Paradise City by Siddhartha Bansal imagines summer as an emotional journey

Born from a moment of promise and propelled by an instinctive love for colour, craft and joyful rebellion, Siddhartha Bansal’s label has, since its inception in 2015, occupied a singular space within the landscape of Indian fashion. From the outset, it announced itself as a brand driven less by trends than by feeling — one that celebrates emotion, storytelling and a sense of play. Its ascent began with Siddhartha’s win at the coveted Gen Next award at Lakmé Fashion Week, a decisive moment that heralded the arrival of a designer unafraid of whimsy, narrative and expressive dressing. A graduate of NIIFT, Siddhartha sharpened his creative sensibility under the mentorship of industry visionaries such as Studio B, Satya Paul, Nida Mahmood and Manish Arora. Each brought with them a distinct philosophy — of print, form, colour and cultural confidence — all of which quietly inform the designer’s work today. Yet, rather than mimic, he distilled these influences into a design language that is unmistakably his own. Over the years, the label has built a devoted following, dressing cultural tastemakers and celebrities including Sonam Kapoor and Athiya Shetty.

Following the success of the label’s previous edit, The Great Indian Rhapsody, the brand’s latest offering, Paradise City — its SS ’26 collection that has just launched — marks a moment of both introspection and expansion. It is a collection that looks inward to the designer’s emotional vocabulary while reaching outward to the world, constructing a dreamscape that is as much about imagination as it is about identity. We catch up with Siddhartha, founder and creative director of the label, to delve deeper into the narrative behind the collection.

“The collection is heavily inspired by travel, romanticism, florals and the little joy of life,” begins the designer. This season unfolds not merely as a visual proposition, but as a dialogue — between garment and wearer, fantasy and self-expression, structure and softness. Designed to evoke wonder, Paradise City captures the refreshing, romantic spirit of summer while resisting the predictability often associated with seasonal dressing. Instead, it wields a playful soft power, drawing the eye through texture, translucence and tactile craftsmanship.

“Concerning motifs, we have explored the most unique representation of floral prints by making each flower/motif look like it is made of jelly. Our signature engineered print placement technique gives the ensemble a very unique look almost making it wearable art,” Siddhartha adds. The result is a collection that feels alive — florals that shimmer and swell, appearing suspended in motion, hovering between reality and reverie.

Drawing from whimsical worlds of ice, confectionery and ornamental detailing, the collection unfurls like a sensorial fantasy. Ice-cold surfaces glisten with visual intensity, while jelly-beaded florals and pressed-petal motifs bloom across fabrics like unexpected treasures. Candy-like translucence lends the silhouettes a delicate fragility, punctuated by crystal-inspired embellishments that refract light in luminous patterns, transforming garments into moving spectacles.

“The colour palette is also very refreshing. We’ve got shades like Sunlit Marigold — a radiant sun yellow with a soft bloom: like morning light caught on fresh petals; Emerald Lagoon — a deep-yet-refreshing emerald green, evoking cool ripples and underwater shimmer; Blush Soufflé — a tender blush pink that feels airy, whipped and softly luminous on the skin; Aqua Mirage — a crystalline aqua blue, dreamlike and weightless: like a slow ocean breeze; Cloud Meringue — a clean, diffused white that resembles whipped meringue and summer clouds; Vanilla Drift — a warm, creamy off-white with a velvety undertone: subtle, elegant, timeless; Desert Tamarind — a contemporary rust with an earthy-romantic warmth and artisanal depth; and Molten Noir — a liquid, high-polish black: sleek, sculptural, and eternally bold,” the couturier explains.

At the heart of Paradise City lies an uncompromising commitment to craftsmanship. Intricate 3D hand embroidery sculpts fabric into tactile landscapes, turning textiles into works of art that beg to be touched. Every stitch feels intentional, every surface layered with meaning, elevating each piece beyond adornment into experience.

“We’ve used silk, satin, crêpe, linen and denim and you can look forward to silhouettes like column dresses, kaftans, safari jackets and flowing co-ords,” Siddhartha adds. With Paradise City, Siddhartha Bansal invites the wearer into a world where imagination reigns supreme. “Our current aim is to take it slow and showcase our latest SS ’26 collection at curated pop-ups around the world,” the designer says in conclusion.

INR 2,50,000 onwards. Available online.

Email: romal@newindianexpress.com

X: @elromal

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