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
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
