Luxury houses usually arrive in India with a flagship and a press preview. Oscar de la Renta is choosing a quieter entrance. From October 22 to 24, 2026, the New York label makes its Mumbai debut through The Living Room Story, an exclusive trunk show in a city that has developed an appetite for discovery over display.

The platform’s own story explains the choice. Founded in 2019 by Ashmi Bhansali and Sanaa Choksi, it began in the living room of the founders’ home. In 2020 it moved to Peace Haven, the blue bungalow in Bandra that is now inseparable from its identity. Since then it has added venues like Soho House and collaborations with names such as jeweller Hanut Singh.

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Holding the edit together is Anaita Shroff Adajania, stylist, creative director, former Fashion Director of Vogue India and founder of Style Cell, whose clients include Isha Ambani, Deepika Padukone and Kim Kardashian. A house known for evening wear and bridal gowns, she explains, has to be read through the woman, not the garment.

“Curation always starts with the woman,” she asserts. Where will the piece be worn? How will it be styled? Does it feel special without trying too hard? Celebration dresses, evening statements and sophisticated separates made the cut, along with silhouettes that move between intimate dinners and larger occasions. The brief was never volume. It was the moment a client thinks, I can see myself wearing this.

Her own sensibility shaped the selection. Indian women, she observes, share an instinctive relationship with colour, embellishment and femininity, which pulled her towards movement, celebratory shades and fine detailing. She also made room for the woman who doesn’t want to look traditionally dressed. “The most exciting fashion happens when those two worlds meet effortlessly.”

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A retail preview presents a collection, while a trunk show allows a conversation, the story behind each piece, and the chance to imagine it in your own wardrobe. That intimacy disciplines the edit. “Every piece has to earn its place.” Her own picks are the sculptural details and the house’s signature palette, pieces with a strong point of view that create a feeling instantly.

Is this a one-off or a beginning? “Absolutely.” India, she argues, now has a well-informed consumer who wants the world’s best fashion made relevant to her. The Living Room Story is positioned to that gap, bringing in more international houses while continuing to back Indian talent.

In a market racing towards scale, the most luxurious proposition may be the smallest room.