NY Fashion Week: Nazranaa Transforms Cultural Masterpieces Into Wearable Art
Photos: John Martin Productions
India-West Staff Reporter
NEW YORK, NY – Nazranaa, the celebrated Indian fashion and bridalwear brand, unveiled its SS26 collection Samskriti on September 11 at The Glasshouse in New York. Founded by sibling designers Shivangi Gupta Singh and Shashank Gupta, Nazranaa is known for blending couture with South Asian heritage.
The latest collection, Samskriti, draws inspiration from the designers’ spiritual journey and the rediscovery of Indian culture—beyond what is typically taught in families or history books. It celebrates India’s forgotten art, literature, and philosophy, reinterpreted through couture. Inspired by the 15th-century Sanskrit palindromic poem Shri Ramakrishna Vilomakavyam by Surya Pandita, the collection honors the brilliance of India’s cultural genius.
“As a child, I remember being mesmerized by ambigrams in Angels & Demons. Years later, I discovered the 15th-century Sanskrit palindromic poem, which tells the story of the Rāmāyaṇa when read left to right, and Kṛṣṇa’s life when read right to left. I was baffled by its brilliance, and I knew I wanted to use my love language—fashion—to shine light on such forgotten treasures. Samskriti is our humble effort to give credit to works of art like this and honor our ancestors through couture,” said Nazranaa co-founder Shashank Gupta.
The visions of Samskriti materialized in an 18-piece collection, where sherwanis and lehengas became canvases of storytelling through couture. The showstopper lehenga is inspired by Maharishi Valmiki’s weaving of the 24-syllable Gayatri Mantra into the Ramayana: the first syllable begins the epic, and each thousandth verse begins with the next syllable.
This concept was translated into a lehenga with 24 panels, each starting with a syllable of the mantra at the top, followed by the corresponding verse and chapter at the base. Each panel is hand-painted with the story from that chapter, while the dupatta depicts the sage himself writing this timeless scripture—a transformation of sacred text into wearable art.
