Amit Aggarwal closed the curtains on Lakme Fashion Week X FDCI with a high-octane showcase. The designer presented the latest line from his prêt label, AM:IT, during the grand finale, in collaboration with Lakmē 9to5. Also Read | Aneet Padda talks collaborating with Amit Aggarwal for Lakme Fashion Week grand finale, her mom’s beauty secrets | Interview
Because both are about transformation, our collaboration with Lakmē and the idea of the 5PM Glam Reset felt like a natural fit. Because it recognises how fashion and beauty help us transition between different moments of our lives, lakmē’s ‘5PM Glam Reset’ is an interesting idea. Because both fashion and beauty share this ability to create a sense of renewal, our collaboration with Lakmē felt very natural.
The designs featured structured silhouettes, expressive colours, rich textures, glamorous designs, and an innovative mix of everyday and industrial materials, including recycled plastics, plastic wire (reminiscent of market shopping bags), traditional chatai (woven Indian mats), crushed shiny polythene, and foil-like textures. He transformed the runway into the everyday streets of India, delivering a visual showcase that was vibrant, nostalgic, and full of great designs: from street lamps to ice cream stalls and autorickshaws. In an exclusive interview with HT Lifestyle, the designer opened up about the design language of his latest prêt collection from AM:IT, the inspirations that drive his creativity, working with Aneet Padda , who closed his Lakme Fashion Week showcase, and more. AM:IT is an extension of my design universe, where the research, material, experimentation, and architectural language of my couture find a more immediate expression in everyday dressing. It is about making design more accessible without losing the innovation and individuality that define my work. I wanted to translate these observations into contemporary menswear that feels expressive yet effortless. It is that moment when you shift gears, rediscover your confidence and express a different side of yourself. For me, AM:IT is about giving the modern man that freedom through what he wears. Working with Aneet has been a wonderful experience. She brings such a fresh, effortless energy to the runway, which beautifully reflects Lakmē’s ‘5PM Glam Reset’ philosophy. I love how naturally she embodies the balance of structure and fluidity that defines AM:IT, making her the perfect showstopper to bring our vision to life. The biggest challenge is retaining the integrity of the design while making the garment intuitive to wear. Couture gives us the freedom to explore a concept in its most experimental form, whereas prêt requires us to consider movement, comfort, versatility, and how a piece fits into someone’s everyday life. With AM:IT, the intention was never to dilute the design language but to translate it intelligently. We continue to explore architectural construction, material contrasts, engineered draping, and distinctive surfaces, but every element has to serve a purpose. The real achievement is when a garment carries the depth of research and experimentation behind it, yet feels completely effortless on the person wearing it. I am constantly observing the world around me, and India is an incredibly rich visual archive. What interests me is the coexistence of seemingly opposing elements: the rawness of concrete alongside intricate ornamentation, the geometry of architecture alongside the fluidity of textiles, or the vivid colours of everyday life against weathered, neutral surfaces. Rather than beginning with one specific object or location, the collection emerged from these accumulated observations. I wanted to look at familiar surroundings differently and extract their underlying forms, textures, and rhythms. The idea was to reinterpret these references rather than reproduce them literally, allowing them to evolve into contemporary silhouettes and material expressions. For me, design often begins with noticing something ordinary and discovering an extraordinary possibility within it. The shift from day to evening doesn’t necessarily require a complete transformation; sometimes it’s simply about changing the energy with which we present ourselves. Through AM:IT, I interpreted this as a shift in attitude and expression. A new layer, an unexpected texture or a play of proportions can transform a familiar outfit and give it a completely different character. The garment becomes a way of expressing a more confident, individual side of yourself. It’s not about dressing for a particular occasion or following a set of rules, but about embracing the freedom to express different sides of yourself as the day evolves. For me, the balance begins with understanding what is essential to the design. Architectural form, material innovation, and an interplay of structure and fluidity have always been central to my language. The challenge is to express these elements in a way that feels natural rather than imposed. For AM:IT, we work with colours, craft, and structure to build familiar wardrobe staples elevated through unexpected construction or detailing. The idea is to create pieces with a distinct identity without overwhelming the wearer. I believe wearability is not the absence of experimentation. It is about making experimentation relevant to real life. A garment should have its own point of view, but it should also allow the wearer to interpret it in their own way. I was particularly excited to bring our approach to material exploration and architectural construction to AM:IT. At the heart of my work is the curiosity to understand how a material behaves, how it can be transformed, and how it can create a new relationship between the garment and the body. In couture, these explorations can be pushed to an extreme. With prêt, we take the same spirit of experimentation and consider how it can translate into a garment that moves, feels and functions well in everyday life. This means being thoughtful about construction, weight, comfort and the placement of detail. The research remains just as important, but its expression becomes more immediate. I want the wearer to experience something distinctive through the garment, even if they are not aware of the technical process behind it. I would like AM:IT to represent the freedom to express yourself without feeling confined by conventional ideas of how you should dress. For me, clothing is not simply about appearance; it is about how you inhabit your body, how you move through the world and how comfortable you feel in your own identity. I want AM:IT to give people the confidence to experiment, to embrace contrasts and to find their own interpretation of the design. The pieces should feel distinctive but never prescriptive; they should become part of the wearer’s life and evolve with them. Ultimately, I want AM:IT to make design and craft-led dressing feel more instinctive and personal. It is about bringing a strong creative point of view into everyday life while leaving enough room for individuality.
This collection, On A Day Like Today, draws inspiration from the visual landscape of everyday India, its architecture, colours, textures, craft, and the unexpected beauty of things we often overlook. Her confidence and individuality align perfectly with the spirit of our collection, On A Day Like Today.
