Aisha Rao: Wild At Heart Is A Maximalist Ode To Nature's Untamed Beauty
Aisha Rao is all set to make her Hyundai India Couture Week debut with a colourful showcase on July 29, 2025, at Taj Palace.
Showcasing her collection, Wild at Heart, created in collaboration with Kohler, Aisha Rao shares with News18 what the Hyundai India Couture Week means to her, why she is not afraid to dream in colour and how Wild at Heart is an extension of that spirit.
Craft, Vision, Legacy.
Describe the collection you will be showcasing at the Hyundai India Couture Week.
Our couture collection for India Couture Week, Wild at Heart, created in collaboration with Kohler, is a maximalist ode to nature's untamed beauty. It is a sanctuary imagined—where memory, fantasy, and possibility merge through bold design and intricate craftsmanship.
Romantic yet statement-making silhouettes include draped saris, exaggerated lehengas, theatrical blazers, and fluid menswear. The colour palette moves from molten metallics like brushed rose gold and antique champagne to rich tones of teakberry and lush green, paired with dreamy pastels. Our signature appliqué embroidery is reimagined with newer motifs like cacti, palm trees, and wild flora, capturing the true spirit of Wild at Heart.
Our palette this year is really focused on brides and the entire wedding season. We've spent months fine-tuning every shade—whether it's getting the perfect depth of red or balancing the richness of teakberry, which feels fresh and festive. Lush green brings a sense of celebration, while molten metallics like rose gold and antique champagne add just the right amount of shimmer for bridal and festive looks. Every colour has been thought through to feel joyful, memorable, and versatile for weddings.
What silhouettes have you designed for this collection?
The collection brings together lehengas, sherwanis, sculptural jackets, and pre-draped saris, with silhouettes that balance traditional craftsmanship with a modern ease. We've worked with Banarasi brocade, layered tulles, and given our signature appliqué a fresh spin to create depth and texture. Each piece is designed to capture movement and mood, whether it's a voluminous lehenga for the modern bride or a sharply tailored sherwani. Every look feels expressive, elevated, and just a little wild at heart.
Which embroidery, motifs and embellishments have you explored in this collection?
This collection feels like our boldest take on surface design so far. We've pushed our signature appliqué further, layering it with hand embroidery, metallic threadwork, and delicate bead accents to give every piece a lot more depth and dimension. The motifs—cacti, palm trees, and wild flora—feel alive, with textures and colours playing off each other in unexpected ways. One of our lehengas, for example, has over 70 colours on it. We spent weeks getting that balance right so that no single shade overpowers the others. We've also experimented with hand-braided raffia, which adds this really raw, tactile energy to the embroidery, and the metallic touches bring a kind of light and movement that feels new for us.
What does Indian Couture mean to you and your brand?
For us, Indian couture is a playground for expression; it allows for maximalism, memory, and craftsmanship to come together in the most beautiful way. It's about creating pieces that feel deeply personal but still larger than life.
We've never been afraid to dream in colour. Our world is bold, layered, whimsical, always a little unexpected. Wild At Heart is an extension of that spirit!
Hyundai India Couture Week, in association with Reliance Brands, an initiative of Fashion Design Council of India, is on till July 30 in New Delhi.
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First Published:
July 29, 2025, 11:52 IST
News lifestyle Aisha Rao: Wild At Heart Is A Maximalist Ode To Nature's Untamed Beauty
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