Amit Aggarwal Turns DNA Into Couture Code at Hyundai ICW 2025 Show

On the third day of Hyundai India Couture Week 2025 in association with Reliance brands, an initiative of FDCI, designer Amit Aggarwal cracked open the molecular blueprint that makes us and turned it into couture. His collection, Arcanum, was an invitation to look inward. Where last year’s Antevorta studied time’s edge, this season Aggarwal mapped the double helix, our DNA, into fabric, form and fantasy.

The showcase unfolded in five conceptual chapters: Origin, Bloom, Pulse, Mutation, and Memory, like a secret code you could wear. The runway itself felt dreamlike: models emerged in cocoon-like dresses, sculptural yet voluminous, their movements echoing the swirl of strands under a microscope.

Adding to the sensory drama were the bags they carried, which had trailing slender incense sticks that left a drifting veil of smoke and scent behind. The air felt ritualistic, almost sacred, as if each look wasn’t just a garment but a meditation.

For menswear, Aggarwal broke every rule in the book. Sheer shirts and mesh tops paired with wide-leg metallic trousers blurred the lines of “masculine” dressing. Gloves added a hint of industrial rebellion, while smokey eyes on male models sealed the point: gender is fluid, and the old rules are irrelevant here.

High-shine finishes caught the light at every turn. Pleats twisted like DNA spirals. Experimental polymers and layered sheers transformed each piece into a fragment of a living organism. He proved that couture can be both dystopian and deeply human at once.

Presented by the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), Hyundai India Couture Week 2025, held in association with Reliance Brands Ltd, will run through July 30 2025. The week will see some of India’s biggest Indian couturiers take the stage, including Manish Malhotra, JJ Valaya, Tarun Tahiliani, Ritu Kumar, Falguni Shane Peacock, Rohit Bal, Aisha Rao, Rimzin Dadu and more.