Shahin Mannan I AM brought a collection about identity, individuality and the freedom to question expectations to the runway when the designer presented it at Lakmé Fashion Week in partnership with the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) in October 2026 in New Delhi.

What We Inherit and What We Choose

Shahin Mannan I AM explored the tension between what we inherit and what we choose for ourselves: the expectations we grow up with, the rules we learn to follow and the instinct to eventually question them. Through a contemporary vocabulary of silhouettes, textures and graphic interventions, Shahin Mannan turned that idea into clothes that champion self-expression without prescription.

Shahin Mannan I AM: Denim and Unexpected Proportions

On the runway, structure met ease, with sharp silhouettes set against relaxed proportions and familiar everyday forms. Jersey, suede, denim, Swiss poplin and cotton silks came together across the collection, creating contrasts in weight, texture and movement. Denim emerged as the defining element. It anchored the collection in something recognisable, while unexpected proportions and material combinations pushed it into a more individualistic space.

Moths, Insects and Graphic Text

A strong visual language ran through the collection in the form of moths, insects, abstract forms and graphic text, rendered as intricate embroidered artworks. Detailed and almost illustrative, these motifs turned familiar garments into pieces that felt personal, instinctive and unexpected. The embroidery was not simple embellishment. It became an extension of the collection’s larger story, embracing imperfection and individuality as something to be expressed rather than corrected.

Rethinking How Clothes Are Worn

With Shahin Mannan I AM, the designer also kept challenging conventional ideas of how clothing should be worn and interpreted. Contrasts sat at the centre of the collection: precision against nonchalance, familiarity against disruption, and structure against freedom. The result was a wardrobe that resisted easy categorisation and kept personality at its centre.

In Shahin Mannan’s Words

At its heart, Shahin Mannan I AM was a declaration of selfhood. It asked what remains when inherited expectations, prescribed identities and familiar rules are stripped away, and it proposed clothing as a space in which individuality can exist on its own terms.