Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna’s latest couture collection, Nocturnum, invites you to step into a world where night blooms and stars collide. Inspired by the geometric elegance of meteors and the ethereal beauty of imagined celestial wildflowers, this collection is a mesmerising fusion of contemporary Indian silhouettes and cosmic fantasies.
With intricate hand-drawn patterns that mimic a star’s journey across the sky, Nocturnum transcends the ordinary, weaving together the past, present, and future into a sartorial universe that defies time and space. Draped in luxurious velvets and shimmering silk satins, the collection’s rich spectrum of gold, especially the stunning mocha gold, captures the elusive glow of starlight.
Keep reading as we discuss more about this expertly crafted collection.
ELLE: What inspired you to choose this theme for the collection?
Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna: Nocturnum is a collection of the night. We found ourselves fascinated by the idea of falling stars streaking across the sky, their journey filled with both force and grace. What if, in their final moments before reaching Earth, they transformed into something beautiful, like blooms? That thought was the seed that grew into this collection—a celebration of the night, where the rigid and the organic come together in a way that feels almost magical.
ELLE: Your collection merges the geometric precision of meteors with the organic fluidity of blooms. How did you navigate this duality in your designs, and what challenges did you encounter?
Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna: We’ve always been drawn to contrasts in our work, but this collection pushed us to explore that tension even more deeply. This collection was about embracing contrasts—rigid lines meeting soft curves, the cold precision of geometry melting into the warmth of nature. We began with hand-drawn patterns, imagining the strict path of a star before it burst into the chaos of a bloom. The challenge was in maintaining balance letting the geometry anchor the design while allowing the organic elements to bring it to life. It was a balancing act, but one that felt incredibly rewarding once we saw the final pieces come to life.
ELLE: Nocturnum marks a departure from your signature style while retaining your brand’s essence. How do you balance innovation with maintaining the core identity of Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna?
Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna: Staying true to ourselves while exploring new ideas is something we’re always mindful of. With Nocturnum, we wanted to push the boundaries, especially with our use of colour and texture. Introducing the rich golds, especially the mocha gold, felt like a natural evolution for us. But even as we experiment, the essence of our brand—the architectural lines, the emotional depth—remains at the core. It’s like building on a foundation you know so well, but allowing yourself to add layers that bring new life to it. We see it as evolution rather than departure, a way to bring something fresh while honouring the foundation we’ve built over the years.
ELLE: Is there a particular piece in the collection that holds special significance for you? Why?
Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna: There’s this one jacket—a long-tailed piece in mocha gold—that really stands out to us. It’s not just about the design, though the structure is something we’re incredibly proud of. It’s more about what that piece represents. The colour, that deep, rich mocha, the three dimensional embroideries and delicate needlework create depth and texture, while beadwork, crystal embellishments, and metallic threads add a celestial sparkle. It feels like a visual representation of the journey a star takes across the sky—a journey we’ve tried to capture throughout this collection. When we see that jacket, it feels like everything we set out to do with Nocturnum comes together in a single piece. It’s a reminder of where we started with this idea and how it evolved into something this real.
ELLE: What did you learn about yourselves during designing and executing this collection?
Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna: Every collection teaches us something new, and with Nocturnum, the lesson was about trust—trusting the process, trusting our instincts, and trusting each other. Rohit and I, we both are perfectionists, and it’s easy to get caught up in the details, wanting everything to be just so. But with this collection, we found that sometimes the most beautiful outcomes happen when you let go a little and allow the design to take on a life of its own. It’s a reminder that, while control is important, there’s also power in letting things flow naturally, in letting the unexpected moments shape the final outcome.
ELLE: If you could select one Bollywood personality to embody the essence of the Nocturnum collection, who do you believe would best capture its aesthetic and energy? What qualities make them the perfect fit?
Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna: For us, Sobhita Dhulipala embodies the spirit of Nocturnum. There’s a strength and grace in her that mirrors the collection’s balance of geometric precision and organic beauty. She has this incredible ability to be both powerful and delicate, modern yet timeless—qualities that are at the heart of Nocturnum. We can see her wearing one of the pieces and bringing it to life in a way that feels authentic.
