How fashion is taking the stage at concerts in India

How fashion is taking the stage at concerts in India Premium

In 2024, Akhila Banoth remembers chancing upon a photo, on Instagram, of a sari with a unique design: rock band Linkin Park's typography and a stylised photo of its members emblazoned across the pallu by Oikkyo Calcutta. “I saved it for the future and maybe, I did manifest a Linkin Park concert in India after all,” she laughs. Once news broke last year that the rock band would be performing at Lollapalooza Mumbai, 2026 the 36-year old operations manager knew just what her outfit for the concert would be.

For the country's most fashionable and the many more who are eager to experiment and jazz it up, India's growing roster of concerts and its thriving music festival circuit have become an ideal playground to put one's best sartorial foot forward.

Akhila drapes her Linkin Park sari | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A music lover who has always been interested in fashion, Akhila says that she does not miss out on the opportunity to dress up for concerts, and consciously puts together outfits depending on the vibe of the gig; be it techno, or jazz or even an Indian music concert.

At Lollapalooza Mumbai, Akhila paired her sari with a corset blouse and added a nose ring for an Indian touch. “I love fusion fashion, boho styles and I love when people mix western and Indian wear. I styled my sari as well keeping in mind the music festival vibe and went with a corset blouse. So many people came and spoke to me at the festival about my sari,” she says.

The opportunities to dress up for music in India, are immense, given the concert boom that is well and truly underway. The #ThrowBack2025 year-end report released by BookMyShow records a 17% growth in live entertainment consumption and read that there were 34,806 live events including concerts across the country last year. With concerts happening across the country, the number of people travelling to catch these experiences live saw an increase of about 18% in comparison to the previous year as well. BookMyShow reported a ₹641 crore economic impact spanning hospitality, transport, tourism and retail from Coldplay's Music Of The Spheres tour concert in Ahmedabad, alone.

In December last year, when South African singer Tyla performed in Mumbai, a video of concert-goers, particularly impeccably styled women, dubbed ‘concert baddies', went viral on Instagram. The comments, many not from the country, were a mix of admiration and surprise, along the lines of, “Didn't know baddies like this existed in India.”

Subiksha Shivakumar, model and content creator who was also featured in the viral video feels that the shock and surprise in these comments felt racist. “We have been fashionable, and dressing like this for so long. I think it took a group of people who do not know anything about India for our own people to really start appreciating ourselves and our style more, and experimenting more,” she says.

The minute her tickets are booked for a concert, Subiksha says she begins to think about what to wear. While comfort takes precedence for her while putting together a look, given the amount of walking involved, she says there needs to be a big statement piece. “It should say something, and have some kind of an expression. Musicians express themselves creatively through their music, and concerts are a place for people who will appreciate expression of art, and for me that is fashion,” she says.

Actor, model and musician Jason Arland | Photo Credit: Ullas Srivastava

Mumbai-based actor, model and musician Jason Arland also makes a case for incorporating Indian touches to concert outfits, reflecting on how many looks from the Tyla concert had statement Indian jewellery, something he says elevates any outfit. “I wore an intricately embroidered shawl belonging to my mother to the last concert I attended, and was asked if I was going to a sangeet or to celebrate a festival. Why can't I celebrate my culture, clothing and craftsmanship at a music festival as well? It feels like there has to be an occasion to wear our own traditional clothes because we are so westernised in so many ways,” he says.

“I do not take being called a ‘concert baddie' as a compliment. Indians have always been the ‘baddies',” he says.

For inspiration, Jason says he most often does not have to look beyond home. “Our mothers, fathers and grandparents have some of the best closets. And I do not believe in incorporating their clothes and jewellery into my concert wardrobe simply owing to nostalgia, but I do it because it is timeless. The last outfit I wore, where I styled my mother's shawl for a concert, felt so personal. It wasn't just about dressing up; I was being myself,” he says.

‘Concert baddie' or not, the path to the final concert look, of DIY-ing outfits, trawling through thrift stores, and even some last minute chaotic purchases thrown in, is an experience concert lovers say they have come to immensely enjoy.

When we speak to Sabista Khan, a marketing strategist from Pune, she is ready with her outfit for the evening; for Himesh Reshammiya's Cap Mania Tour. “I start planning my outfit the minute my tickets are booked for a concert,” she says. For the Cap Mania tour, she has a glittery dress as an ode to his repertoire of party songs, and a cap, of course. “The first thing I do is to reach out to my favourite thrift store when I start putting together my concert wardrobe. I approach this in two ways; if it is an independent artiste, I let the genre influence my wardrobe and for a music festival, I put together a look that reflects my personal style,” she says.

For a Halloween concert headlined by Punjabi singer Talwiinder last year, Sabista chose a black mesh dress. When Coldplay came to India, she embraced colour, painting her nails in a spectrum of fluorescent shades to echo the bouncing balls that light up the concert venue. In anticipation of attending Taylor Swift's Eras Tour a couple of years ago, she went a step further, designing a dress from scratch, an aesthetic she describes as her favourite album Folklore meeting Bridgerton.

Sabista Khan at a concert | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

“I personally sourced the fabric for this Victorian outfit, with layers in a light beige and made a headband with dried rose petals and acrylic pearls. Even though I did not get to go to the concert, I loved the process so much and seeing my vision come together,” she says.

Deepshika Kale, a Bengaluru-based graphic designer, says spending time on planning for and curating a concert look largely boils down to expression. “There is also a lot of inspiration on Pinterest for festival outfits. I also take Mumbai's humidity into consideration while putting together these looks of course, and being able to comfortably jump around and even partake in mosh pits,” she laughs.

It however isn't always about elaborate outfits as well. Despite having a summery outfit planned for Lollapalooza last year in Mumbai, Deepshika says that once she found out fans like her were planning to wear red and black to listen to Louis Tomlinson, she made a chaotic, last minute dash to shop at Bandra and picked up the first outfit she spotted in the colour scheme; a football jersey. “You dress not only for yourself and the artiste, but to feel at one with the community that is attending. As One Direction fans, for many of us, it was a dream come true to see Louis in India and it felt nice to wear those colours and share the joy,” she says.

Whether DIY-ing, or consciously rewearing and curating looks from their own wardrobes, or putting together outfits last minute, there is a very tangible impact that these live events have on fashion. While several brands including Levis and H&M have partnered with music festivals for merch and limited-edition drops, quick commerce fashion sites have started to curate looks as well, making it easy for shoppers.

Ahead of the Lollapalooza weekend in January, Mumbai-based quick commerce fashion platform Zilo, which promises deliveries of clothing, shoes and jewellery from a host of brands in 60 minutes or less saw a 37% spike in orders in comparison to the normal weekend buying trends of shirts and dresses, and instead saw demand for concert specific styles such as jorts, tube tops, Korean pants, and cargo pants. “We also saw a surge in searches for last-minute concert essentials like stockings and sling bags, and while we did not stock Linkin Park T-shirts, this was searched nearly four times more than all other keywords,” says Padmakumar Pal, co-founder and CEO.

Live events, Padmakumar says, helps them create buzz within the platform and customers, he says, make a beeline for their app when they put together their outfits last-minute. “We also recently got stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania on board to curate looks that people can shop, and this is also something concert-goers can also refer to,” Padmakumar says.

With John Mayer all set to perform in Mumbai on February 11, millenials and a section of the GenZ who have discovered his music are most definitely working on their outfits. What will it be; a t-shirt featuring the man himself? Recreating outfits from his music vidoes? or just a sparkly dress to dance in with comfortable sneakers?

Published - February 06, 2026 11:50 am IST

The Hindu Weekend / music / fashion

Source: TheHindu
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