Shantanu & Nikhil’s latest collection unveiled at FDCI India Men’s Weekend draws from the desert’s paradox

Designer label Shantanu & Nikhil’s new collection Mirage depicts the desert’s paradox — vast, barren, yet alive with stories whispered by the wind. It is a place of survival, where resilience takes shape in shifting sands, and beauty is found in the raw, untamed expanse.

“Like a mirage shimmering on the horizon, the S&N man is both real and elusive—a shadow of tradition, yet a force of reinvention. He carries the grandeur of the past but walks unshackled, his silhouette sculpted by time yet defying it,” says Shantanu.

Mirage is the poetry of the barren land—the quiet resilience of shifting dunes, the silent strength of desert wanderers. It distills the House’s signature codes into a collection, where sartorial minimalism meets radical drapery, where leather accents carve a path of rebellion, and where asymmetry speaks the language of movement.

The collection takes inspiration from the heart of the desert where drapes have always belonged to the people. The nomads, the warriors, the kings—all armoured themselves in fabric that commands movement, shifting and redefining with every step.

This season, Shantnu & Nikhil take the drape to its true frontier: the bottoms. The dhotis of the desert, the layered skirts of wandering tribes, the structured regalia of maharajas—all deconstructed and reimagined into a wardrobe that is at once poetic and powerful. Culottes, billowing trousers, and gathered pants become the new insignia of the S&N man—fluid, sculpted, and radically fearless.

The colours of Mirage echo the desert’s ever-changing hues. Soft beiges and ivories stretch like dunes under the midday sun, fading into the deep navy and slate of twilight. Sand-textured embroidery ripples across silk, sheer overlays mimic shifting landscapes, while supple leather appliqués bring to life the camels and flora that thrive against all odds. Each thread is a tribute to survival, each motif a story of endurance.