Paris Fashion Week 2026: WforWoman marks India’s first high-street showcase

Early this March, Indian high-street retail brand WforWoman, owned by Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL), debuted on Paris Fashion Week’s runway. Amidst the grandeur of haute couture, WforWoman exhibited quiet restraint, paring India’s craft with 18th-Century Parisian art on garments that come to define the everyday functional wear for most urban women — think co-ord suit sets paired with dupattas.

Held from March 2 to 10, the fashion week showcased nearly 67 ready-to-wear runway shows and 31 presentations by global powerhouses such as Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Courrèges, Tom Ford, Louis Vuitton, and Hermès, alongside WforWoman’s latest edits — Poetic Reverie, Pristine Summer, Youthful Celebration, and The Holiday: The Indian Way.

“Last year, we participated at the New York Fashion Week, and I think that already set W on the global stage”, says Sreyashee Halder, head of design at WforWoman, adding that the brand’s design team reached out to the fashion week a few months ago. The collections, she says were created over a span of three-four months, keeping in mind a shared artistic dialogue between India and Europe.

“We wanted to ensure the perfect equilibrium between Parisian old-world charm and Indian heritage by marrying hand-drawn vintage botanical art inspired by 18th-Century Parisian art with modern contemporary silhouettes,” she adds.

Sreyashee believes that the brand’s collections at Paris fashion Week hold a mirror to the dress code that defines the modern Indian woman. “For the digital prints on textiles like modal, we zeroed in on Parisian archival inspiration with vintage botanicals, which represent a time when French expressionists and artists collaborated to document the world’s beauty through painterly strokes. This stands reflected in the collection Poetic Reverie,” explains Sreyashee. She adds, the collection also features Parsi Gara embroidery, which is accented with pearls and beadwork.

In the collection Pristine Summer, bi-colour pastel silhouettes serve as a canvas for aari embroideries, while Chikankari-inspired embroideries take centre stage in the collection Youthful Celebration. “It is where the beauty of ‘Jardin des Versailles’ meets the timeless craftsmanship of India,” she adds, stating that The Holiday: The Indian Way collection explores resort wear.

In all of these collections, suit sets, cotton pants, shirts and long dresses are the dotted with recurring floral motifs. “All these edits also comprise cape sets, gilets and potlis,” says Sreyashee, who believes that the brand’s debut at Paris Fashion Week adds to its aspirational value. “It stands testimony to not just the functional aspect of prêt garments, but also to the artistic merit of fashion that is mass produced,” she signs off.