Men always knew how to dress.

Before the suit arrived, Indian menswear was extraordinary. In the historic South Asian continent, which you can still see in museums across India, menswear was more opulent and grandiose than womenswear.

They dressed in striking silhouettes - the angrakha, the layered nawabi kurta pyjamas with crafted details, encrusted juttis and elaborate jewellery.

But somewhere between the British Raj and the western notions of what style meant, the Indian man started to limit themselves.

“Traditions” had to make way for a new language and code. The pieces they wore started to be considered traditional, and therefore synonymous with occasionwear.

The word tradition itself started to be perceived as unevolving. But what the new generation of Indian menswear is building is a wardrobe that doesn’t reject tradition, but makes it part of the conversation.

They start by asking who the person is , and what a garment does for their body. This is not a trend but rather a reclamation.

The measure of good ready-to-wear menswear has long is no longer just tied to the precision of its tailoring. The new guards are seeing beyond it.

Tailoring remains central, but the conversation has expanded beyond it. Designers are rethinking silhouette, questioning inherited ideas of structure, experimenting with fabric and texture, and exploring how craft can exist in everyday wardrobes.

The result is a new visual language that feels distinctly Indian, yet untethered from convention.

Homegrown menswear is now being crafted for the man who has always wanted to express himself sartorially, bypassing the need for them to tailor their own clothes or seeking out international brands or thrift finds for pieces that go beyond the ordinary.

We see a slow emergence of the new menswear archetype: the cultural curator. For this man, clothing is less about signaling wealth or status and more about expressing taste, curiosity, and values.

He might have a Rick Ruben on his shelf, subscribes to independent journalism, spends weekends at galleries or record stories, and approaches getting dressed as an extension of his broader cultural life.

As work, leisure, and social life continue to blur, men are seeking wardrobes that can move between different settings.

The men we see on the daily are not limiting their style to the old codes; they are making unlikely pairings work, borrowing pieces from the women in their life and styling them with rightful gravitas.

They are expressing their truest selves, without looking to which ‘category’ of a shop they come from. The focus is more on colours, techniques and fabric that speaks the most to them.

The sharpness and rigidity that was definitive of menswear is giving way to ease. Boxy shirts, relaxed fits, and unique details have become staples of the contemporary wardrobe.

Wide-legged trousers, incorporating dhoti or veshtis (with pockets!) scarves draped over pants or used instead of belts, bags that add character to their outfit, are all markers of this.

Across contemporary Indian menswear, there is a growing appeal to materials that possess character. Handloom cottons, linens, khadi, and wool blends bring texture, and imperfectly beautiful depth to otherwise simple forms.

Prints have not disappeared, but the weave itself is designed to be the focal point, allowing fabric to carry the story. This highlights the growing appreciation for materiality among the intentional shopper.

Rather than overt visual statements, people are gravitating to the touch, weight, and construction of garments.

Perhaps the most significant transformation in the realm of menswear, however, is the way craft is being reinterpreted.

For decades, Indian craft in menswear was often reserved for occasion dressing - something embroidered, embellished, or ceremonial. Indian men are choosing to don it every day, allowing the technique to reveal itself gradually, through texture, finish, and process rather than occasional, overt displays of it.

Designers are increasingly approaching craft differently too. Handloom weaving, natural dyeing, subtle surface manipulation, and artisanal techniques are increasingly being integrated into the very construction of garments.

Craft is no longer decoration applied to a finished piece; it becomes part of how the garment is conceived, made, and experienced.

Many contemporary labels exemplify this shift. Khanijo's tailoring, informed by traditional craft, reveals itself so slowly that the craft is only noticed on a closer look.

11.11 treats handwoven fabrics, natural dyes, and material experimentation as design itself, creating garments that feel both globally relevant and deeply rooted.

LineTribe approaches craft through a contemporary lens, balancing artisanal processes with functional, everyday silhouettes.

Urvashi Kaur's work continues to explore the relationship between fluidity, textile heritage, and modern dressing, offering garments that prioritise movement and ease.

While brands like Bloni use craft techniques like shibori dyeing, Kissa Goi adds hand embroidered details to their linen shirts, Jeetinder Sandhu adds craft like Kantha work to their shoes.

Together, these brands point towards a broader movement within Indian fashion where heritage is not reserved for special occasions, nor preserved behind glass, but allowed to evolve.

The new codes of Indian menswear are not defined by a single silhouette, fabric, or aesthetic.

Instead, they emerge through a shared sensibility: a preference for ease over rigidity, texture over surface, and authenticity over display.

It is a shift that moves beyond dressing well in the conventional sense and towards dressing with intention. The man these designers are building for is not a new kind of Indian man.

He is not a trend, not a shift, not a segment that emerged recently and decided to care. He has always existed. He simply didn't have the language to express it or enough options worth wearing.

By Fathima Abdul Kader