Rahul Mishra Spring/Summer 2026 at Paris Couture Week

Rahul Mishra Spring/Summer 2026 / SS26 Haute Couture Collection at Paris Couture Week entitled ALCHEMY

“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars.” says Carl Sagan. Today, science and ancient wisdom arrive at the same wonder. “We are made of starstuff,” as he reminds us—affirming that the human body is not separate from the cosmos, but an extension of it.

The elements that once burned within stars, now circulate through breath, bone, and blood. All life forms are a precise and fragile arrangements of elements. Ancient canonical text from the Indian subcontinent, the Rig Veda, speaks of this continuity through the idea of the panchabhuta—earth, water, fire, air, and space. Like forces in motion, different expressions of the same source, constantly transforming into one another. Life emerges only when these forces gather in fine balance. When one overwhelms the other, the harmony is disturbed. Life does not end—it dissolves, returning quietly to its elemental form. Like a seed, in the womb of the earth, suspended in nothingness of its own, soaks the warmth of the sun and moisture in the soil. It feeds on minerals created precisely when the star was born, which then dispersed into particulate solar systems, of which, it is a particle’s particle. Nourished from the thousands of life cycles of plants, animals, microorganisms, fungi and such—it grows above the surface, into the atmosphere, now inhaling and exhaling, linking its rhythm to that of the forest. And when it is time, the tree returns to nature—body to body, earth to earth.

Alchemy, reflects on the transience of these foundational life forms, interpreting them as they are felt, not seen. A pilgrimage in couture, seeking sensation and feeling. It begins at the ether (akasha), the cosmic vastness, the eternal silence; which is not nothingness, but intelligible potential. The impression of air (vayu), its lightness, movement and enormous strength, traced into fabric through instinct and memory. Fire (agni) is the transformational force, like a contemplation. Shapeless by nature, but gives form to anything it touches. Water, (apas) obedient to gravity yet constantly in motion, a mirror to the moon and the world around it, yet humbly adapting to each vessel it inhabits. And Earth, the eternity’s ledger of memories. Shaped from the interactions between the other forms, it is a vessel retaining their traces and textures, the force of resilience and tenderness.

To a human life, the universe may be billions of years in making, but to itself, it has just begun. A single cross-section in time, expanding in permanent chaos. Each end is a beginning, like an endless thread, looped and knotted on the surface, again and again in quiet meditation. Within the Rahul Mishra atelier, this meditation becomes art. Time is slowed, measured not in hours but in attention, translating memory into craft and fantasy. A human act mirroring a cosmic one: assembling elements with care, balance, and restraint, until harmony reveals itself.

Tanishq, in its continued presence at Paris Couture Week since 2023, presents its exclusive collection of Desert Diamonds on the couture runway, placing the spotlight firmly on the origin of natural diamonds. Formed deep within the earth over millennia, these stones carry the spirit of the land—each one holding the silence of wild desert landscapes. Their natural spectrum, from warm whites and honeyed hues to whiskey and sunset browns, unfolds like terrain shaped by time. Prized for their individuality, subtle tonal shifts, and depth of character, Desert Diamonds are connoisseur stones—quiet markers of rarity and restraint. Crafted into bold, sculptural forms inspired by nature, and created in partnership with De Beers, the jewellery mirrors Rahul Mishra’s vision with precision and poetry. Having first found resonance in the USA, Tanishq now introduces these exceptionally rare natural diamonds to India, inviting collectors and jewellery connoisseurs to experience stones of singular provenance, presence, and grace—conceived as wearable art on one of the world’s most revered fashion stages.