India Couture Week 2025: Rose gold romance meets metallic futurism as Day 7 of ICW 2025 closes with maximalist florals and engineered couture
The penultimate day of India Couture Week 2025 in New Delhi brought together two contrasting yet equally striking visions of couture. From Aisha Rao’s whimsical debut to Rimzim Dadu’s sculptural innovation, the day was defined by imaginative storytelling, powerful craftsmanship, and showstopping celebrity appearances.
Making her debut at India Couture Week, designer Aisha Rao unveiled her collection ‘Wild at Heart’, a maximalist homage to the beauty of nature. Inspired by banana leaves, lotus blooms, and palms, the collection brought together romantic cuts and dreamy textures with a fresh, contemporary lens.
Sara Ali Khan stole the show as the designer’s muse, walking the ramp in a soft rose-gold lehenga richly embroidered with floral motifs. The outfit struck the perfect balance between opulence and restraint, with pastel-meets-metallic hues, intricate appliqué work, and flowing romantic silhouettes. Keeping her makeup minimal and hair styled in soft waves, Sara embodied the dreamy ethos of the collection — wild, whimsical, and effortlessly graceful.
‘Wild at Heart’ was more than just couture — it was a sensory escape into surrealist nature. With shades of champagne, berry, and rose gold, the pieces merged fantasy and form. Statement blazers, flowing skirts, and architectural tailoring all bore Aisha’s signature appliqué technique, transforming organic motifs into fashion fantasy.
If Rao’s collection was a love letter to nature, Rimzim Dadu’s was a futuristic ode to Indian ornamentation and textile innovation. Closing the show for Dadu was Khushi Kapoor, who appeared like a modern-day warrior queen — bold, sculpted, and utterly magnetic.
Her showstopper look featured a sculptural halter top created with Rimzim’s renowned pre-oxidised metal technique, reflecting molten fluidity while offering structured strength. Paired with a long skirt mimicking chainmail, the ensemble paid tribute to the textures of tribal jewellery and burnished heirlooms. The design was both powerful and poetic, combining sensual geometry with engineering-level precision.
Styling details added to the dramatic flair — emerald accents contrasted the monochrome metal tones, while tousled hair and smoky eyes lent a contemporary edge. The entire look was a masterclass in modern couture, reflecting Dadu’s ability to straddle heritage and the future seamlessly.
Her collection expanded on this vision with pleated metallic saris, textural jackets, and modular separates that celebrated contrast — strength and delicacy, tradition and innovation.
Day 7 at India Couture Week was a celebration of contrasts — the softness of florals against the rigidity of metal, the wild spirit of nature juxtaposed with futuristic discipline. While Aisha Rao cemented her arrival with a romantic, maximalist dreamscape, Rimzim Dadu reminded us why she remains one of Indian fashion’s most avant-garde voices.
Together, Sara Ali Khan and Khushi Kapoor didn’t just walk the ramp; they narrated the stories of two designers daring to dream in opposite directions — and both winning.