y fluid ease, and richly embellished surfaces that remain surprisingly wearable. Malhotra’s collections, shown at Lakme Fashion Week and steadily gaining attention across India’s fashion circuit, reflect a designer who moves comfortably between couture-level craft and contemporary sensibilities. His trompe-l’œil pieces and dramatic textures have attracted stylists and celebrities alike, generating standout red-carpet moments and expanding his reach beyond Mumbai, where the brand is based. In this conversation with Inside Retail, Malhotra discusses the unconventional path that led him from accounting into fashion and the challenges of defining a design identity in a fast-changing industry. Inside Retail: What motivated you to start your own brand, rather than work under an established design house? Was there a defining moment that made you take that leap? Karn Malhotra: I didn’t have a formal education in fashion. I studied accounting and began my career as an accountant. Fashion was something I taught myself. Working in a design house would have helped, but I didn’t have the qualifications to get there. So the only way to grow my craft was to build it myself, piece by piece.  IR: In those formative years, what were some of the biggest challenges in establishing your identity as a designer in India’s fast-changing fashion scene? KM: Designing under a label is a form of storytelling. It’s not just about what story you tell, but how you tell it. Every season the story changes, but the design language – the touch, the emotion, the look and feel – must stay consistent. Discovering and refining that language was one of the hardest parts.  IR: You’ve been very deliberate in limiting your stockists and maintaining exclusivity. How do you decide where and how your brand should be experienced? KM: We’re very selective because the experience of the clothing is everything. The pieces need to live in spaces that match their emotion and craft, so we work with partners who can create that same intimate, human feeling.  IR: As Indian designers increasingly go global, do you feel the Karn Malhotra aesthetic carries a uniquely Indian identity, or is it more universal in language? KM: At first glance, Karn Malhotra has a universal, contemporary identity – silhouettes and sensibilities seen across global labels. But its soul is deeply Indian, rooted in rich hand embroideries: a craft the world celebrates but rarely credits to its origins.  IR: More than a decade in, what continues to challenge you creatively? KM: Staying consistent in my design voice – making sure the emotion I want to express comes through clearly, without getting lost in the endless possibilities of design.  IR: Where do you see your brand’s next chapter – new markets, product categories, or perhaps more bespoke couture work? KM: We’ve been expanding deeper into the bridal landscape lately, and that’s a direction we’ll continue to grow in.  IR: Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to young designers trying to find their own voice, what would it be? KM: Don’t be in a hurry to commit. It takes time and patience. In the meantime, produce, produce, produce – there’s no better way to learn than by doing it yourself. Further reading: Iroo’s Emily Huang on the quiet challenges of leadership and change.