As Anamika Khanna prepares to open Hyundai India Couture Week 2026, she returns with Moonlit Palace, a collection that draws from two distinct regional artistic traditions, Barmer and Kalighat. Rather than treating craft as a relic of the past, the designer continues her long-standing pursuit of reimagining India’s textile and artisanal heritage for contemporary couture. Ahead of the show, Khanna speaks to ELLE India about the inspirations behind the collection, the fluid silhouettes shaped by craft from the very beginning of the design process, and why couture remains one of fashion’s most intimate forms of storytelling.
ELLE: Tell us more about what you’re showcasing this year at ICW. What was the inspiration behind this collection?
Anamika Khanna (AK): Moonlit Palace is inspired by India’s regional craft traditions and everyday rituals, reimagining them as living, evolving languages that shape the future of contemporary couture rather than simply preserving the past. I have worked with two very different yet equally powerful regional creative traditions, Barmer and Kalighat. One is connected to Rajasthan, where I was born, and the other to Kolkata, the city I call home. I was drawn not just to their visual language, but the emotions behind them, the richness of colour and surface in Barmer, and the confidence and simplicity of line in Kalighat. For me, craft is not something that belongs only to the past. It is something that continues to live, change, and find new expressions. I have always believed that Indian craft has to keep evolving while staying connected to where it comes from.
ELLE: Tell us about the cuts, colours, and silhouettes utilised in your upcoming collection for ICW 2026.
(AK): The silhouettes are very much about movement and the way a garment lives on the body. I have always been drawn to clothes that allow a woman to feel herself rather than feel restricted by what she is wearing. The craft was never something that came in at the end. The textiles, embroidery, repair work, and surface details were part of the process from the beginning, and they naturally guided the way the garments took shape. There is a play between structure and fluidity, between layering and ease. The colours come from the memories and landscapes that inspired the collection, from the intensity of Rajasthan to the more restrained beauty of Kalighat.
ELLE: Having dabbled into both couture and pret, what, according to you, makes couture relevant in this day and age?
(AK): For me, couture has always been about emotion and individuality. It is about creating something that has a relationship with the person wearing it. In a time when everything is moving so quickly, couture allows us to value the hand, the process and the time taken to create something. It is not just about luxury; it is about craftsmanship, storytelling and creating pieces that have a life beyond a moment.
ELLE: Which part of creating couture still excites you after all these years?
(AK): The process of discovery. I think the most exciting part is when something starts as an idea and slowly finds its own identity. There is always a moment of surprise when a textile, a technique, or a silhouette takes you somewhere you didn’t expect. Working with artisans, experimenting, changing things, and allowing the garment to evolve is what keeps the process exciting for me.
ELLE: Who do you think would be a perfect muse for this collection?
(AK): I don’t think of a muse as one particular person. For me, the ideal muse is someone who has a strong sense of self. Moonlit Palace is for someone who appreciates beauty but also understands the story behind it, the craft, the history and the emotion. Someone who carries tradition in their own way and is not afraid to reinterpret it.
For Anamika Khanna, Moonlit Palace is a reflection of how India’s regional craft traditions can continue to evolve without losing sight of where they come from. As the collection takes to the runway to open Hyundai India Couture Week 2026, it reinforces the designer’s belief that couture is built on time, craftsmanship and individuality, offering garments that carry both the stories of their makers and the identity of the people who wear them.
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