Inside a Spring/Summer 2026 collection inspired by art, travel and handmade craft

Yavi invites you into a world where imagination and craftsmanship gently intertwine. The Spring/Summer 2026 collection unfolds like an artist’s sketchbook, each story a fragment of nature, memory, and travel translated into fabric. Guided by founder and creative director Yadvi Agarwal’s painterly vision and narrative approach to design, the collection transforms garments into living canvases.

The role of handcrafted textiles in shaping the SS26 narrative

For Yavi, clothing has always been more than attire; it is a medium of expression. Through layered prints, handcrafted techniques, and thoughtful textiles, each piece becomes a quiet archive of creativity. The Spring/Summer 2026 collection continues this journey, exploring stories inspired by gardens in bloom, wandering travels, nostalgic textures, and the poetic beauty of handmade craft.

Yadvi Agarwal tells us that the starting point for SS’26 came from an interplay of seemingly contrasting visual inspirations. “On one hand, we were drawn to the softness of a bouquet—how individual flowers come together to form something layered and impressionistic, almost like painterly strokes built over time. Alongside this, we were fascinated by the world of vintage postal stamps, their quirky borders, pop colours, and unexpected compositions where animals, stripes, and florals coexist within defined edges. There was something very graphic yet playful about them,” she shares.

The brand approaches a collection through multiple micro-stories, each emerging from a distinct inspiration, whether it is a material, colour, process, or visual reference. The storytelling unfolds organically through print and surface development. It is not rigid, but something that evolves over time, almost poetically, as different elements begin to interact with one another.

Travel and memory have also deeply influenced the creative process. “For this collection, the toile de jouy story draws from the azulejo tile work seen at train stations in Portugal. Similarly, the postal stamp story emerges from moments of receiving parcels from buyers across the world. The diversity in stamp designs, their colours, borders, and imagery becomes a subtle reflection of wanderlust,” says Yadvi.

The use of hand-drawn and layered prints this season is particularly fascinating. Speaking about the technique, she says, “Hand-drawing and layering play a central role in this season’s print direction. The vintage story, in particular, is rooted in hand-painted elements such as antique jewellery sketches rendered in watercolour and developed to evoke a sense of age and nostalgia. Alongside this, several prints are built through collage, where vintage-inspired motifs are layered together to create depth and texture.”

Textiles form the foundation of everything the brand creates. The label consciously works with natural fabrics and avoids polyester, keeping both comfort and environmental impact in mind. “For summer, we use a mix of handwoven and mill-made fabrics, including linens from Bhagalpur, cotton-silk from Chanderi, and other breathable blends. These textiles are chosen not just for their functionality, but for how they hold and enhance the print,” she adds.

With SS’26, the design language of the brand has become more fluid, layered, and intuitive. There is a visible shift towards softer, more expressive storytelling where prints are not just seen, but felt as impressions, much like brushstrokes on a canvas. “The collection explores a deeper interplay between structure and spontaneity, balancing composed elements with more abstract, free-flowing forms. There is also a stronger emphasis on layering prints, textures, and narratives,” she explains.

One signature technique Yadvi would like to highlight this season is the one-thread embroidery technique. It is an innovative process where the fabric itself is constructed entirely through layered threads, rather than being applied onto a base. “Each piece is extremely intricate and time-intensive, often taking up to a month to create, reflecting the precision and skill of master craftsmen. But the results are fascinating—weightless yet detailed, with an impressionist, painterly quality that is central to our design language,” she says.

Alongside this, the collection also features a rich mix of techniques such as block printing, appliqué, kantha, shibori, and tie-dye, often layered and reinterpreted to create depth and texture.

Prices start at Rs 12,000. Available online.

—manuvipin@newindianexpress.com

@ManuVipin

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