When Jawaharlal Nehru asked Simone Tata to build an Indian makeup brand to reduce the country’s dependence on imported cosmetics, the idea was as much about self-reliance as beauty. That vision gave rise to Lakmé Cosmetics, which has spent seven decades building its place in India’s beauty market. Today, its investment in fashion is an extension of the same ambition; shaping how Indian women see, wear and buy beauty.
That is the thinking behind Lakmé Fashion Week, which began 26 years ago as an effort to give Indian designers a professional platform and has since evolved into a meeting point for fashion, beauty, commerce and emerging talent. The latest edition, Lakmé Fashion Week x FDCI, ran from October 13 to October 18, 2026, opening with prêt label péro and its collaboration with Barbie, and culminating in a Grand Finale by AM.IT by Amit Aggarwal.
In 1995, the Tata Group entered a 50:50 joint venture (Lakmé Lever) with HUL (then Hindustan Lever Limited) before selling its remaining stake completely to HUL in 1998 to focus on retail sectors. For Hindustan Unilever, its investment in beauty business is not about selling tickets or making money from the event itself. It is about staying relevant to consumers as fashion and beauty trends evolve, while building an ecosystem that can help Indian designers find audiences beyond the country.
“Fashion and beauty will remain fluid,” says Sunanda Khaitan, chief marketing officer, Beauty & Wellbeing at HUL. “The leader brand in makeup needs to be inspired by the movement in fashion.”
As the title sponsor of Lakmé Fashion Week, Lakmé backs and helps run an entire fashion week rather than simply sponsoring an individual show or designer. “It's a very unique activation model. Nobody around the world has it,” Khaitan says. The model, she adds, is unusual because Lakmé commits resources to the event's infrastructure, including models, makeup artists, venue, arrangements and publicity.
For six days, designers can showcase their work on a shared platform without having to independently organise every aspect of a show. Lakmé, in turn, uses the association to identify emerging trends, collaborate with designers and introduce new beauty collections.
A runway that doubles as a business strategy
Lakmé Fashion Week was conceived to address a structural problem in Indian fashion. Designers often had to finance venues, models, production, publicity and logistics themselves, leaving less time and money for their craft. The platform brought these resources together under one roof, while its GenNext initiative created a pipeline for emerging designers.
Over the years, names such as Masaba Gupta, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Rahul Mishra have been associated with the platform in their early stages. The format continues to accommodate fresh talent alongside established designers. Each edition typically features 25 to 30 shows, covering around 35 to 40 designers, while GenNext receives upwards of 200 to 300 entries before a jury selects participants.
For Lakmé, the runway also serves as a live testing ground for beauty trends. Collaborations with designers help translate fashion ideas into products suited to Indian consumers. A collection inspired by Sabyasachi’s jewel-toned designs brought metallic greens and blues into the makeup conversation, while work with Rahul Mishra drew on sculpted silhouettes to develop easy-to-use face products.
More recently, its collaboration with péro explored the working woman’s transition from office to evening occasions. The resulting beauty narrative included hydrating matte foundations and the Haya Beach Edit, built around the idea that women should be able to move from work to social engagements without elaborate changes.
Khaitan says Lakmé launches upwards of seven to eight ranges around the fashion week. The business logic is to make emerging trends accessible rather than confining them to the runway.
The event's operating model reflects that longer-term approach. Lakmé is the title sponsor, with other sponsors including Nexa, TRESemmé and Vaseline, while Reliance is the event partner and FDCI represents the designer community. The platform does not sell tickets or passes, and Khaitan says it is not designed as a profit-making venture. Instead, it builds industry relationships, publicity and brand equity.
“I'm not looking to build revenue. I'm genuinely building industry, fashion, beauty, narrative and brand equity for Lakmé.” she says.
Taking Indian design beyond India
The larger challenge is converting visibility into sustained commercial success. Indian designers are increasingly appearing at international fashion weeks, but overseas expansion requires more than talent. Designers need buyers, retail access and the financial resources to showcase their collections abroad.
Lakmé Fashion Week’s showroom, run by FDCI, brings buyers closer to designers. Khaitan says international interest has improved, citing buyers from Revolve and Selfridges, as well as a representative associated with Paris Fashion Week, at the March edition despite the Middle East crisis.
“Makeup penetration in India is still low. And therefore, the market leader's job is to develop the market,” she opines. Lakmé itself sells in more than 10 countries, primarily serving the Indian diaspora through import channels, particularly consumers seeking suitable makeup shades.
Khaitan believes India can learn from South Korea’s beauty industry, where manufacturing infrastructure and government support have helped brands scale internationally. “It’s not just on to a brand,” she says. “It needs a little bit more push coming from an entire ecosystem.”
For Lakmé, therefore, the fashion week is both a platform for Indian design and a way to anticipate what consumers will want next. Its success, Khaitan says, lies in discovering fresh designers, connecting them with buyers and media, and turning runway trends into beauty statements that reach everyday consumers. The ambition is not simply to put Indian fashion on display, but to build the ecosystem that helps it travel.