Having studied under the likes of Vivienne Westwood and Giles Deacon, 25-year-old London College of Fashion alumna Ruchika Sachdeva has bottled some London edginess and brought it to Delhi. At Sachdeva's first boutique, Bodice (which is named for her two-year-old label and opened in Hauz Khas Village late last year) oversized cuts and oblique angles give a fresh look to feminized blazers, hipped-up hunting jackets, and trendy jumpsuits.
22 Hauz Khas Village
+91 11 265 21070
Pictured: A model wears Bodice -- Courtesy of Ruchika Sachdeva
The couple that designs together should by all accounts stay together, or at least we hope this is the case for Ankur and Priyanka Modi. The husband-wife team has emerged as a serious fashion and textile contender, with their eponymous AM:PM label and boutiques, the second of which opened earlier this year at the DLF Emporio complex in Vasant Kunj. The line incorporates both Indian and western-influenced designs. And fabric fetishists covet the top-notch hand printing and embroidery of the jackets, tunics, and saris.
DLF Emporio 412
Vasant Kunj
+91 11 405 60240
Pictured: AM:PM store entrance -- courtesy of AM:PM
Aneeth Arora's label Péro is all about grass roots, its name from the Marwari word for "to wear," and the output every bit Rajasthani. Captivated by India's local fabric and handicraft tradition, Arora designs clothing that is light, rustic, and exceedingly girly. (And accomplished—the Delhi-based 27-year-old won India's inaugural Vogue Fashion Fund Award.) Though she's yet to open her own store, you can find her collections among the work of other young designers at the couture showcase Ogaan in Hauz Khas Village.
Ogaan
H-2 Hauz Khas Village
+91 11 269 67595
Pictured: Péro on the runway -- Courtesy of Péro
Former National Institute of Fashion Technology student Gautam Sinha's is going back to basics with his brand Nappa Dori—Hindi for "leather and thread"—a tannery-scented haven of accessories that just opened a new branch at the rapidly diversifying Meharchand Market that is steadily becoming home to Delhi's coolest new fashion and food brands. Expertly crafted bags, trunks, belts, and i-accessories dominate the wooden tables and black-framed shelving units inside the space. We're particular fans of his bright boxy suitcase line.
25 Meharchand Market
Lodi Road
+91 11 246 22599
Pictured: Luggage sets by Nappa Dori -- Courtesy of Nappa Dori
Head to the colorful fashion house Twist in Hauz Khas Village, just a couple of doors down from Ogaan, for an eyeful of Shweta Kapur's simple and refined—yet rousingly original—womenswear label 431-88. Citing influences that run the gamut from the sculptures of Donald Judd to the characters in American Psycho, the 25-year-old is another recent London College of Fashion graduate to return home and take Delhi by storm. Block colors paired with bizarre lines and proportions don't get bolder than this.
Twist
2 Hauz Khas Village
+91 11 647 88922
Pictured: A model wears 431-88 by Shweta Kapur -- Photos by Prarthna Singh
Previously known for five seasons of gravity-defying designs at Morphe in Hauz Khas, young fashion innovator Amit Aggarwal has moved on to produce a new and very alternative sari line for Delhi's high-end fashion department store, Ensemble . Using metal and plastic alongside opaque fabrics for blouses with a racy twist, Aggarwal has as good as reinvented the garment. If pop starlet Katy Perry is any indication (she snapped up one of the more space-agey dresses from his collection), international stardom awaits.
Ensemble
Near the Ambawata Complex, Mehrauli
+91 266 41834
Pictured: Modern saris at Ensemble boutique -- Courtesy of Ensemble via Facebook
If Amit Aggarwal is busy reinventing the sari this season, then Shrivan Batthia and Narresh Kukreja, creators of the bikini-sari are one step ahead. The duo, working under the name Shrivan and Narresh, caused a stir among the international press this summer with a new beachwear line with built-in fabric wraps. For a fabulously sexy, yet still modest, bikini, as well as more traditional swimsuits, cover-up dresses, and wraps, head to the second floor of 12 Hauz Khas Village, where you'll find Shrivan and Narresh's skimpily minimal, one-room flagship.
12 Hauz Khas Village
+91 11 265 36072
Pictured: Bikini sari by Shrivan and Narresh -- Photo by Parikhit Pal, Stylist Caroline Young
7 boutiques bursting at the seams with India's freshest design talent