Where the next fashion wave may come from

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the style quotient of Northeast India just can't be beat. Nongothung Ezung, or Nango, founder of Homeland Elegies, a clothing brand rooted in Nagaland's heritage, agrees. His old family albums with his parents in flared trousers, high-waisted pants and traditional wrap skirts mixed with colourful western tops alone are a testament to the fact. The region also witnessed the Korean wave in 2008, almost a decade before the rest of the country did. "It's just that the region was isolated or ignored," he says.That isolation is beginning to crack. The trickle of national interest in the Northeast's fashion, food, music, festivals and culture has become a steady stream, helped by travel, pop culture and social media. Celebrity outings have brought further focus: Kateeria Kapoor Khan wore Aizawl-band Hannah Khiangte's contemporary interpretation of the Mizo puan, while Sonam Kapoor stepped out in an ensemble inspired by the Tangkhul kashan, from Manipur-based East, and Aamir Khan was spotted in Homeland Elegies. From Aizawl and Guwahati to Dimapur, Kohima, Shillong, Ukhrul and Imphal, designers are turning the region's storied fashion sense and rich traditions of craft and design into homegrown businesses with ambitions far beyond the region.BEYOND THE LOOMAt first glance, this is a handloom story. After all, the Northeast is home to some of India's richest textile traditions. But a new generation of brands is reimagining that heritage for the contemporary consumer.134513834In Aizawl, Hannah Khiangte puts Mizoram's traditional puan through the language of contemporary tailoring. Her eponymous label, launched in 2013, works with women weavers, turning the puan into sharply tailored jackets and structured dresses."When I started in 2013, there was a very clear perception of what a designer from the Northeast was expected to represent: handloom, craft, tradition," she says. Today, "people are beginning to engage with the design language rather than only its geographic origin".Celebrity outings by Jacqueline Fernandez and Shilpa Shetty have helped the brand. The real impact is when a Mizo textile appears on a major platform or is styled in a mainstream fashion context, challenging the idea that Indigenous textiles belong only in a particular kind of setting," says Khiangte.134513839Challenging such ideas also drives Dimapur-based Moala Longchar and her brand Kintem, which means "communities" in the Ao-Naga dialect. Growing out of the weaving unit Longchar's mother started in the mid-1990s. Kintem gives the traditional mekhela and shawls a contemporary facelift through geometry, colour and Naga motifs.Meanwhile, in Manipur: Easternlight Zimik returned to Ukhrul after working with designers like Marmish Arora and Gaurav Gupta to launch East in 2023. The label works with Manipur's hackstrap or loin-loom weaving traditions, adding belts and pockets to traditional wraps to make the festive functional.Elsewhere, Shillong-based Iba Mallai works with Meghalaya's ryndia silk; Assam-born Ura Maku turns eri silk into workwear, and Aizawl-based Studio Ngote combines Mizoram's loin-loom textiles with materials such as bamboo; and at 11 Tareng, a luxury label, Jayshree Koijam and Reena Ahanthem contemporise Mettel textiles, particularly Khurkhul.134513842134513850However, heritage isn't the only way to be a fashion brand from the Northeast. Tribe Fiction began around 2013 in Bengaluru when Joel Sailo started doodling on T-shirts and friend-turned-business-partner Amos Lalremtuariga marketed them. The duo eventually returned to Aizawl to build a streetwear brand looking beyond "Northeastern craft". "We want an Indian brand with a global sensibility," says Lalremtluanga.Kohima-based Akali Kibami's Li-Mheghi takes another route with handmade products. "There is a difference between genuinely appreciating brands from the Northeast and simply looking for something with an ethnic or tribal motif," she says. Social media now brings Li-Mheghi interest from outside the region, including global orders.WHO’S BUYING?Even though the Northeast is the primary market of these brands, demand is increasingly coming from outside the region. Kintem is seeing an encouraging response from Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi, along with a trickle of international consumers. For 11 Tareng, which works across Imphal, Delhi NCR and London, US and UK are markets they want to target through pop-ups and tie-ups with multi-brand outlets.134513853Ezung, who calls Homeland Elegies his homecoming, was clear from the beginning that the brand, though rooted in indigenous culture, needed to have a universal appeal to have a long-term impact. Having worked in retail at Nicobar, he knew the ropes of setting up a ready-to-wear brand. Around 95% of his customers now come from metros outside the Northeast, and the label has crossed ₹1.5 crore in revenue in two years.Mallai gave up a corporate hustle in Bengaluru to start Kiniho…