Festive Fashion - From almirah to garba floor
Somewhere in a steel trunk, folded between naphthalene balls and a mother’s wedding Banarasi, sits the outfit many young people will wear to the pandal or the garba ground this year. Sharad Navratri runs from October 11 to 19 and Durga Puja falls in the same stretch and with a colour set for every Navratri night, starting with orange and ending with peacock green, the season asks for nine looks at a time when few college students or first-jobbers can afford nine new chaniya cholis.
So Gen Z, the generation raised on fast fashion, is looking backwards, turning old silk into flared skirts, dressing plain dupattas in gota patti and mirror work, and combing Kolkata’s Gariahat and Ahmedabad’s Law Garden for the one blouse or pair of jhumkas nobody else will be wearing. The numbers agree with the mood, as Pinterest’s Fall 2025 trend report recorded a 127 per cent jump in thrift-related searches from India, with “thrift flips” up 486 per cent, while a Mobility Foresights study expects the country’s second-hand clothing market to grow from $5.2 billion in 2025 to nearly $18 billion by 2031.
As the festive season begins, lifestyle creator and a celebrity designer share how they are putting their looks together
Anusmita Dutta
Entertainment and lifestyle creator
For Anusmita Dutta, Puja dressing begins on foot, between the crowded pavements of Gariahat, New Market and Hatibagan, where she hunts for “that one saree, blouse or piece of jewellery that instantly speaks to me.” Skipping trends, she gives traditional pieces “a contemporary, personal spin,” letting accessories follow the outfit’s mood. During Puja, she says Kolkata’s fashion feels “incredibly democratic,” with everyone dressing up, whether shopping at a designer store or a street stall.
Niti Bothra
Celebrity fashion designer, founder and creative director, Label Niti Bothra
“Some of the best Navratri looks are often already in your wardrobe,” says Niti Bothra, who would turn an old silk saree into a flared skirt and dress up a plain dupatta with gota patti or mirror work. “For colour-themed nights, I like starting with a neutral base and changing the dupatta or accessories,” she says, adding that hours of garba call for light fabrics.
