Ahmedabad | 21st February 2026 : After nearly two decades, India’s foremost fashion retail house Ensemble by Tina Tahiliani Parikh returned to the runway with a fashion presentation that reflected not trends, but a way of thinking about personal style and expression. Hosted at danseuse Mallika Sarabhai’s Natarani Amphitheatre, the showcase brought together designs from over fifty established and emerging designers across contemporary, occasion wear, ready-to-wear, accessories and menswear, united by a shared belief that wardrobes are not bought, they are built to be worn and reworn. The showcase also highlighted Ensemble’s ongoing commitment to celebrating India’s rich textiles and craftsmanship.
The show also saw Mallika Sarabhai walk the runway, a moment that underscored the cultural and creative resonance of the location as well as celebrated her lineage of artistic innovation and intellectual engagement, aptly mirroring the show’s own dialogue between heritage and modernity, craft and expression.
While select designers were shown in standalone sequences, close to half the showcase comprised cross-designer ensembles styled by Gautam Kalra. The narrative extended beyond mix-and-match, championing the idea of investing in enduring, well-crafted pieces that form the foundation of a lasting wardrobe. Through the power of styling and accessories, these classics were reimagined, illustrating how proportion, layering and detail can completely shift the mood and meaning of a look.
The presentation unfolded across three distinct segments. The first explored a modern, contemporary India: an expression of everyday chic reflecting how people travel, work and live fluidly across cities and cultures. These were versatile, confident pieces: made in India yet designed for a global wardrobe. Designers featured in this segment included Studio Anatomy, Amrich, Chola, Abraham and Thakore, Antar Agni, Payal Khandwala, Bodice, Kanika Goyal Label, Aseem Kapoor, Divyam Mehta, Dhruv Kapoor, AK-OK by Anamika Khanna, Lovebirds, Savio Jon, Peachoo, Rara Avis, Saaksha Kinni, Gul Sohrab, Injiri, SWGT, Akaaro and Suket Dhir.
The second segment transitioned into evening and occasion-forward glamour, balancing Indian craftsmanship with international sophistication and restraint. This section featured Stephany, Inca, Sunira, OTT by Tarun Tahiliani, Medha, Ridhima Bhasin, Urvashi Kaur, Reik, Payal Singhal, Roseroom, Mishru, Anand Kabra, Nakul Sen, Ritika Mirchandani, Mini Sondhi, Shriya Som, Richa Khemka, 431-88, and Sourav Das.
The final segment, while not conceived as a bridal showcase, acknowledged the enduring role of occasion dressing within Indian wardrobes. It presented celebratory yet enduring pieces by Anamika Khanna, Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna, Tarun Tahiliani, Anjul Bhandari, Arpita Mehta, Itrh, Amit Aggarwal, Gaurav Gupta, Jayanti Reddy, Nidhi Tambi Kejriwal, Petticoat Lane, Chandrima, Mrunalini Rao, Ashish Soni, Banarasi Baithak, Yali, Hemang Agrawal, Tilla, Dhruv Vaish, Aikeyah and Shaveta and Anuj, garments designed to evolve, repeat and grow with the wearer rather than exist for a single moment.
Across all three segments, textile remained central, reflecting Ensemble’s long-standing commitment to Indian craftsmanship, alongside accessories that completed, transformed and reframed each look.
Speaking about the showcase, Tina Tahiliani Parikh, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Ensemble, said, “This showcase, after a gap of 18 years, is not about individual looks or designers, but about how wardrobes are actually built. Ahmedabad offered the perfect foil for this presentation as one of India’s most progressive post-Independence cities with a unique textile heritage, a city that has long inspired our personal aesthetic as well as how we saw modern Indian design. At Ensemble, we’ve always believed that clothes are meant to be lived in, mixed, reused, and reinterpreted over time. Working with classic silhouettes and SS 2026 pieces from our repertoire of designers, we have focused less on a season and more on a meaningful, intentional ethos. By bringing together established and emerging designers within a single look, we wanted to present the real potential of a wardrobe one that reflects who you are, allows for self-expression, and grows with you.”
Ahmedabad was the city that truly shaped Tina’s understanding of modern Indian design. Having grown up in Bombay and Delhi, she was surrounded by a culture that often looked Westward. What struck her about Ahmedabad was how the city embraced its own identity – how craft, materiality, and architecture were lived experiences rather than nostalgic references. That perspective continues to inform how Tina and Aria think about fashion and interiors at Ensemble, taking Indian materials and reimagining them with modern luxury.
It was in Ahmedabad that Tina first encountered an idea of luxury that was unmistakably Indian, where local materials, handcraft and thoughtful design were elevated through restraint and intention. Designers such as Asha Sarabhai and the city’s broader creative ecosystem demonstrated how tradition and modernity could coexist without compromise, shaping a design language that would go on to influence Ensemble’s philosophy from its earliest years. Tina’s personal ties to the city, further deepened through family, only strengthened this connection, making Ahmedabad a place she returned to repeatedly not just as a city, but as a source of thinking.
Long before fashion weeks and seasonal calendars, Ensemble staged annual fashion shows that helped shape a generation’s understanding of style not as something reserved for the runway, but as something to live with and live in. Returning to the runway in Ahmedabad therefore felt deeply full circle, particularly as Ensemble expanded its presence into cities such as Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, bringing with it the same curatorial point of view that once helped shape fashion conversations in Delhi and Bombay.
That balance between rootedness and modernity is echoed in the city’s cultural institutions, none more resonant than the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, founded in 1949 by Mrinalini and Vikram Sarabhai and led for the past three decades by Mallika Sarabhai as a space where tradition, experimentation and social engagement intersect.
Founded in 1987, Ensemble has always functioned as more than a retail space. Under the vision of Tina Tahiliani Parikh, and now alongside Aria Parikh, the brand has championed Indian designers, nurtured new talent and encouraged clients to build wardrobes through thoughtful mix-and-match, intelligent styling and long-term use. This show was also a nod to the personal aesthetic and fashion philosophy of the mother daughter duo.
This showcase is a natural extension of that philosophy and a reaffirmation of Ensemble’s belief that clothes are too well made and too beautiful to remain unworn, and that true style lies in making them your own.
