Menswear has spent the last few years speaking in fairly loud registers. Streetwear brought oversized proportions, graphic statements and a steady stream of references into the mainstream; occasionwear has its own codes, while the office wardrobe continues to be shaped by easy shirts, trousers and jackets. The space between these categories leaves room for a more thoughtful approach to everyday dressing. As work and social lives overlap, the demand for clothes that can be flexibly used between settings, hold their shape and still allow for individual expression becomes increasingly relevant. It is this approach that the New Delhi label Draft XX has set out to address.

Founded by Aaditya Shah in 2025, Draft XX works with the idea of the man in progress. The name comes from the act of drafting a final version: a process with room for edits, decisions and further development. Shah's larger ambition is for the label to become associated with people actively working towards the lives they have imagined for themselves. The clothes give that thought a practical form, through a wardrobe built around elevated essentials, soft tailoring and a restrained approach to design.

Shah's reading of the Indian menswear market began with a divide between ethnic and western dressing. The former, he believes, has a well-established field of labels and designers continuing to refine the category. Westernwear presents a different picture. Legacy brands, in his view, have continued to serve a customer whose needs have moved on, while newer labels have leaned heavily into streetwear and trend cycles. Draft XX is aimed at the man who wants more consideration in his clothes as he moves through work, dinners and occasions, without dressing as though every outing requires a new identity.

That brief calls for a wardrobe with range. A jacket should work across settings; a shirt should have enough character to stand on its own; trousers should be comfortable through a long day and still hold their shape at dinner. Draft's answer is a collection of familiar forms adjusted through fabrication, silhouette and detail. The fits are relaxed, the tailoring is soft, and fabrics are selected for their texture, drape, weight and movement. The intention is to give everyday pieces a little more thought while keeping them wearable.

The label's approach to construction follows the same logic. Its garments are made without lining, fusing or padding, with stitch details left exposed. These choices bring the making of a garment closer to the surface, allowing the fabric and workmanship to carry the design. They also reflect Shah's interest in restraint: removing elements that do not contribute to the finished piece, and knowing when a design has reached its natural limit.

Price is part of the proposition, too. Shah wants the label to make considered dressing accessible without asking customers to spend a fortune to achieve it. That involves decisions at several stages, from the fabrics selected to the number of pieces in a range. His family remains closely involved as a sounding board and a source of critique, particularly on textiles and quality. The standard he describes is one of resolution: a design can take many forms, but its proportions, palette and construction have to work together. Colour, in this approach, is chosen for the mood a collection is trying to convey, with each element expected to justify its place.

His understanding of that restraint developed long before Draft XX took shape. Shah studied finance and economics and went on to work in investment banking; he did not train in fashion or design. His family, however, has a longstanding textile background, with generations of conversations around fabric, quality, colour and the decisions that make a garment work. Shah credits those dinner-table discussions with developing his eye and giving him a vocabulary for assessing design. “Knowing when to stop is the hardest part of design, and it’s what I learned at that table,” he says.

That education is visible in the way a collection is put together. Shah begins with the story and emotion he wants a collection to communicate, then uses that framework to assess each proposed piece. Range planning and muslin mock-ups help establish the shape and fit; fabric, trims and details follow, with further edits before final sampling. Consumer feedback also informs the process, particularly when it comes to fit, colour, pricing and the balance of a range. The result is a design process that leaves room for instinct while accounting for the practical demands of running a clothing label.

Draft 02, the brand's AW26 collection, is titled “Momentum” and takes its reference from the physics equation p = mv. The concept connects with Shah's interest in forward movement and the accumulation of decisions that take someone closer to a goal. It also gives the collection a language that extends the label's founding idea without requiring every garment to carry a literal statement. The emphasis remains on the clothes: considered essentials, soft tailoring and details that reward a closer look.

For Shah, the next stage involves taking Draft's worldview beyond India while keeping its design language consistent. He sees focus as essential to building a recognisable label, with a clear sensibility carried across collections over time. The ambition is substantial, but the proposition is easy to understand: dress the man who is making plans, taking on new responsibilities and working out what comes next. Draft XX gives that stage of life a wardrobe, one built around the idea that becoming is an ongoing process.

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