MUMBAI — Gaurav Gupta returned to the spotlight in India, staging his biggest runway show to date last weekend.

The designer, who has become a red-carpet favorite from the Met Gala to the Oscars, unveiled his first Indian bridal couture collection with all the grandeur of an Indian wedding. With the country’s $130 billion wedding industry heading into what is projected to be its biggest season yet, the show marked a strategic move for a label that has built a global reputation for avant-garde couture.

The Mumbai spectacular was held at Jio World Convention Centre, the same venue as the opulent Ambani wedding that made global headlines last year. The show featured dramatic sets and lavish tablescaping that reflected the theatrical scale that defines Indian luxury. Live musicians and traditional dancers entertained guests in the pre-event space, creating an immersive experience that blurred the lines between fashion show and opulent wedding festivity.

“Parisian couture is about perfection, presenting fantasy for exclusive clientele,” Gupta explained. “Indian couture is about emotion, dressing real women for their most important moments. In Paris, we create dreams. In India, we create memories.”

The collection, titled “Quantum Engagement,” featured over 80 looks, including a 10-piece bridal segment marking Gupta’s formal entry into Indian bridalwear for the first time. Rich vermillion red lehengas, the equivalent of a three-piece ballgown, shimmered with over 60,000 bugle beads and embedded Preciosa crystals, while pastel creations featured 3D embroidery and ombré beadwork. The collection used handwoven silk brocades from Varanasi, paired with French Chantilly lace reimagined into his signature sculptural forms.

The show also debuted a collaboration with René Caovilla, the footwear brand’s first with an Indian designer. The seven-piece footwear capsule reimagines three of the brand’s signature styles with Indian textiles. A spokesperson for the Venetian brand described it as “a tribute to the dialogue between two artistic worlds.” The collection will be in select René Caovilla boutiques and online in January.

Gupta’s timing aligns with a demographic shift as Gen Z weddings increasingly drive India’s luxury wedding market. This generation, more experimental and globally minded than their predecessors, embraces non-traditional colors, like his signature electric blues, and architectural draping over traditional bridal looks.

India’s marriage-obsessed culture is a deep market for luxury fashion. One of the country’s most famed stylists, Anaita Shroff Adajania, explained that modern brides view their wedding wardrobe as an extension of their personal brand, seeking unique looks that will translate across social media platforms. Known for her work in film with the biggest Bollywood celebrities, Adajania is increasingly working with brides to style their entire wedding looks.

“Now brides are very clear on their looks and they want very different looks for each of their moments across the celebration,” she said. “Each bride is making their own fashion film in a way. We are the stylist and the directors of the film.”

Red Carpet Favorite

Gupta’s India show exemplified the unique symbiosis between fashion and Bollywood on the runway. Bollywood stars Janhvi Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra were “showstoppers” who came out at the very end of the show, dressed as a Gaurav Gupta bride and groom. The two stars have a combined Instagram following of 60 million, ensuring wide amplification of the moment.

Gupta’s global ascent has been meteoric in the last three years, but behind that has been nearly two decades of methodical brand building in India. L.A.-based creative consultant Hema Bose of Maison Bose has been working with Gupta to amplify the messaging to global audiences since 2019.

“Gaurav represents a new generation of Indian designers who refuse to be exoticised or put in a box,” she said. “Each placement, runway, and campaign is a deliberate move in a 360-degree play of storytelling, shaping a global luxury brand from India that speaks with authority on the world stage and reframes the narrative of contemporary Indian fashion.”

Stylist Eric Archibald created Megan Thee Stallion’s first Oscars look, dressing her in Gaurav Gupta. “She deserved a look that would stop the world,” he said. “Gaurav’s sculptural yet fluid aesthetic gave her regal power and cinematic drama.” Tara Swennen, who styled Allison Janney in Gupta for the 2024 Emmy Awards, told WWD, “His pieces are masterpieces. I go to Gaurav Gupta for the drama.”

For Gupta, doing an Indian bridal collection is part of a larger brand story that fits with the current moment he is in. “A lot of my Middle Eastern clients come to Paris, but take my Indian silhouette pieces and develop them into their silhouettes. And sometimes my Indian clients are taking references from my Paris couture collections.”

Gupta’s business operates on a demanding schedule, producing 10 collections annually across India couture, Paris couture, menswear, and ready-to-wear. The brand has expanded to 25 global stockists including Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Moda Operandi and Harrods, with menswear representing 30 to 35 percent of his Indian business.

What sets Gupta apart is his refusal to be pigeonholed. “I don’t see myself as an Indian designer making Indian clothes,” he has said. “I see myself as a designer who happens to be from India, creating luxury that speaks to universal human experiences.”

He added: “I’ve taken the maximalism and emotion of India to the world. My work has all the embroidery, the techniques that have been in our culture for generations. I am trying to change the perception of what Indian means.”

In India, Gupta has spent two decades pushing boundaries — when he launched 20 years ago, he was known for what he described as the “sexy sarees,” creating gowns inspired by the traditional draping of fabric. Now he is opening the mindset to sculptural wedding silhouettes. “Sometimes I do feel I am playing table tennis with Indian cultural mind frame,” he said. “It’s about how much can I push the boundary?”

For Gupta, the Mumbai showcase represented a calculated business evolution after two decades of shifting perceptions. The global fame has helped fuel that. “There’s that India pride when they see Beyoncé wearing us. It’s becoming a movement, and everybody wants to be a part of it. People are more excited to consume the brand within India,” he reflected.