Embracing Dhruv

Dhruv Kapoor is a label that is redefining contemporary taste with a vision that places empowerment at its very core and seeks to realign the fashion universe by harnessing the power of a feminine energy that due to conditioned cultural constructs has previously been diminished.

They are India’s leading contemporary brand, one founded in 2014 by the eponymous designer after a fashion apprenticeship served at Milan hot house incubator Istituto Marangoni and then as part of the womenswear design team with iconic Italian fashion house, Etro. Experiences which provided Dhruv Kapoor with an impeccable grounding in fashion, one which informed and inspired the creation of his own label.

This melding of Indian heritage and Italian style sensibility has manifested itself in a brand aesthetic that has produced a catalogue of consummately creative collections. Collections including men's and womenswear, but which are imbued with a commitment to disassemble the societal stereotypes of gender-based fashion. Collections which as well as being defined by a laser sharp eye for detail and an Italianate emphasis on tailoring are also underpinned by a staunchly sustainable footprint.

It's an adherence to an environmental empathy which takes cognizance of India being at the forefront of climate change and which Dhruv Kapoor seeks to mitigate with 40% of his latest collection being made from discarded textiles sourced from domestic manufacturers. And which extends to change-making community engagement which sees him working with organisations such as the Hothur Foundation to create opportunities for acid attack survivors and collaborating across a network of Indian villages to preserve the skills and uplift the lives of local artisans.

Images: Darrel Hunter

That latest F/W 23/24 collection is entitled "The Embracer" and includes a Godzilla x Kapoor capsule element which he has collaborated on with Toho International, the Japanese custodians of the Godzilla franchise. The designers cutting edge design aesthetic intersects with the iconic pop culture figure Godzilla, the prehistoric reptilian monster who has featured in countless films, television series, novels, comic books and video games. An exploration of the similarities between the monster and humankind’s sometimes monster egos its incorporation into the collection is a message that we all have the power to re-evaluate and redefine our place in society.

The capsule featured oversized draped shirts and comic-print kimono shirts along with giant engineered windbreakers and character tees. These fantastical prints and sculptural silhouettes sit seamlessly within a wholly genderless collection which also includes voluminous pants layered under pleated overskirts, oversized denim co-ords, moto jumpsuits, and mesh dresses and suits which came in the most perfect of painterly palettes.

Showing at Milan in January the pieces were complimented by the most gorgeous accessories in the form of Huma eyewear and Marsell footwear. It was a breath-taking tour-de-force of a show with the atmosphere heightened even further by an accompanying immersive soundscape where jazz met sparse techno met classical music met DJ Koze-esque electronic beeps and beats.

“The designer’s cutting edge design aesthetic intersects with the iconic pop culture figure Godzilla,”

Marrying couture with streetwear Dhruv Kapoor gifts us a collection that eschews those outmoded gender constructs which so constrain society. A collection of unapologetic escapism. like all his collections, its one which is built on fashion foundations of environmental responsibility and community engagement.

With his F/W 23/24 collection "The Embracer" the designer reminds us to nurture our individuality and inner self with unconditional love. I'd suggest that as well as adopting those mantras we also embrace the supremely talented Dhruv Kapoor.