Antique dhurries patched with vintage silk Benarasis become a sharply cut column dress. A 30- to 40-year-old handcrafted khurji, or camel saddlebag, once carried across deserts by members of the nomadic Rabari community of Rajasthan and Gujarat, reappears as an oversized bias-cut jacket. And then there is the showstopper, a vintage embroidered textile from the Pashtuns, probably from somewhere between Pakistan and Afghanistan but found in an antique shop in Tibet, now layered with shoof work from Kutch in Gujarat along with metal accents, delicate crochet lace and darzi embroidery, transforming it into an heirloom trench coat. They’re the sort of statement pieces you can imagine on It-girls and craft ladies who boast wardrobes packed with archival Gaultier and Rohit Khosla alike.
These are just a few of the highlights from Mayyur Girotra’s latest collection, which repurposes vintage textiles and crafts even as it explores new iterations, aptly titled ‘The Collectibles – Series 1’. “We are producing in the present for generations to come. I want to bring conscious sustainability back to Indian couture,” says Girotra as he walks me through his latest creations, one piece at a time.
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A jacket made using textiles with Pashtun embroidery, found in Tibet and then combined with shoof work from Kutch, metal accents, crochet lace, and darzi embroidery
A look from ‘The Collectibles – Series 1’
Craft over seasonal trends
“I don’t make anything just for the moment or for the heck of it,” he adds. But before you dismiss this as the party line du jour, this designer’s recent track record holds up. In a fashion world obsessed with spectacle and speed, Girotra is the opposite—deliberate and slow on one hand, bohemian yet precise on the other. “Whatever I do has been deeply researched; it didn’t come out of a Pinterest board,” he adds. It isn’t just about a recognisable aesthetic—though his craft jackets and zardozi on denim are already investment pieces. And it isn’t about celebrity dressing, though he has dressed women like Shloka Ambani and Sonam Kapoor.
The big fat Indian wedding powers much of luxury fashion, but Girotra isn’t chasing it, even if billionaire nuptials have a curious habit of featuring a piece (or more) from his atelier. And instead of EMV-chasing runway spectacles, he prefers small, intimate baithaks at his farmhouse or iftar at the Shahjahan Terrace at Jama Masjid. If Girotra follows trend, it may well be culture itself. His design house is committed as much to preserving India’s craft traditions as to reimagining them for the present.
Designer Mayyur Girotra at a preview lunch for the new collection, 'The Collectibles - Series 1'
From investment banker to craft evangelist
Girotra’s love for textiles and craft began early on. He grew up with a connoisseur mother, who not only ran a small boutique but also had “the most iconic collection of Kanjivarams, ikats and Patan patolas and the best of garas, pashminas and chikankaris”. But before you dismiss him as a nepo-baby, he adds, “I always wanted to be a designer because I grew up loving the worlds of craft and fashion. But my family was not supportive, and I didn’t have the resolve back then to fight it.”
Girotra went on to spend the first 10 years of his career in the thick of investment banking and wealth management in Dubai. “I used to tell my sister that this life was killing me,” he recalls. With her encouragement and his own resolve, he quit and returned to India to start his own brand. That was 15 years ago.
Looks from the collection preview
Finding his voice
It took Girotra a little more than a decade to truly find his voice. In the early days, he got right on the treadmill of fashion weeks, celebrity dressing, and endless customisations. “If someone wanted a Lycra gown, I made it. If someone wanted a chiffon-bordered sari, I made it. But it got me questioning: What am I doing? Am I that designer?”
Girotra made the decision to stop and go craft-first. He spent the next couple of years setting up craft studios across Rajasthan, creating new motifs with weavers in Kanchipuram, sourcing historic textiles from dealers across the country, and at his atelier perfecting the house’s now-signature metal kora work. In 2023, he made his first big splash, opening New York Pride with his gender-fluid luxury prêt collection, ‘Aikya’.
‘The Collectibles’ can be understood as the climax of this journey he’s been on—from reimagined denim ghararas and brocade jackets layered over tanchoi kurtas to a backless kalidar in Rabari patchwork and a bustier with 3D zardozi roses. Yes, craft, but make it fashion, is the real leitmotif of his work. Each ‘collectible’ is a handmade, one-of-its-kind piece, firmly detailed with a no-waste approach—and this includes linings composed of hand-dyed shibori or hand-woven Madras checks. His vindication, though, comes from a simple source—buyers! “Confidence comes when you are selling and people who wear me understand that this is a work of art," he explains.
The designer with author Shobhaa De at his iftar celebrations at the Jama Masjid
Mission: modern heirlooms
Mayyur Girotra Couture is now part of a small but growing cult of IYKYK designers in the country who tend to shy away from the spotlight and instead work the craft. The clientele is small but growing—heiresses, billionaires, entrepreneurs, and anyone with a penchant for the arts and a signature style. “My consumer comes to me for the repeat value of it and to consume it in the right way.” For them, he’s moved beyond couture and into collectibles—still fashion but with stories and heritage crafted into them.
