Can Indian Streetwear Become a Global Force?

“The goal is not to be an Indian brand going global, but an inherently global brand from India,” says Khanna. Rkive City, which is stocked by Galeries Lafayette, is set to launch outposts across India and beyond that will deconstruct and reconstruct discarded garments, starting in 2026.

“In the last couple of years, we’ve had a lot more international orders than ever before,” says Avni Aneja, who founded collaborative sports and streetwear venture Six5Six with her brother Ambar Aneja in 2018. “We’ve been constantly shipping across borders, working with sports leagues and celebrity stylists abroad.”

A volatile market

Running an Indian streetwear brand with global aspirations comes with its challenges. Evolving international export regulations and saturated markets ruled by legacy giants such as Supreme, Stüssy, Off-White and Kith are major deterrents. India currently faces a 50% tariff on exports to the US, the highest among major textile, apparel and footwear exporting countries in Asia.

This is shaping channel and merchandising strategies. “Pre-pandemic, when we were a business-to-business brand, we had an agent in Paris and Shanghai [and] a network of around 14 stores in Europe and China,” recalls unisex streetwear label Huemn’s Pranav Kirti Misra. “Now, we’ve pulled back on that.” Focusing on direct-to-consumer (DTC) helps the brand bypass tariff inflation and market volatility abroad, he says. Misra is also focused on creating “cultural moments within India for the world”. Huemn staged its standalone SS26 presentation, which starred women’s cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who closed the show, right after India’s victory over South Africa in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in November.