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Designed beyond labels, sewn with heritage—made to adorn the human spirit in its most regal form.
When summer in India hits its peak — the kind of heat that softens tar and slows traffic — fashion stops being about appearance and starts being about endurance. The right outfit becomes a quiet ally: breathable against the skin, easy to move in, elegant enough that the daily question of what do I wear today never feels like a chore.
Fashion designer Prerna Gupta, whose summer edit was recently featured in Lokmat Times, believes the answer to dressing in extreme summer lies in three quiet choices — breathable fabrics, relaxed silhouettes, and light, intentional colours. From kaftans built for noon to mulmul kurtas made for long evenings, here are the five summer outfits she recommends every Indian woman keep in active rotation this season.
The kaftan has graduated from holiday-only territory into a year-round wardrobe essential. Its loose, airy silhouette skims the body rather than gripping it, allowing skin to breathe — exactly what an Indian summer demands. From beach brunches to long-haul flights to mehndi mornings, a well-cut designer kaftan is the closest fashion comes to wearing nothing at all, without actually wearing nothing.
Why kaftans work for Indian summers:
Loose, breathable cuts that keep body temperature low
Universally flattering — work beautifully on every body type
Minimal styling required — slip into sandals and walk out the door
Style a printed kaftan with oversized sunglasses and a woven tote for daytime, or a hand-embroidered one with statement jhumkas and metallic kolhapuris for an easy evening look.
Few outfits look as put-together with as little effort as a cotton co-ord set. A breezy shirt with wide-leg trousers, or a crop top with matching shorts — the match itself makes the outfit feel intentional even when you’ve picked it in thirty seconds.
Why cotton co-ords are a summer essential:
Breathable and sweat-friendly in high humidity
Read as polished without effort
Equally appropriate for casual outings, travel, and work-from-home days
For an Indian summer twist, pair a printed cotton co-ord with juttis and oxidised silver. For a Western edge, swap in white sneakers and a sleek shoulder bag.
The saree is often dismissed as too heavy for summer — wrongly. In the right fabric, it becomes one of the most breathable silhouettes you can wear in 40-degree weather. Kota Doria, Chanderi cotton, and handloom mulmul sarees, paired with sleeveless or short-sleeved blouses, turn six yards of fabric into a moving stream of air.
Why lightweight summer sarees work:
Elegant yet genuinely comfortable
Perfect for work, summer lunches, festive day events
Encourage airflow far better than heavily layered outfits
For brides-to-be building a summer trousseau, lightweight handloom sarees in pastel hues or hand-block prints are an investment that pays dividends every season afterwards.
If there is one fabric every summer wardrobe should keep in reserve, it is linen. Linen breathes like cotton but drapes like silk. A loose-fitting midi or maxi linen dress allows constant air circulation while still creating an elegant silhouette — the perfect uniform for the worst weeks of summer.
Why linen is unmatched in heat:
Naturally cooling fabric with excellent moisture absorption
Sophisticated silhouette that needs minimal accessorising
Pairs beautifully with woven hats, statement earrings, or simple flats
The trick with linen is to lean into its natural crinkles rather than fight them — that lived-in texture is part of the fabric’s charm, not a flaw.
For women who love traditional silhouettes but need something the heat won’t punish, the mulmul kurta paired with palazzos is the answer. Mulmul — the soft, gauzy cotton woven for generations across India — feels almost weightless against the skin, even at the hottest point of an afternoon.
Why mulmul kurta sets are a summer staple:
Traditional yet effortlessly modern
Comfortable enough for daily wear
Ideal for office days, shopping, college, or casual gatherings
Style yours with oxidised silver jhumkas, a pair of slip-on mojaris, and a thin gold dupatta — and you have an outfit that works from a 9 AM meeting to an evening of monsoon-night street shopping.
If you remember nothing else from this edit, remember the three quiet principles that make summer dressing effortless:
Fabric first. Choose natural fibres — cotton, linen, mulmul, Chanderi, Kota Doria — over synthetic blends every time.
Silhouette second. Loose, relaxed, body-skimming cuts let air move. Tight tailoring is for cooler months.
Colour third. Light, pastel, ivory, and earth tones reflect heat rather than absorb it.
Get these three right and the rest takes care of itself.
This season, the Été-Élegance Summer Wedding Couture line brings these five principles together — breathable fabrics, relaxed silhouettes, and considered colour — across a collection of designer kaftans, summer kurtas, lightweight sarees, and flowy dresses. Each piece is built for the Indian climate but designed to look at home anywhere from Jaipur to Lake Como.
The brand’s design philosophy is simple: summer dressing should never feel like a compromise. Style and comfort are not opposites — they are collaborators.
Explore the full summer edit → Shop summer at prernaguptas.com