“For me, the real muse is the unexpected pairing”: Dhruv Kapoor from Milan

Disruption is Dhruv Kapoor’s native language. He has always spoken it fluently: clashing sublime with sensual, superimposing sophisticated with street, juxtaposing utilitarian with theatrical – one could always trust the global brand to dazzle its growing legion of fans with the unexpected and the avant-garde.

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For his recently showcased Fall Winter 26-27 collection titled “Process & Observations” at Milan Fashion Week, the designer began with an acute interest in the idea of transit and waiting. Airports, hotel lobbies, corridors, and even the minutes before joining a Zoom call. Spaces that belong to no one, and briefly, to everyone.

He began noticing how we move in these spaces. How we sit, shift, adjust our clothes, and change our pace without thinking. “Sometimes there is no shared language, so communication becomes a glance, a gesture, a small movement. Some people are rushing. Others have time. Few look irritated. Some are in love; some are out of it. All of these states exist at once,” he shares.

Throwing business with casual, combining clumsy with sharp, and fusing refined with abrupt, the designer examined these everyday juxtapositions, which informed the pieces. “Transit spaces hold many emotions and cultures at the same time. In a world that feels divided and constantly moving, these spaces flatten things. For a brief moment, being human is the only common ground. People cross paths and then move on,” he adds. 

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Kapoor wanted to take those intangible cues and translate them into the clothes. Hence, pieces were intentionally left mid-process, embroideries felt broken, waistbands left unattached, and lowers were held in place temporarily. Moreover, graphic shirts looked like they were still being tested. Hems were raw, and handcraft felt unfinished. All in all, the clothes felt adjusted rather than completed.

This chaotic yet charming disarray adds to the collection’s allure.

The designer spoke to ELLE about his design process, dream muse, and Milan’s street style. Over to him… 

ELLE: The collection draws from time spent at airports, in hotel lobbies, corridors, stairwells, and the overlooked in-between spaces of travel. Are you naturally observant when you move through the world? Do you find yourself quietly cataloguing moments, textures, and human behaviour, which later on inform your mood?

Dhruv Kapoor (DK): Yes, I am observant both outwardly and inwardly. It is not just about watching what is happening around me, but also noticing how I am responding to those environments at the same time. Travel creates a certain state of mind, and I find that interesting.

The mood board did not start visually. It developed through small keywords, scribbles, and notes collected over a few months. Fragments of thoughts, more than finished ideas. Once the mental mood felt clear, it became about working closely with the team and constantly brainstorming how to translate those intangible cues into actual garments.

It is always a process of taking something abstract and slowly grounding it into a product.

ELLE: Lived-in elegance is having a moment, and the collection embodies that spirit. Do you see clothes with an inherent character and an in-built personality becoming the new luxe collectibles?

DK: I do believe clothes with an inherent character and in-built personality are becoming the new kind of luxury. Not because they are flawless, but because they feel real. Our wardrobes are extensions of who we are. The shape, the colour, the details add character to a garment, but ultimately, they exist to enhance the person wearing them and what they stand for.

A garment’s personality only truly comes to life once it is worn. When it moves with you. When it creases naturally. Or even when you look at it and imagine how it would make you feel.

In a world that is increasingly shaped by AI and polished perfection, it felt important to balance that by allowing the pieces to live more naturally. Instead of chasing the perfect crease or ideal fold, I chose to let the clothes respond to movement. Creased, slightly crushed, shaped by the body rather than controlled by it.

Normally, during a shoot, we adjust every fold and corner to make it look perfect. This time, I made a conscious decision to step back and let the garments exist as they were on the body. More lived in. Less corrected.

ELLE: Surface texturing and textile manipulation have always been your signatures. How have you experimented with materiality this season?

DK: It is always about trial and error for me. This season, we experimented across fabrics and techniques, but instead of taking every idea to its final stage, we used the concept before it was complete. Something was compelling about working with it in that state.

The broken embroideries feel interrupted rather than perfected. The Lycra-infused jacquards create a subtle bubbled volume, adding tension to the surface. The handwoven wool felt carries texture and weight without feeling overworked. The featherweight bonded leather looks structured but feels light and effortless.

ELLE: The collection adopts a visual language from artist Nandan Ghiya. How was the process of reinterpreting the artist's lexicon into pieces?

DK: Nandan’s work was a recent discovery for me. What stayed with me was how his compositions feel mid-process. They do not look fully resolved, yet they still hold together as complete compositions. There is a balance between interruption and control.

That tension felt very close to what we were exploring in the collection. The idea of being in transit, of existing before resolution. His work carries visible layers, fragments, and shifts that do not perfectly align, but somehow still feel intentional.

The process was not about directly translating his visuals into garments. It was about translating that state. We worked with hand-drawn graphics where draft layers remain visible. Patterns that feel in progress. Surfaces that look unsettled but still composed.

It was about allowing the pieces to feel mid-process, without losing structure. Not unfinished in a careless way, but incomplete in a way that still feels deliberate.

ELLE: You’ve made a transition from initially fashioning experimental silhouettes to creating more evocative prints of late - what’s the next step for the brand Dhruv Kapoor?

DK: For me, it has always been about evolution rather than a sudden shift. What sparked the brand in the beginning still exists; it just gets updated for where we are today. The undercurrent remains consistent.

Observation is central to the process, both internal and external. External in terms of what is happening around us, how people move, how culture shifts, and how environments change. Internal in terms of personal reflection, instinct, and what feels relevant at a particular moment. The collections sit somewhere between those two.

I observe, experiment, and then adapt those concepts into a seasonal collection. It is never about chasing trends. It is about understanding shifts and translating them into new formats that expand the brand language while keeping its core intact.

At the same time, we are seeing strong momentum in our accessories division. That growth feels organic. We are now refining the process to expand that vertical more fully, making it a stronger extension of the mainline rather than just an addition.

ELLE: Any dream muse you’d love to dress and who epitomises the values of your brand?

DK: I personally find the idea of a single muse very limiting. The brand has never been about one face or one personality. What excites me more is seeing how different individuals interpret the pieces in their own way.

For me, the real muse is the unexpected pairing. The way someone styles what we designed. How they bring their own attitude, mood, or contradiction into it. That dialogue between the garment and the wearer is far more interesting than dressing one ideal figure.

If someone embodies the brand's values, they are comfortable in their own complexity. Someone who does not dress to fit into a category, but to express something layered and personal. That kind of individuality feels more aligned with us than any single name.

ELLE: How much has Milan Street style informed your aesthetic since you also studied there?

DK: Milan has had, and continues to have, a strong influence on me. I would say almost 50 percent of the brand borrows from that acquired sensibility. The sharp tailoring and clarity I absorbed during my time there still shape how I approach design.

At the same time, I grew up in India, surrounded by colour, craft, and intensity. The brand’s visual language is a combination of those two worlds. The vibrancy and emotion of India blended with the structure I learned in Milan.

It is that balance between structure and emotion that defines Dhruv Kapoor. One brings discipline, the other brings instinct. The brand lives in that dialogue.

ELLE: How would you interpret your personal style?

DK: A combination of sharp and lazy. A sharp-shouldered jacket and slouchy pants are my go-to uniform. It is always about a mix of structure and ease, with comfort as the key.

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