ELLE Exclusive: Shantnu & Nikhil Make Their International Debut At Moscow Fashion Week With ‘Armouré'

For the first time in their two-decade journey, couturiers Shantnu & Nikhil are taking their craft beyond India’s borders. On September 1, 2025, the duo will unveil their women’s wear couture debut ‘Armouré' as part of Moscow Fashion Week (MFW), marking not only their entry into women's wear but also their first international runway showcase. The moment is more than a debut; it is a declaration. Shantnu & Nikhil Mehra, long recognised for reshaping Indian menswear through a language of structure, rebellion, and romance, are now extending their voice to women, bringing India’s couture narrative onto one of fashion’s most dynamic global stages.

Their First Women’s Wear Couture Collection

At the heart of this debut is ‘Armouré,’ a collection conceived around paradox. Drawing from the sensual glamour of the 1930s — a decade when women transformed elegance into both romance and resistance — the collection celebrates a woman who is at once tender and powerful, alluring yet unafraid.

Structured corsets collide with fluid drapery, creating silhouettes that feel both sculptural and effortless. Sharp tailoring meets cascading folds, metallic brocades shimmer like liquid, and pearl-studded shoulders gleam like armour. The palette travels through dominion reds, midnight blacks, liquid silvers, and opulent pearls, each shade deepening the tension between intimacy and strength. “Craft is the anchor of everything we do,” they explain. “By placing traditional techniques within silhouettes that feel avant-garde and global, we ensure that craft is not just remembered but also reimagined.”

“Armouré was imagined around the paradox of the modern woman: sensual yet armoured, intimate yet resistant,” the designers explain. “Every detail is symbolic — pearls represent intimacy, crystals embody allure, metallics signify strength, and embroideries carry the legacy of craft. Ornamentation becomes both her armour and her desire.” 

For Shantnu & Nikhil, this is not simply a women’s line but a reinvention of their couture language. “This debut is transformative for us,” they reflect. “For more than two decades, the brand has been synonymous with menswear couture. With ‘Armouré,’ we step into womenswear not as an extension of what we do, but as a bold new language. To present this first chapter globally in Moscow makes it all the more special.”

The International Debut

Known for its dual personality — imperial grandeur and a hunger for contemporary luxury, Moscow mirrors the contrasts that fuel Shantnu & Nikhil’s couture.

“Our global journey has moved from London to Moscow, and that arc itself excites us,” they note. “London was where our craft spoke through installations, and Moscow is where it now commands the runway.”

MFW itself has become one of the most significant fashion platforms for emerging markets, hosting over 220 designers from 10 countries. With its youthful, experimental energy, the event provides the perfect platform for a maison that thrives on disruption. “MFW is young, disruptive, and unafraid to experiment,” the designers say. “That spirit resonates with us, because we have always thrived on paradoxes, on the balance of defiance and romance.”

This showcase also places Shantnu & Nikhil at the centre of the BRICS+ Fashion Summit, which runs in parallel with MFW. Gathering leaders, innovators, and institutions from over 65 countries, the summit serves as a global dialogue on sustainability, innovation, and the future of fashion.

For the duo, it is more than a platform — it is a responsibility. “The BRICS+ Fashion Summit reminds the world that fashion is not defined by one geography; it is a global dialogue,” they say. “To represent India on this stage is deeply meaningful, because it allows us to showcase our couture voice alongside peers from across the world. It is about cultural exchange, about craft meeting innovation, and about showing that the future of fashion lies in diversity of voices.”

The idea of fashion as cultural diplomacy is one they deeply believe in. “Fashion is one of the most instinctive forms of cultural dialogue,” they reflect. “A silhouette, a detail, or a fabric can carry with it centuries of heritage and emotion. When we showcase in Moscow, it is not only India presenting couture; it is India entering into a cultural dialogue with Russia and the world. Couture diplomacy is the soft power of fashion — the ability to connect people through beauty, creativity, and craft.”

Presenting India’s couture voice on the global stage is both humbling and empowering. For Shantnu & Nikhil, the responsibility lies not only in representing a nation but also in proving its rightful place at the centre of global fashion.

“Indian couture is not derivative; it is original,” they insist. “What sets it apart is its ability to merge heritage with sartorial modernity, to turn occasion-wear into a statement of identity. The global fashion conversation is increasingly seeking authenticity and storytelling, and that is what India brings. Indian couture belongs not at the margins but at the centre, as a voice that shifts the dialogue.”

For the designer duo, bringing ‘Armouré’ to life has been as challenging as it has been rewarding. “The challenge was balance,” they admit. “But it pushed us to evolve and deliver a collection that feels bold, new, and true to our voice.”

As they prepare for Moscow, the designers are clear that this moment is not an ending, but a beginning. “It feels like an evolution,” they say. “Two decades of redefining menswear have built the foundation of our couture voice, and this debut takes it into a new dimension. Womenswear is not a departure; it is an expansion—an amplification of the codes we have always stood for, now interpreted for a global stage.”

And the journey doesn’t stop in Moscow. “Moscow is not the destination; it is the starting point,” they conclude. “The maison we are shaping is layered, and each step will add to that journey. Whether through future showcases, curated pop-ups, or cultural collaborations, our focus will remain on carrying the Shantnu & Nikhil couture voice to audiences beyond borders. The world is open, and we are ready.”

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