Dhruv Kapoor lets us in on his latest collection and what's to come

Dhruv Kapoor is a modern-day sage. He meditates for an hour every night, his collections are surprisingly named after supernatural symbolisms [‘Fantasms’ and ‘The Seeker’], he’s currently reading the Gita, and the colour purple [associated with the crown chakra] finds its way into every collection. “It’s my favourite colour,” he purrs at the end of a tiring show day at Milan Fashion  Week. The show he’s just wrapped up to resounding applause marks his fourth on schedule show in the fashion capital and ancient source of luxury. The brand has been presenting on schedule since 2019.

It’s a sunny morning in Milan and the show location for Dhruv’s latest Autumn/ Winter 2024 collection is Foro Buonaparte where the paparazzi are lined up for a few blocks to catch glimpses of show frow-ers—Marc Forne, BryanYambao [aka Bryan Boy], Tamu McPherson, Anna Dello Russo, Caroline Daur and musician Levante.“This was our biggest yet,” he says post show. “We had a lot of internal shifts in terms of the production, and I could see the difference. "I was very happy with the people who could make it. We had some really good faces."

The collection itself had all the markers of a Dhruv Kapoor line-up. The co-ed offering of louche tailoring, sports-inflected slogan tees, bags that were launched last season and continue in exciting new combinations for fall, and an overall mix of ethnicities and heritage, were all true to brand signatures. But you couldn’t have missed the Nike references. Vest jackets patc worked from deadstock Nike clothing emblazoned the iconic ‘Just Do It’ tick that has remained in popular culture decade after decade. Unassembled and reassembled by hand, each Nike piece in the collection was the result of a Nike ambassadorship that Dhruv Kapoor is now a part of. Currently not for sale (sorry everyone!), the special project did set the tone for the show venue design—a race track with strobe lights and music that made every walk resemble a victory lap.

The 10-year mark was celebrated with a retrospective of archival pieces, like the oversized neoprene jacket silhouette, this time tipped in metallic silver and violet. A varsity-style t-shirt that resembled Dhruv Kapoor merch with ‘KPRVault 10’ strewn across in bold letters was the flag-bearer of a collection that recalled all the brand’s classics. “That t-shirt signifies 10 years for us. It implies that we are opening up the vault and pulling out from our archive,” Dhruv explains. “Think of it as the brand’s greatest hit marked with a flaming torch badge (a sports reference),along with notes scribbled in the interiors of jackets and blazers—“just spiritual quotes to uplift the wearer and set them off for their day.” Fans will certainly buy the merch as keepsake and collector’s items.

Speaking of fans, Dhruv’s label boasts global loyalists. Currently stocked at 42 retailers across the world, the brand is globally resonant with many takers for its vibrant embroideries in modern ready-to-wear silhouettes. The reason, and probably the crux of its success—an amalgamation of global cultures and references that do not allow for someone to pin down the creative director’s Indian heritage. 

“It is certainly by design," he explains. “I enjoy borrowing from cultures. I see the brand as a whole universe, or a multiverse, where different worlds are coming together. To dip into different cultures and have different inspirations is normal. We are here to build one world which includes everybody, so that’s the whole point of the brand. Whether I like something from Japan one season, and the next season I want to mix it with something from Mexico, I like to create worlds within worlds—a global culture of shared values.” Or as captions of his latest collection on Instagram footnote: DHRUV KAPOOR FW’24-25 CO-ED SHOW Fall/ Winter’ 24-25 transports you to a utopian world where two opposing worlds come together for an eventuality that sees harmony, peace and balance. That is—the worlds of sports and tailoring, larger-than-life shoulder lines borrowed from rugby mixed with razor-sharp suiting.

For Dhruv, at the end of it all, 10 years is a time to reflect, redo, resuscitate, and then repeat. In December this year, the brand will host its homecoming show in India. “We want this to be special for all our clients, the celebrities who have been supporting us throughout the years. There is a plan that’s under wraps, but I think that it’s going to unfold into something exciting,” he concludes.

This article originally in the Harper's Bazaar March 2024 print issue.

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