MAM
Kunal Rawal’s Winter/Festive’19 collection “CONFLUENCE” unveiled at the 20th year of Lakme India Fashion Week
Mumbai: The eccentricity of the new collection is inspired from the thought of versatility and new age grooms. Merging tradition with millennial, Kunal presents an exciting design solution to the men’s wear wardrobe!
Confluence, the name is inspired by various elements of the collection such as rock and roll, grunge, military rodeo; a clash of few worlds that come together seamlessly.
An element of bespoke streetwear with motifs like rocket rose etc. deconstructed silhouettes and technical baraat kurtas target the contemporary pulse. The play of cuts and patterns and garment construction creates multi-utility in every garment.
This season comes up with elements which have never been seen before. Inspiration from heritage archives comes in the form of Indian handlooms for the kurta over-shirts. Craft touches includes embroidery giving the ordinary function a new avatar with texture play, combining digital prints with embroidery for the first time.
For the first time, metal detailing is presented in the traditional wear, for e.g adding functional metal clasps with our bundi giving a liveliness and class to the look.
The Bandhgala comes in a variety of options, worn over shirts and kurtas. Sherwanis with curved hemlines that cheat the silhouette and the layering of shirt, waistcoat, kurta and trousers. Fitted with tight ankle length trousers, tailored bottoms will set a trend for the coming season.
The rodeo grunge is reflected in distressed styles with layered cuts, extending the inspiration to the finer details of every look. Color palette is new and exciting infusing darker shades like cobalt going into pinks and mint.
A story behind every design, makes the collection a must have for every groom and grooms men to be. It is a fusion of ideal festive wear that could be termed as an anti-trend but multifunctional collection that will allow the wearer to adapt and express his individual style quotient for the coming season with his unique stamp.
The runway will be a carnival of colors representing the different moods and variants for every occasion.
Excited about the launch of this new collection, Kunal Rawal said, “My festive collection this season takes me back to my love for grunge and rodeo. Titled Confluence, you will witness a clash of different worlds with hints of industrial grunge, rodeo & multifunctional outfits. Modern street wear combined and our Indian roots are brought together to offer diversity to the contemporary Indian man, who is looking for versatile outfits that they could multi task in. This time we are trying to take our concept a notch deeper with the fabric and garment construction. The collection comes to life with my favorite limited edition boAt x Kunal Rawal accessories…a must have for every KR man!”
boAt accessories brings the collection to life in its full glory on the runway with boAt x Kunal Rawal special edition collection!
On the association, Aman Gupta, Co-founder, boAt said, “At boAt, we aim at curating sound experiences that resonate with an individual’s rhythm, beat and style. The collaboration with Kunal Rawal and Lakmé Fashion Week has given us the ideal platform to position our brand among millennial who don’t shy away from expressing their style quotient. The capsule collection designed by Kunal are refreshing and inspiring, which is completely in sync with boAt’s philosophy.”
MAM
ASCI study uncovers how Gen Alpha navigates ads in endless digital feeds
‘What the Sigma?’ ethnographic report maps blurred boundaries between content and commerce for 7–15-year-olds.
MUMBAI: Gen Alpha isn’t scrolling through the internet, they’re living rent-free inside its never-ending dopamine drip, and the ads have already moved in next door. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Academy, partnering with Futurebrands Consulting, has published ‘What the Sigma?’, an immersive ethnographic study that maps how Indian children aged 7–15 (Generation Alpha) consume, interpret and live alongside media and commercial messaging in a hyper-digital environment.
The research draws on in-home interviews, sibling and peer conversations, and discussions with parents, teachers, counsellors, psychologists, marketers and kidfluencers across six cities. It examines not only what children watch but how algorithms, content creators, peers and parents shape their relationship with the constant stream of shorts, vlogs, gameplay, memes, sponsored posts and ‘kid-ified’ adult material.
Five core themes emerged:
- Discontinuous Generation, Gen Alpha is not growing up alongside the internet, they are growing up inside it. Cultural references, humour, aesthetics and language sync globally in real time, often leaving adults functionally illiterate in their children’s world. A reference that lands instantly for a 10-year-old in Mumbai or Visakhapatnam feels opaque or disjointed to most parents.
- Authority Vacuum, Parents and teachers frequently lose cultural fluency in digital spaces. The algorithm responsive, inexhaustible and perfectly attuned to preferences becomes the most attentive presence in many children’s daily lives. Rules around screen time feel increasingly difficult to enforce when adults cannot fully see or understand the content landscape.
- Digital as Society, Online and offline no longer exist as separate realms, they form one continuous reality. The phone is not a tool children pick up; it is the primary social environment they inhabit.
- Great Media Mukbang, Content flows as an ambient, boundary-less, multi-sensorial stream. Entertainment, advertising, commerce, gameplay, memes and vlogs merge into one undifferentiated feed. The line between active choice and passive absorption has largely collapsed.
- Blurred Ad Recognition, Children aged 7–12 typically recognise only the most overt advertising formats. Influencer promotions, gaming integrations and vlog sponsorships often register as organic entertainment. Children aged 13–15 show greater ad literacy but remain highly susceptible to narrative-integrated, passion-driven and emotionally resonant brand messaging. Discernment remains low across the board in a non-stop stream.
ASCI CEO and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, “ASCI Academy’s study is an investigation into the content life of Generation Alpha not to judge them but to understand them. Their cultural reference points seem disjointed from those of earlier generations. Insights on how they perceive advertising is the first step towards building more responsible engagement frameworks, given that they are the youngest media consumers in our country right now.”
Futurebrands Consulting founder and director Santosh Desai added, “While earlier generations have been exposed to digital media, for this generation it is the world they inhabit. This report explores not only what they watch but how they are being shaped by algorithms, content and advertising.”
The study proposes four adaptive, principles-led pathways:
- Universal signposting of commercial intent using design principles that make advertising recognisable even to young audiences.
- Ecosystem-wide responsibility shared among advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents.
- Future-ready safeguards built directly into children’s content experiences rather than as optional background settings.
- Formal media and advertising literacy embedded in school curricula to teach age-appropriate understanding of persuasion and commercial intent.
In a feed that never pauses, Gen Alpha isn’t merely watching content, they’re swimming in an ocean where entertainment, commerce and identity swirl together. The real question isn’t whether they can spot an ad; it’s whether the adults building the ocean can agree on where the lifeguards should stand.
