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I feel like a bright buoy bobbing in a sea of greys, browns and blacks. Standing around me, wrapped in structured leather coats, funnel-necked tops and cashmere knits—all in neutral colours—the guests arriving for Cos’s New York Fashion Week (NYFW) show look like cut-outs from a look book. My purple taffeta dress with its cinched waist and puff sleeves makes me stick out like a sore thumb at best, and Barney the dinosaur, at worst. I pull the black Cos blazer I’ve carried closer around my shoulders in an attempt to blend in.
Inside the show venue—a former rope factory in Brooklyn—rows of steel benches are placed on either side of a brutalist concrete runway. The models show off 47 looks, all cubicle-friendly uniforms from woollen pencil skirts and crew-neck jumpers to button-down shirts and silk maxi dresses. There are a few outliers for those who want to transition from the boardroom to the bar, like the checked high-neck top and midi skirt, or the breezy hooded silk top and shearling jacket for a dash of that ‘office siren’ energy.
A month before Cos’s NYFW show, design director Karin Gustafsson was in Mumbai to announce that the brand would make its India debut in Delhi in October. While the minimalist Mumbai vs maximalist Delhi argument was quick to ensue, it’s a great time for the brand to arrive on the subcontinent no matter where it has chosen to drop anchor. According to trend forecasts, India’s affordable luxury market—a segment not too many international brands currently sit in—is expected to experience a compound annual growth rate of 13 to 19 per cent until 2029.
Gustafsson, who has been with Cos since its inception in 2007, is thrilled about finally bringing the brand to India, but she is more excited to see how buyers here make the clothes their own. “Our aesthetic is fairly understated and focuses on shape and simplicity, so the pieces are very combinable,” she told me at the Mumbai preview. “The clothes can be layered and styled in many different ways.”
For an industry that is under growing pressure to innovate, India has proved to be the gift that keeps on giving. Just look at the snakes and ladders board set for Louis Vuitton’s spring/summer 2026 menswear show, Alia Bhatt’s India-inspired Gucci gown at Cannes or Prada’s outrageously priced Kolhapuri chappals that created headlines this year alone. During her Mumbai visit, Gustafsson found inspiration in the city’s thriving antique market. “It had so many different textures, crafts and surfaces. I think surfaces are something we are going to explore at Cos going forward.” The design director was also amazed by the stories growing in every corner of Mumbai, ripe for plucking. “When we went out for a meal, the chef would come out to explain the meaning and origin behind each dish—how the flavours meet, which sauces pair well and how it is best enjoyed. We don’t have that back home. That’s what I want for Cos in India: to allow the wearer’s personality to shine through.”
In Brooklyn, Gustafsson’s words come floating back to me on the crisp afternoon breeze. Maybe I don’t look like Barney in my purple dress and black blazer. Maybe I look like Prince. And Prince wouldn’t want me to blend in.
This story appears in Vogue India’s November-December 2025 issue, now on stands. Subscribe here.
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