WORN LIKE HEIRLOOMS

ITRH's POLKI couture collection turns the splendour of Polki, Jadau and temple jewellery into richly embellished contemporary silhouettes.

Photos by : ITRH

Some things we inherit are worth far more than their material. A grandmother's necklace, a mother's sari, an embroidered textile brought out for a family celebration: each carries the memory of the hands that made it and the lives it has passed through. With POLKI, Indian couture label ITRH explores this bond between ornament, craft and memory, reimagining the grandeur of heirloom jewellery for a contemporary wardrobe.

The collection takes its name from Polki, the uncut diamonds treasured in Indian royal jewellery for centuries. Passed down through generations, such jewels become keepers of lineage, celebration and personal history. Rather than copying jewellery literally, ITRH translates its luminosity, intricacy, weight and texture into couture, treating each silhouette as an ornament in its own right.

JEWELLERY IN THREAD

The visual language draws on the sculptural grandeur of Jadau and temple jewellery, the irregular brilliance of uncut stones, the movement of motis and the carving of traditional ornaments and idols. At the heart of the collection is jewellery-inspired embroidery. Motifs drawn from temple ornamentation rise through layers of moti, beads, Polki-inspired details, dabka, sheesha, nakshi, gota and fine zari. The embellishment is deliberately dimensional, recalling ceremonial necklaces treasured over decades. Some surfaces are densely encrusted; others are punctuated by fragments of mirror, pearls and jewel-like details that catch the light as they move.

Ghungroos and motis add another sense. Attached to the garments, they sway and softly sound with the wearer, lending the couture an almost talismanic quality. Ornament becomes something experienced through movement, touch and sound, not sight alone.

WOOVEN INHERITANCE

Textiles form the foundation. Tissue and Benarasi brocades, alongside rich Bandhej, bring depth and lustre, their metallic surfaces recalling the warmth of aged gold. Heirloom Phulkari embroidery adds another layer of cultural memory, enriched with ITRH's signature mirror work, dabka and nakshi, so that regional traditions meet in a tactile play of light and texture.

Through its silhouettes, POLKI brings the vocabulary of Indian ceremonial dressing into the present. Volume, drape and structure sit alongside intricate surface work, revisiting familiar forms of occasion wear without losing the craft that informs them. Its maximalism is grounded in the intelligence of its textiles and the skill of the artisans behind each piece.

THE LABEL

ITRH was founded by Ridhi Bansal and Mohit Rai. Rai, one of India's leading celebrity stylists, brings more than 12 years of experience across fashion and film, while Bansal anchors the label in craft and textile storytelling. Together they have built a design language that carries techniques such as Bandhani, Chikankari, Gota Patti and Kutch embroidery into expressive contemporary couture.

POLKI reflects a deeply personal idea of luxury, measured not only by materials or workmanship but by the meaning a garment gathers over time. It speaks to the Indian tradition of keeping beautiful things, wearing them for life's most important moments and passing them on with their stories intact. Each piece is imagined not for a single occasion, but as an heirloom for the next generation.