So, you’ve read by now that South Asian fashion is booming! Well, that’s not quite news — for decades, designers and jewellers from the subcontinent have been shaping the very look and fit of fashion, and your favourite European houses have been quietly producing their collections across the region. What is new, however, is the current wave of designers who are readdressing their South Asian heritage and bringing their unique perspectives to the global fashion landscape. Some of them are newcomers, others have been quietly building their independent businesses for years. And yes, they’re all tired of talking about the sari.
Here’s British Vogue’s guide to the South Asian designers who want to bring contemporary design and spellbinding craft techniques to your wardrobe, wherever you’re from.
Margene
London-based duo Aditi Sahoo and Kewal Gala have an impressive CV: time at Phoebe Philo, Burberry, JW Anderson and Marc Jacobs. The couple met in student halls while studying at Central Saint Martins and bonded over their shared backgrounds – Sahoo grew up in Delhi, while Gala grew up in Bombay. In 2023, they launched Margene, a ready-to-wear label considered for the woman with a refined eye for travel, interiors and design. Naturally, they started with the perfect pair of wide-leg trousers.
Their label is named after the tailoring ‘margin’, referring to the extra seam allowances built into garments in India and Savile Row to allow for subtle changes over time. However, as their CVs suggest, Margene is a label rooted in experimental design: jackets with sculptural flyaway collars, jersey tanks draped like dupattas, shredded-organza embroideries on sandals and bandeaus, military shirting with sculpted silhouettes. Already, the label has earned chic fans: stylist Isabelle Kountoure, poet Jess Cole, photographer Indigo Lewin. It’s one to watch for fans of elevated, directional minimalism.
