South Asian Menswear Steps Onto the Global Stage

When silk patchwork jackets, hand-embroidered fabrics and block-printed linens graced the Kartik Research runway last June, the moment was hailed as a breakthrough for South Asian craftsmanship.

And for some menswear leaders, the Indian label’s Paris debut pointed to something even more significant.

“The South Asian global creative community is finally finding its feet,” says Aaron Christian, author of The Asian Man, a book documenting the evolution of South Asian men’s fashion and style from the fringes to the centre. “Especially…the younger generation, they’re redefining the look and feel of what South Asian is without a co-sign from the Western perspective.”

Today, Kartik Research is at the forefront of a cohort of South Asian menswear labels pushing creative boundaries while bringing visibility to a region that has long functioned as the hidden hands of global fashion. “I’d say it’s kind of a renaissance,” says Christian.

Across South Asia, a region spanning India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, and throughout the global diaspora, young designers are championing local craft through cross-cultural designs.

Brands like Lahore-based Rastah, New York-based Pakistani label Found and Jaipur-based Harago are translating artisanal techniques, heritage embellishments and textile traditions into modern menswear capable of commanding global demand and premium pricing.

In the past, South Asian designers from India’s Sabyasachi Mukherjee to Pakistan’s Faraz Manan also gained international recognition, but few focused entirely on menswear. The aesthetic cues were different too.

Built on relationships with master artisans across India, Kartik Research’s designs have won the brand stockists from Madrid to Melbourne, and a slew of loyal clients from Dubai to Shanghai. Founded just five years ago by 26-year-old Kartik Kumra, the Delhi-based label’s latest collection was recently described by the US edition of GQ magazine as “menswear’s finest casual couture”.

Kumra believes the reason his brand has resonated globally — and not just with a diasporic customer base — is because he offers a “real alternative” and a clear “point of view,” both in terms of product design and brand-building elements such as art direction and tone of voice.

“Amongst my generation, it’s sort of the first time people are bringing the understanding of what the standard is globally and applying that confidently to the menswear output in South Asia,” says Kumra.

Distinctiveness is another factor. In a luxury market saturated with easily replicable minimalist menswear, brands infused with recognisable elements from a particular region can sometimes cut through. What’s more, craft-driven fashion has emerged as a point of differentiation in today’s subdued climate, offering value through perceived scarcity and storytelling.

“When everything feels and looks the same, fashion needs to speak to you in a different way,” says Faraz Zaidi, creative director of Found, which was rebranded in 2023 from the streetwear-forward Profound and is now known for its fusion of vintage Americana looks and bold Pakistani artisanship.

“That’s why people are drawn to intentional, slower fashion, derived from an authentic source — which is what limited-quantity but well-crafted pieces offer.”

Growing Global Appeal

What gives this new South Asian menswear wave real weight is its ability to link cultural visibility to commercial success.

Lahore-based Rastah offers one such example. Established in 2018, the Pakistani brand reached profitability for the first time last year, with sales doubling from 2024 to 2025, according to founder and creative director Zain Ahmad. The business recorded gross revenue of $2.2 million in 2025, up 65 percent from the previous year.

Rastah’s pieces have been worn by men in the global spotlight including Justin Bieber, Timothée Chalamet, Zayn Malik, Brian Cox, Lil Baby, Seth Rollins and Barry Keoghan —visibility that Ahmad sees as particularly meaningful because it reflects adoption without a cultural framing.

“It’s not about representation or costume,” says Ahmad. “It’s about the clothes fitting naturally into someone’s personal style.”

Ahmad, who plans to open Rastah’s first brick-and-mortar store in New York by early 2027, is doubling down on the US, the brand’s largest overseas market, as it attracts a growing share of non-diasporic customers. Around 30 percent of clients are currently non-South Asian, he says.

Harago’s fastest-growing markets are Europe and the US. “And these aren’t just South Asians abroad,” says founder and creative director Harsh Agarwal, whose designs have been worn by the likes of Harry Styles and Travis Kelce as well as Tan France. “They’re people drawn to craftsmanship and individuality.”

Harago leans on surface techniques, such as clamp dyeing, appliqué and embroidery, applied in small doses to contemporary resort-wear silhouettes. “It’s always modern [surface decoration], not costume,” says Agarwal, noting the brand’s growing momentum in Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia where it’s already stocked at leading multi-brand boutiques.

Kartik Research is also scaling up. The LVMH Prize semi-finalist and Fashion Trust Arabia-winning brand hit $3.5 million in revenue in 2024, according to Kumra, who expects the business to surpass that figure at the end of the current financial year.

With flagship stores in Delhi and New York and more than 70 global stockists, ranging from Selfridges in London to Bloomingdale’s in Beverly Hills, the brand has gained popularity with a celebrity set including Lewis Hamilton, Joe Jonas and Kendrick Lamar. Roughly two-thirds of the brand’s clients are now outside India, Kumra adds.

“For a long time, South Asian design was either exoticised or stripped of context,” explains Zaidi of Found, who counts Bad Bunny, Justin Bieber and frequent collaborator Riz Ahmed among those who wear the brand. “Now people engage with it as contemporary fashion.”

Over the last two years, Found has expanded its wholesale footprint to roughly 100 stores across the US, Europe, Middle East, East Asia and Australia, while the brand’s direct-to-consumer business has doubled over the past year. “What resonates is the product and point of view,” says Zaidi. “The cultural roots add depth, but quality drives demand.”

Found’s annual revenue now sits “comfortably in the eight-figure range,” according to Zaidi, suggesting a figure of $10 million or more.

The growing number of success stories from South Asia will inspire other menswear brands that are popular in their home markets, from Zurhem in Bangladesh to Amesh Wijesekera in Sri Lanka, even if they have yet to break onto the global stage.

Differentiation Through Craft

The reframing of South Asian craft as high-value menswear may be relatively new, but the conditions behind this shift can be traced back more than a decade.

When British-Indian designer Rikki Kher launched his brand Kardo in 2013, international perceptions of South Asian-made clothing and craft were very different.

“In the beginning, buyers loved the clothes until they learned they were made in India,” says Kher. “Then they would walk away.”

Around 2017, Kher reversed his strategy — openly foregrounding Indian manufacturing, artisan partnerships and Hindi labelling. “We stopped hiding where it came from,” says Kher, who is now based in Delhi. “That’s when the market responded differently, now the brand has been growing.”

Global trends also helped South Asian menswear find an international audience. “I think from 2016 to 2020, there was like a real over-indexing of luxury streetwear and then there was a massive overcorrection to quiet luxury minimalism, and menswear became sort of under-designed. A lot of loose pants, black and beiges… and that’s what stylish menswear was considered for a long time,” Kumra recalls.

For designers leading the counter-movement, craft became a visible antidote to the sameness in the market. It was not just a decorative flourish but an engine for their business.

“That’s where we come in adding a more vibrant, fun, personal version of masculinity. Showing how textiles can be made differently, what imperfection looks like and why that’s valuable,” Kumra adds.

At the same time, designers from outside South Asia started incorporating craft from the region in refreshing ways, expanding the aesthetic repertoire.

“I think Emily sort of opened the doors in many ways to the aesthetic we see now, in terms of it having this heirloom quality,” says Zaidi, referring to Emily Adams Bode, creative director of US luxury label Bode. “Clothes like that you would previously have to seek it out at like vintage fairs and antique stores, but she kind of brought it to the forefront and the mainstream.”

The pandemic then accelerated the trend. “After Covid there was a massive boom in interest toward craft — not just fashion, but interiors, jewellery, homeware,” Agarwal recollects. “People were travelling again and wanted pieces with character rather than logos.”

At Rastah, which began with hoodies featuring embroidery details and slogans in Urdu, crafted pieces have become more of a mainstay. This year the brand is looking to release an entirely artisanal collection.

“I think there’s a fine line between appreciating our design heritage and balancing it with a modern aesthetic in order to innovate,” said Ahmad. “What we’ve done is taken the traditional techniques and then completely reinterpreted them. That’s created a different look and feel for what those techniques look like to the contemporary consumer.”

For British-Bangladeshi designer and Central Saint Martins instructor Rahemur Rahman, whose Bangladeshi textile-based menswear work has been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum and now sits at V&A East’s permanent collection, the reframing is about authorship.

“Our textiles were always present in Western fashion, it’s just been repackaged in a rooted way and being recognised as South Asian,” Rahman explains. “The difference is now we are the authors of our craft story.”

Ahmad links the movement to a growing confidence among South Asian creatives. “There used to be pressure to fit Western fashion codes,” Ahmad says. “Now authenticity itself resonates.”

More Than a Trend

It’s hard to tell if the rise and popularity of South Asian craft today represents a lasting reordering of menswear taste or just a cyclical moment. But Agarwal takes a cautious view. “Fashion is cyclical — it could be a trend,” he says. “But [the growing appreciation of] authenticity and quality give it a chance to last.”

Zaidi sees the movement as part of a group of place-based styles with an indefinite life span.

“When you look at Japanese fashion, Scandinavian fashion, none of them have been a trend; they haven’t gone away. They’re very deeply intertwined into fashion now,” he says. “So in my opinion, there’s absolutely no reason why South Asian would be any different, especially when we’re all doing it at such a tasteful level now.”

But Kher, who’s been running his brand longer than the rest, believes longevity comes with a focus on product over identity. “You want to be a great brand that happens to come from India,” he says. “Not just an Indian brand.”

As for Kumra, the global appeal of South Asian menswear simply reflects the mood of the times.

“I think our clothes offer a slightly atypical worldview on dressing,” he says. “And I think maybe that’s where the times are headed now. People are drawn to products that are still wearable, but just with a little bit more going on than being obscure.”