Amit Aggarwal has said, on more than one occasion, that he considers himself first and foremost a pret designer. His public career has not always reflected that. Since founding his eponymous label in 2012, after training at NIFT and an early stint under couturier Tarun Tahiliani, Aggarwal has been most publicly identified with polymer-draped, architecturally structured, occasion-built couture, that earned him a standing ovation at India Couture Week 2024 and a place on Paris Haute Couture Week’s calendar. AM:IT, relaunched this February with a dedicated store at Dhan Mill in New Delhi and a debut installation at India Art Fair, is his most direct move yet toward making that original self-description true.
AM:IT is a pret label, but its construction logic is drawn entirely from couture. Garments are built from upcycled Banarasi saris, metallic overlays, base design muslins, and the signature polymers Aggarwal has worked with across his couture collections for over a decade.
Draping, corded construction, and pleating: the techniques come from the atelier, not adapted away from it. Silhouettes cover daywear, statement separates, layered essentials, and detachable styling elements, positioned to function independent of weddings, galas, or any occasion-specific context.
Aggarwal’s connection to this label predates his couture chapter. AM:IT was the name he worked under in his earliest years, before the eponymous label took shape in 2012 and before his 2018 debut at India Couture Week with Crystalis established him firmly within that circuit. He is reviving it now, after a period in which his team has grown to over 500 people and his retail footprint has expanded to three stores across Delhi and Mumbai.
Across Indian luxury fashion, Pret has been gaining ground as a serious commercial category. Designers who built their reputations in bridal couture have been launching diffusion lines, priced and positioned for a consumer who shops year-round and not only for weddings. Aggarwal’s approach differs in one specific respect: AM:IT is not a simplified version of his couture work. It is built from materials that have already had one lifecycle, using construction techniques that are identical to those applied in pieces priced multiples higher. Upcycling is embedded in the construction process itself, not applied as a finishing narrative.
“Those who have followed my journey from the beginning will know that I started with AM:IT when I was still discovering my voice. Even then, the idea was to look at exceptional materials differently and give them a new life. It was about playing with silhouette and form, and creating pieces that spoke directly to the wearer and brought out their individuality and inner confidence,” Aggarwal said.
For the label’s public debut, Aggarwal chose India Art Fair 2026, now in its 17th edition and its largest to date with 133 exhibitors. Beyond the art trade, the fair has developed a reputation as a gathering point for a design-literate audience that follows the crossover between craft, commerce, and contemporary culture. Aggarwal presented an immersive installation in the BMW lounge, built from preloved Banarasi textile worked into a sculptural form derived from his signature Pod silhouette, through draping, corded construction, and pleated surfaces. Its frame was textile as a carrier of memory, specifically the kind accumulated through craft knowledge and repeated technique, material that continues to evolve rather than retire.
Dhan Mill, where AM:IT has opened its first dedicated store, has consolidated a position as one of New Delhi’s more design-conscious retail addresses, with tenants that celebrate independent craft and contemporary design. For AM:IT, a standalone store at this location separates the label from the flagship Amit Aggarwal retail experience and gives it room to operate on its own terms.
“Over time, couture became my primary focus and grew into its own universe. I was building a dream world, and I have been fortunate that our patrons met me there. But I felt it was time for me to meet them in their world. A world where the dream is not reserved only for special occasions, but becomes part of everyday life. This is why I brought back AM:IT,” Aggarwal explained.
Couture remains Aggarwal’s primary line. AM:IT’s store at Dhan Mill is the label’s first standalone retail presence, separate from his existing flagships in Delhi and Mumbai. Collections are available now. India Art Fair, which closed on February 8, drew its largest audience to date across its four-day run at NSIC Exhibition Grounds in Okhla. Aggarwal has been publicly consistent on one position: that exceptional materials should be kept in circulation and that the construction knowledge developed in couture should not be confined to garments reserved for two occasions a year.
