Three debut labels and a student showcase take Lakmé Fashion Week's Day 2 runway

New designers and fashion students took the runway on Thursday, October 15, 2026, the second day of the main shows at Lakmé Fashion Week in partnership with the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) at the Taj Palace in New Delhi. The day opened with NIF Global Presents GenNext, the fashion week's platform for debut labels, which this season showed three: Abhishek Chauhan Studio, Subbah by Kolkata-based designer Nimisha Diwakar, and Day & Age by Shreya Parasrampuria and Sharan Adka. Later, NIF Global's student showcase, The Runway, was closed by actor Tejasswi Prakash as showstopper.

Big names draw the cameras at any fashion week, but the slots for new labels are where the industry's future is decided. GenNext gives young designers what is hardest to get on their own: a runway in front of buyers, stylists and fashion media in a single afternoon. For a small label, one good show can lead to orders from multi-designer stores, a place on online luxury platforms and press coverage that would otherwise take years to build.

This season's three labels show the spread of where new Indian fashion is coming from. Subbah's designer is based in Kolkata, and an early preview said her work brings the city itself into focus. Day & Age is run by a design duo, a common model for young labels where one partner leads the creative side and the other the business. The programme's selection is competitive: designers apply months ahead, and this season's applications closed on June 30, 2026.

Student showcases such as The Runway matter for a different reason. They let design schools show what their graduates can do, and they let industry scouts spot talent before it reaches the market. Bringing in a well-known actor as showstopper is a deliberate choice: it puts student work in front of a much wider audience on social media than a student show would usually reach. Tejasswi Prakash's walk, in which she removed her jacket mid-runway to reveal the full outfit, was widely shared online by her fans.

For women building careers in fashion, both formats point to the same thing. The route into the business is no longer only through a famous designer's studio. Competitive platforms, school showcases and digital audiences now offer other ways in, though turning a debut into a lasting business still depends on production, pricing and steady orders.

Short-term: The three GenNext labels get attention from buyers and press during the busiest week of the Indian fashion calendar, which can lead to first stockist orders.

Long-term: A strong debut can shape a young label's next few seasons and its first stockist relationships. Student showcases help design schools place graduates with brands.

Who is affected: Young and first-time designers; fashion students and design schools; multi-designer stores and online platforms looking for new labels; and shoppers who want fresh Indian design.

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