Kitschy Couture's New Collection Blends Western Whimsy and Tamil Tradition

As part of the diaspora, I am very familiar with the cultural tug-of-war that South Asians experience when growing up abroad. For a long time, I felt a distinct split in my identity, existing in different forms within the four walls of my Indian household and outside of it. Designer Abarna Kugathasan experienced a similar cultural dissonance, being born and raised in Berlin to two Sri Lankan parents. However, rather than ‘picking a side’ or embracing one side of her identity over the other, Kugathasan created her own transcultural haven, honouring her Tamil roots and her German upbringing through Kitschy Couture.

Kitschy Couture is a whimsical, avant-garde exploration of traditional Tamil fashion and contemporary Western aesthetics. We at Homegrown have long been fans of Kitschy Couture’s work, starting with their debut collection, ‘Buttercream Fantasy.’ Inspired by the decadent, kitschy cakes her mother made when she was growing up, Kugathasan brought lingerie-inspired bridal looks to a runway inspired by a Tamil wedding, culminating in the marriage of a bride to herself. Her follow-up collection, ‘Artificial Paradise’ is a continuation of this story, bringing her bride to a tropical island for her honeymoon. 

The world first saw the ‘Artificial Paradise’ collection at Berlin Fashion Week for the Spring/Summer 2025 season. When she announced the new collection on Instagram, Kugathasan described the line as an “escape from reality,” where the bride is “drunk on love and immigrant nostalgia” and “contrary cultures collided and fused into one.” Using a public pool as a runway, the show opened with a model floating around the water seated on a large inflatable swan. Wearing pink swimwear-meets-lingerie bottoms, her hair is ethereally gelled and waved across her body, making for a striking introduction to the collection.

Every aspect of ‘Artificial Paradise’ is contradictory in its aesthetics, bringing plastic swimsuit materials and traditional Tamil draping styles together, mixing lingerie with ethereal, expansive silhouettes, and ultimately, melding the magic of historic South Asian culture and modern Western whimsy into one. Kitschy Couture takes an unconventional approach to its creative expression of the diasporic experience, but its risks pay off. Other than being beautiful to look at, something undoubtedly resonates about the kitschy, fantastical world that Kugathasan has created. 

Kitschy Couture will be debuting their next collection, a series of Valentines-inspired looks, at Berlin Fashion Week on February 1st.

Follow Kitschy Couture here.

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