Lakme Fashion Week 2026: Sustainable Fashion Takes Centre Stage — Handloom, Khadi and Zero-Waste Design
The 24th edition of Lakme Fashion Week saw India's leading designers champion sustainability, with 80% of collections featuring handloom fabrics, natural dyes and zero-waste pattern cutting.
Representative image. Photo: Nationalism News
The 24th Lakme Fashion Week concluded in Mumbai with a clear message: sustainability is no longer optional in Indian fashion. For the first time, over 80% of participating designers showcased collections featuring exclusively handloom fabrics, natural plant-based dyes, upcycled materials or zero-waste pattern cutting techniques.
Designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee unveiled his much-anticipated "Bhoomi" collection, an ode to India's textile heritage using Benarasi silk, Kanjeevaram weaves and hand-block printed Ajrakh from Kutch. "Sustainability is not a trend — it is our tradition. Indian handloom has been zero-waste for 5,000 years," he said.
The government's "Vocal for Local" push under the PM Mitra scheme has resulted in 14 new integrated textile parks opening across UP, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Telangana in 2025-26, creating 2.3 lakh new jobs in handloom and garment manufacturing.
Khadi — once perceived as austere — has had a remarkable transformation. Khadi and Village Industries Commission reported sales of Rs 1.55 lakh crore in 2025-26, the highest since the organisation's founding. Khadi kurtas and sarees now feature on runways in Paris, Milan and New York.
The Indian fashion tech sector is also growing, with startups like Fashinza, Finery and StyleDotMe using AI to create virtual try-on solutions and sustainable supply chain tracking, attracting $400 million in VC funding in 2025.
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