designer to be invited to showcase at Paris Haute Couture Week, was also the winner of the International Woolmark Prize in 2014. He was conferred the insignia of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in November 2023.
Rooted in the philosophy of sustainability, his work reimagines fashion as an agent of social change — fostering participation and uplifting India’s artisan communities. Through his couture house and prêt-à-porter label, AFEW Rahul Mishra, he envisions luxury not merely as consumption, but as a celebration of collective craftsmanship.
Described by Suzy Menkes as a “national treasure” and praised by the late Franca Sozzani for “highlighting the best and most peculiar features of his homeland,” Rahul’s creations resonate across cultures. With six retail stores in India and a growing global presence, his brand embodies “mindful luxury”, where purpose guides process and each garment becomes a living narrative of human hands and heritage.

 SHOW CREDITS
STYLING
MICHAEL PHILOUZE
STYLE ASSOCIATE
GAULTIER DESANDRE NAVARRE
MASTER TAILORS
SHIRLEE IDZAKOVICH, MACY IDZAKOVICH & JON SANDLER
MILLINER
STEPHEN JONES
CASTING DIRECTOR
BRICE COMPAGNON, DAVID DI GIOVANI
KEY MAKE-UP ARTIST
GIULIO PANCIERA
SPECIAL EFFECTS MAKE-UP
SABINA PINSONE
KEY HAIR ARTIST
DELPHINE COURTEILLE
NAILS
NAFISSA DJABI
SHOW MUSIC
JAYANT LUTHRA
PHOTOGRAPHY
VALERIO MEZZANOTTI / NOWFASHION
VIDEOGRAPHY
TITRE PROVISIOIRE
SET DESIGN & PRODUCTION
NAPOLEON STUDIO
PRESS
KARLA OTTO
 

One of first front row guests  Lauren Santo Domingo, Creative Director of of Tiffany & Co.’s home collection.