Athleisure to be biggest international S/S trend: Narendra Kumar Ahmed

Athleisure is the biggest international Spring/Summer trends that will become big in India, feels designer Narendra Kumar Ahmed. For men the bomber jacket will become big this season and for women it’s the great white shirt in all its ruffled glory that will make a comeback. Also, it will be a trip down the ’80’s glamour with shinny metallics in the form of cropped tops and pleated skirts.

A trailblazer in men’s wear fashion, Ahmed was the first fashion editor of Elle India, the first Indian fashion designer to embrace e-commerce by becoming the creative director at Amazon, and the only designer whose store was featured alongside iconic brands such as Tom Ford, Prada, Louis Vuitton and Valentino on Esquire’s Big Black Book of Style.

He has also been image and brand consultant to some of the biggest textile and fashion brands. He gets inspired by ideas that are at cutting edge of trends. He takes influence from music, society, economics, and politics, all of which impart a sense of zeitgeist to his fashion. Being experimental brings an edge to his creative endeavor.

Ahmed does not think it’s important to showcase one’s collection at an international fashion week. Given the economic environment across the globe and its impact on designer wear, leading to closure of brands ,downsizing, growing importance of e-retailing, and the burgeoning mass branded market, he feels it makes greater sense today to work the brand in the domestic market. Indian design might have needed validation from the west, but that situation no longer exists.