Titled Alchemy, the collection unfolded as a carefully structured progression through the five elements, each interpreted through silhouette, surface, and weight. Mishra approached the idea with near-academic rigor, asking his atelier to give physical shape to concepts that resist definition. The result was couture that felt constructed from ideas as much as from fabric.

The opening looks tackled earth in its most imposing state. These were dark, voluminous garments built on internal frameworks, swelling outward from the body or suspended by wire-like structures. Dense embroidery and heavy sequins created swirling, textured surfaces that suggested geological pressure, cosmic debris, and deep-space matter. The clothes carried gravity - both literal and visual.

Water shifted the mood. Shorter, rounded silhouettes appeared lighter and more playful, coated in dense beadwork that caught light like moving currents. Sequins traced fluid patterns across sheer bases, creating the impression of constant motion, as if the garments were rippling while still. Fire arrived with dramatic confidence and included corsetry and sculpted bodices ignited with flame-like embroidery, radiating outward in molten reds and golds that emphasised heat, intensity, and release.

The final elements, air and ether, were expressed through restraint. Transparency became the primary tool, with layered fabrics hovering close to the body, opening and closing around the form. These looks allowed negative space, softness, and lightness to do the work.

Throughout the collection, the hand of Mishra’s artisans remained central. Every surface was meticulously worked, reinforcing the idea that craftsmanship itself is a kind of transformation. Inspired by time spent in the Himalayas, the collection quietly returned to fundamentals - breath, warmth, matter.

Alchemy positioned couture as a space where science, philosophy, and emotion converge, reminding us that fashion, at its most ambitious, can ask questions rather than simply provide answers.