Nachiket Barve

Fashion and costume designer Nachiket Barve is an alumnus of the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad. He was the only student to be awarded a scholarship by the French Government to study at ENSAD, Paris. What's more the Indian fashion designer completed his final project with mentors Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, was an intern at Celine -a subsidiary of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy- and also worked with textile designer Neeru Kumar.

An alumnus of the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad.. Nachiket Barve was the only student to be awarded a scholarship by the French Government to study at ENSAD, Paris. What's more the Indian fashion designer worked with haute couture ateliers learning handmade flower making, pleating and working with feathers, leather and accessories. Barve completed his final project with mentors Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla and was an intern at Celine -a subsidiary of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy- and with the textile designer Neeru Kumar.

Per Elle: “Driven by curiosity and authenticity, Nachiket is a minimalist through and through. Ever since he launched his eponymous label in 2010, the designer has showcased contemporary collections rooted in art and history that transcend across trends." The appeal of the luxury label transcends generations and is worn by noted celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Elizabeth Hurley, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anushka Sharma and Sonam Kapoor Ahuja among others. Nachiket firmly believes that good design should add joy and value to the life of every customer and design should be accessible and inclusive.

In March 2007 Nachiket launched his eponymous label at Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai. Since.. he has been invited to show his designs at Buenos Aires Fashion Week in Argentina and Coterie in New York City. In 2010, Nachiket won the British Fashion Council and Elle "Fashion Entrepreneur of the Year" award where he represented India. In 2012, British Fashion Council invited Nachiket Barve to showcase a collection at the annual Alchemy festival in South Bank, London.

Versatile in his approach to design, Nachiket has been a pioneer in the space of design collaborations. He has created successful collaborative capsules for a plethora of brands such as bed linen for Bombay Dyeing, custom created desserts and packaging for Le 15 Patisserie, fine jewellery with gold, diamonds and enamel for Jet Gems, Space design for Asilo, St.Regis and been the first designer to collaborate with Yauatcha, India. he has also been designing Uniforms for Corporates including Jio World Centre and Educational Institutes including the Dhirubhai Ambani International School in Mumbai.

Beyond fashion Nachiket Barve started designing costumes a decade ago and has never looked back since then! Having been a part of acclaimed films, he has been awarded the State Award and other prominent costume design awards including the Zee Award for his work in films such as ‘Katyar Kaljaat Ghusali’ and 'Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’. He has also designed costumes for the period drama ‘Tanhaji; The Unsung Warrior’. Currently Nachiket is designing costumes for ‘Adipurush’ starring Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan and Kriti Sanon, a biopic on the Maratha Warrior Bajiprabhu Deshpande and the battle of Paavan Khind. Nachiket Barve made headlines when he was awarded Best Costume Design at the 68th National Film Awards for his work designing costumes depicting Maratha culture for the film.

Per Vogue: Nachiket Barve explains: "As a designer, I also had to hold back. For instance, with Kajol's character, Savitribai, I stayed away from embroidery of any kind—as supposed to my design sensibility today. It would be historically incorrect. There was scope of over 1,800 costumes to be envisioned for the film. Here, you exist within the universe of the period. Whereas, in fashion, it's a different dialogue with the zeitgeist [of fashion] and the client."

As per his official website- Nachiket Barve is a passionate wildlife enthusiast and photographer, connoisseur of Indian Crafts in his personal life. He is inspired by nature and that spirit informs his vision and work as a designer. He is an avid traveller, dog lover and an ardent collector of coffee table books on design as well as an enthusiastic chef. 

Mumbai-based fashion designer Nachiket Barve does not believe in following trends as he feels that fashion design should be a form of self expression and individuality. With this in mind he crafts collections that are creative, innovative and contemporary and each of the pieces are immediately recognised as his.

For far too long, the fashion- conscious Indian who doesn’t fit into fashion’s definition of sizing has been relegated to wearing whatever is available. Nachiket Barve's design philosophy is to challenge pre-existing norms and make fashion relevant to every one no matter race, age, size or body type. His collections allow wearers—of all shapes and sizes—to embrace themselves in all their stylish glory. 

Nachiket Barve designs contemporary Indian collections rooted in art and history. The occasion wear is an extension of his signature style yet the additional three-dimension appliqué and hand embroidery keeps the ensembles fresh and wearable. The surface ornamentation in each collection takes master craftsmen and artisans hundreds of hours to handcraft, in particular the cutwork, intricate thread embroideries, hand-cut floral appliqués and beading.