With a unique creative inheritance, stretching back thousands of years, it is also rapidly making the future – its designers ravishingly original in responding to the creative tensions between Indian and Western, traditional and modern, lavish ornamentation and minimal fashion. Cities such as Mumbai, and its Lakmé Fashion Week, and Delhi are fashion destinations on the world map and are increasingly joined by Pune and Bangalore.

Across India an astonishing range of young fashion designers have seized opportunities provided by fashion shows and the expanding market for boutiques and online retail. In this first systematic overview of the whole phenomenon, the emphasis on the achievements of such young designers as Rahul Mishra, Aneeth Arora and Ruchika Sachdeva is accompanied by the visually vibrant designs of the superstars of Indian fashion – Manish Aurora, J. J. Valaya, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla among them.

Each chapter begins with a general introduction, followed by profiles of the designers interwoven with interviews conducted by the author specially for this book. A wide range of garments, from luxury bridal and ethnic formal wear to contemporary interpretations of the sari, can be seen, as well as the various textiles and techniques used to make them, from traditional craft, including handloom weaving and colour-resist dyed silk, intricate embroidery and appliqué as well as cutting-edge fabrication and construction methods.

Brimming with scintillating illustrations, this mould-breaking and informed account is written by a fashion insider who knows India intimately. It will be essential reading for students of fashion and design, industry buyers, and all contemporary fashion enthusiasts.