Rahul Mishra’s Couture Show: Love, Light, and the Drama of Craft

Model on the catwalk at the Rahul Mishra fashion show in Paris, Fall Winter 2025 Couture Fashion Week Photo by Valerio Mezzanotti / NOWFASHION

Cardi B x Rahul Mishra

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Yesterday, inside the vaulted refectory of the Collège des Bernardins, Rahul Mishra staged a couture show that was less a parade of garments and more a meditation on the evolution of love—filtered, of course, through his signature maximalist lens. If you’re looking for subtlety, Mishra’s world is not your destination. But if you want to be swept up in a lush, hand-embroidered fever dream, this is your runway.

The venue—a gothic, candlelit space—set the tone for a collection that was both reverent and theatrical. Mishra’s vision for Fall 2025, titled “Becoming Love,” unfolded like a seven-act play: attraction, infatuation, surrender, reverence, devotion, obsession, and death. Each chapter was rendered in a symphony of sequins, sheer layers, and intricate embroidery that seemed to shimmer with its own internal light.

Mishra’s love for nature is never just a backdrop. Here, it was foregrounded in every petal, vine, and bead. The floral motifs and shimmery surfaces felt like an ode to the natural world, but also a pointed reminder of its fragility.

Each piece was a masterclass in Indian handwork, with thousands of hours poured into embroidery and construction. The silhouettes ranged from sweeping, floor-length gowns to sharply tailored jackets, always with a sense of movement and drama.

Mishra’s runway is never short on spectacle. The drama was heightened by bold jewelry, slicked-back hair, and the presence of celebrities like Cardi B, who arrived fashionably late and instantly became part of the show’s narrative1. But beneath the surface glitz, there was an undercurrent of melancholy—a meditation on love’s transformative, sometimes destructive power.

Mishra’s couture is never just about surface. Each garment is a story, a piece of cultural heritage, and a statement on sustainability. His commitment to slow fashion and artisan empowerment is woven into every seam.

The collection balanced Indian craftsmanship with Parisian sophistication, proving that couture can be both global and deeply personal.

Later,

Diane