South Asian representation in fashion is no longer confined to the margins of the industry. Across the pages, covers, runways and social feeds of the world’s most influential fashion publications, a new generation of South Asian talent is increasingly impossible to overlook.
A recent Vogue Instagram post brings together six names that capture different facets of that changing landscape: Manish Malhotra, Rashmika Mandanna, Simone Ashley, Natasha Poonawalla, Dhruv Kapoor and Jaya Raheja.
Together, they reflect the breadth of South Asian influence in contemporary fashion—from couture and cinema to global celebrity, luxury and emerging creative talent.
What makes the group particularly interesting is that there is no single definition of what South Asian representation looks like anymore.
Manish Malhotra
Few names demonstrate the evolution of Indian fashion on the global stage quite like Manish Malhotra.
He first became widely known through his work as a Bollywood costume designer before establishing his eponymous label in 2005.
His work has long occupied the space between cinema, celebrity and couture, bringing Indian embroidery, embellishment and traditional silhouettes into the vocabulary of contemporary glamour. Vogue has described his career as a journey from costumes to couture, with hundreds of film credits shaping his visual language.
In 2026, that journey reached another significant milestone when Malhotra made his debut on the official Paris Haute Couture Week calendar.
His couture collection drew heavily on Indian craftsmanship, including zardozi, resham, crystal work and hand embroidery, while experimenting with ways to take traditionally Indian techniques into an international luxury context.
Rashmika Mandanna
For Rashmika Mandanna, representation is inseparable from the idea of crossing borders.
Her career has moved across India’s regional film industries and languages, making her part of a new generation of Indian stars whose audiences are increasingly national and global. Vogue India recently described her as someone who has had to navigate different languages, industries and ideas of regional identity throughout her career.
Mandanna’s presence in fashion reflects the increasing visibility of Indian popular culture internationally, while also demonstrating how celebrity style can become a form of cultural representation. She represents an India that is multilingual, regional and global all at once.
Simone Ashley
Few contemporary actors have become as closely associated with a new generation of South Asian representation in Western popular culture as Simone Ashley.
