What brides are asking for in 2026
Four directions we are seeing at the frame this year — and, because a trend is only useful if you know when to ignore it, where each one is worth following and where it is not.
Trend lists are written in January and forgotten by March. This one is written from the studio floor in August, from what brides have actually walked in and asked for this year, and from what has gone onto the adda frame as a result. Four directions, honestly assessed.
1. Architectural tissue and silk
Structured bodices built from delicate Banarasi tissue that hold a couture shape. This is the most interesting thing happening in bridal right now, because it is a construction idea rather than a decoration idea — the shape comes from the cut and the interlining, not from weight of embroidery.
It suits the way we already work. Handwoven raw silk from Benares has been in the house line for years, and a fabric that holds a line lets you use less embroidery, not more. A bride who wants presence without twenty kilos on her shoulders should be asking about this.
2. Lavish pastels
Dusted lavender, mist grey, pistachio green, icy blue — replacing the neon brights for day functions and destination weddings. There is a sage-green piece in the 2025 collection that has been photographed more than anything else we have made, so we can vouch for the direction.
One caution, and it is the same one we give every year: pastels are beautiful in daylight and difficult under mandap light. Warm evening lighting drains them towards beige. If your ceremony is after dark, put the pastel on the mehendi or the haldi and let the dupatta do the deep work at the wedding itself.
3. Intricate hand-embellishment
Heavy zardozi, thread work and glass bead floral patterns on luxurious raw silks. This is not a trend so much as a return, and it is the thing we would have argued for whether or not it was fashionable — it is what the studio is built on.
What is new is the placement. Brides are asking for density in one region — a bodice, a border, a single panel — rather than an even spread across the whole garment. It photographs better and it wears lighter. Ask for four hundred hours in the right place, not four hundred hours everywhere.
4. The classic revival
Timeless Kanchipuram and heavy brocade Banarasi silks remain unmatched for the traditional ceremonies, and no amount of fashion moves them. We will be straightforward here: Kanchipuram is a South Indian weaving tradition and not ours to claim. What we do work in is Banarasi brocade, and in the Gujarati classics — panetar and gharchola — which occupy exactly the same place in a Gujarati wedding that a Kanchipuram silk does further south.
If your family expects the traditional cloth for the ceremony and something contemporary for the reception, that is not a compromise. That is how most of our brides dress, and it has been true every year we have been open.
Questions this raises
Should I follow bridal trends for my wedding?
Pick one direction, not four. A bridal wardrobe that follows every trend of its year looks like its year forever, and the pieces that still look right in the photographs twenty years later followed one idea only.
Are pastel bridal lehengas a good idea?
In daylight, yes — they are beautiful for a mehendi or a day function. Under warm mandap lighting they drain towards beige, which is the caution we give every year. If the ceremony is after dark, put the pastel on a daytime function and let the dupatta do the deep work at the wedding itself.
Is heavy zardozi still fashionable?
It never stopped, and it is what this studio is built on. What has changed is placement: brides are asking for density in one region — a bodice, a border, a single panel — rather than an even spread. It photographs better and it wears lighter. Ask for four hundred hours in the right place, not four hundred hours everywhere.