Whimsy and elegance unite in Genes Lecoanet Hemant’s Dreams Spring/Summer Collection
The Spring/Summer 2025 collection from Genes Lecoanet Hemant, titled Dreams, is an exploration of the blurred line between reality and fantasy, drawing inspiration from Akira Kurosawa’s 1990 film of the same name. Known for its bold approach to ready-to-wear design, the label’s new collection merges the whimsy of dreams with the craftsmanship of couture. Co-founded by Indo-French designers Didier Lecoanet and Hemant Sagar, Genes Lecoanet Hemant brings the elegance of Parisian savoir-faire to India, offering designs that transcend seasons and expectations.
The collection’s title Dreams is no coincidence. Kurosawa’s film, with its eight vignettes exploring the subconscious, provided the perfect thematic foundation for the collection’s exploration of imagination and fantasy. As Hemant Sagar, co-founder of the label, explains, “The treatment of the movie subtly guides our approach to whimsy this season. There’s a winding nature to Dreams—the way one vignette ends and another begins, yet there’s a continuum. This is the essence we’ve tried to capture in the collection.”
This sense of fluidity is translated through the collection’s whimsical designs. Dreams is a celebration of youthful spontaneity, where the boundaries between reality and fantasy are beautifully blurred.
The collection’s prints are a nod to the imaginative worlds of literature and fantasy. Hemant elaborates on the inspiration behind the vibrant motifs, “The clothes are an ode to colouring outside the lines. An Anemone print is a hazy interpretation of larger-than-life flowers, inspired by the talking flowers in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.” This whimsical garden theme is also reflected in the distorted garden print, which captures a dream-like quality—vague yet striking in its execution. The prints evoke the sense of a fleeting, almost surreal moment stolen from a dream.
A stunning array of colours punctuates the collection, with hues such as Nile green, coral peach, berry pink, and French lavender. The bold colour pairings are balanced by their weightlessness, creating a sense of ease that makes them wearable from day to night.
Fantasy and functionality
For women, the collection embraces relaxed yet striking silhouettes. Layered slip dresses over t-shirt structures, breezy kaftans with shoelace-inspired tie-ups, and linen jumpsuits with corsetry details at the back form the core of the offering.
The inclusion of three-dimensional embroideries and iridescent sequins further elevates the collection, blending the intricate details of haute couture with the accessibility of ready-to-wear fashion. “The three-dimensional embroideries are an homage to the brand’s couture heritage. They’re modern interpretations of traditional techniques, creating a balance between craftsmanship and wearability,” says Hemant.
One standout feature is the magical forest represented through glittering sequins, with shapes like hearts and circles that sparkle in the light. These playful touches serve as an invitation to see the ordinary in an extraordinary way, a theme that runs throughout the entire collection.
Playfulness meets structure
Menswear in Dreams challenges traditional norms with playful elements like graffiti mosaics, sketchy rabbit motifs, and ruffled details. These pieces defy conventional menswear tropes, combining structure with whimsy. “Gender is a spectrum, and this collection dares to think beyond the binary. The prints and embroideries are versatile, offering an artistic proposition that blends both masculinity and femininity,” says Hemant.
The Labyrinth print, evoking surreal intrigue, is seen on Giza cotton shirts in Nile green and sky blue, adding to the collection’s dreamlike quality. The inclusion of ruffle details in shirts, subtly altering traditional menswear structures, challenges the status quo while retaining the ease and wearability that are essential for modern living.
At its core, Dreams is about embracing imagination and expression through fashion. “Fashion can be a much-needed escape from the challenges of the world. Dressing as you desire is liberating and a true form of self-expression,” he adds.
As Hemant concludes, “Dreams is about finding beauty in the strange and celebrating the adventurous spirit in us all. It’s an invitation to dream, to play, and to express ourselves through what we wear.”
Price on request. Available in stores and online.
—manuvipin@newindianexpress.com
@ManuVipin