“I don’t want to see Indian clothes only at weddings,” Tarun Tahiliani on his luxury prêt store in Bengaluru

In an interview with the New Delhi-based fashion designer, we speak about Bengaluru’s ‘global Indian’ fashion sense

There has been a divide between ‘ethnic’ fashion and western fashion in India. “But the way we dress is changing. Indians are changing. I don’t want to see Indian clothes only at weddings. I felt we needed a new thing,” says couturier Tarun Tahiliani. That is where his luxury prêt label, called OTT, steps in. We are sitting in Phoenix Mall Of Asia in Bengaluru, where his OTT store recently opened. There is a buzz behind us as choreographer Prasad Bidapa is prepping the models for a runway show later in the evening.

OTT is ‘India modern’, an aesthetic the New Delhi-based designer has been championing for decades now.

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“From the time we started showing in Milan in 2003, we did these western separates which were India inspired. But somehow when you have a store that sells bridals and beautiful embroidery, it gets swallowed. I wanted to focus on that. And that idea became OTT.” The Spring Summer 2026 collection of OTT defines itself as study in movement, texture, and assured ease. Cocktail saris, easy overlays, casual bottoms and tops make up the collection. Dresses range from sculpted draped numbers to breezy kaftans. The stunning corsets from the collection are the standouts. Fabrics such as crinkled silks, foil jerseys, organzas and knits make the pieces fluid, but structured.

Tarun Tahiliani | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Draping used as a structural technique is an apparent motif in the collection. “As I have travelled around India over the last 15-20 years, I have seen beautiful things. Styles that are simple and native to one place. The man in Kutch will wear the frill jacket, working women in Mumbai will hitch their saris up. We look at things like that and make a cool skirt, for example. The drape form in India is dying, and we want to keep it alive. That is the genesis of OTT.” The drape skirts in the collection resemble pleats on a sari and can be dressed up or down in different ways.