At Hyundai India Couture Week 2026, Rimzim Dadu is turning to mother-of-pearl as her material of choice, engineering something inherently rigid to move like fabric. The collection, INLAE, draws from the precision of Mughal inlay work and the quiet luminosity of mother-of-pearl, translated into an entirely new textile language. Structured sarees, straight skirts, cropped bandhgalas, bombers and jackets return in familiar silhouettes, reworked around grid-like structures that let the material bend with the body instead of against it. The palette stays deliberately quiet — pearl whites, soft metallics and neutral tones — so the surface, and the way it catches light, becomes the real focus. For Dadu, the collection is proof that couture doesn’t have to be limited to bridal wear to feel contemporary.
We spoke to the designer ahead of the show about the collection, and what still keeps her excited about couture after all these years.
ELLE: Tell us more about what you’re showcasing this year at ICW. What was the inspiration behind this collection?
Rimzim Dadu (RD): This season we’re presenting INLAE, a collection that began with my fascination for the precision of Mughal inlay work and the quiet luminosity of mother-of-pearl. What interested me wasn’t recreating these traditions literally, but understanding the principles behind them and translating them into an entirely new textile language.
For us, material innovation has always been the starting point. We spent months developing techniques that allow individually cut pieces of mother-of-pearl to become part of the textile itself rather than simply embellishing a garment. The collection explores how something inherently rigid can be engineered to move with the body. It’s really a dialogue between history and innovation, between permanence and fluidity, and that’s what defines INLAE.
ELLE: Tell us about the cuts, colours and silhouettes utilised in your upcoming collection for ICW.
RM: The silhouettes are very much part of what we’ve been building over the years. You’ll see our structured sarees, straight skirts, cropped bandhgalas, bombers and jackets, but they’ve all changed because of this new material. Mother-of-pearl behaves very differently from anything we’ve worked with before, so the construction had to change with it. We developed grid-like structures that allow the material to move with the body instead of feeling rigid. The palette is intentionally quiet. We stayed with pearl whites, soft metallics, and neutral tones because I wanted the surface and the way it catches light to become the focus. For me, the collection was about making couture feel contemporary, not limiting it to bridal wear.
ELLE: Having dabbled in both couture and prêt, what, according to you, makes couture relevant in this day and age?
RM: I think couture feels more relevant today precisely because everything else moves so quickly. It’s one of the few spaces where time is still considered an essential part of the process. Every couture piece is made specifically for one person. It’s bespoke, handcrafted, and shaped through countless hours of skilled workmanship. It’s not designed for mass production or instant consumption. That investment of time gives it emotional as well as material value. For me, couture is also about longevity. These are pieces that people keep for years. They carry the time, skill, and craftsmanship that went into making them, and that’s what gives them value. In a world that’s constantly chasing the next thing, I think there’s something very meaningful about creating something that’s meant to last.
ELLE: Which part of creating couture still excites you after all these years?
RD: The research phase is still my favourite part. That’s the stage where nothing is fixed yet. It usually starts with a question or an idea, and then the studio spends months testing materials, making samples and trying things that often don’t work before we find something that does.I enjoy that uncertainty because that’s where the real discovery happens. We’re constantly asking ourselves, “Can this material do something it wasn’t meant to do?” Every time we develop a new technique, it changes the way we think about textiles and opens up possibilities for the next collection. Taking an abstract idea and gradually turning it into something tangible is still the most rewarding part of what I do.5. Who do you think would be a perfect muse for this collection? I don’t really believe in designing for one muse. I’d rather create clothes that can be interpreted by people with very different personalities and perspectives. The collection shouldn’t be defined by one individual. It becomes far more interesting when the wearer brings their own point of view to it. The clothes should adapt to the person, not the other way around.
ELLE: Five songs that would fit into a playlist inspired by your upcoming collection?
RD: I’d say: Royals by Lorde, Mystery of Love by Sufjan Stevens, Candy Necklace by Lana Del Rey, Diamonds & Pearls by Prince and No Ordinary Love by Sade.
