Omar Mansoor brings Punjab's heritage to New York Fashion Week

Designer's Spring/Summer 2027 collection celebrates handwoven craft, artisanal skill and natural character of khaddar

NEW YORK:

Pakistani designer Omar Mansoor brought a piece of Punjab's textile heritage to New York Fashion Week on Thursday, placing handwoven khaddar at the centre of his Spring/Summer 2027 collection, The Living Loom.

Presented on Broadway, the collection explored the relationship between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary fashion, with khaddar providing the foundation for a series of sharply tailored jackets, coat dresses, A-line silhouettes and elongated column dresses.

For Mansoor, however, the significance of the fabric lies as much in how it is made as in how it looks.

“The collection started with khaddar,” he told The Express Tribune. “It is a tribute to the ancient tradition of handwoven fabric and to the artisans who have kept this craft alive for generations. I wanted to bring that tradition into a modern wardrobe without losing its true character.”

A look into 'The Living Loom' collection at NYFW. Photo: Author

Woven by artisans in the Punjab city of Kamalia, the khaddar is made using handspun thread and traditional looms. Its subtle variations in texture and weave have deliberately been left intact throughout the collection, making the fabric's natural character part of the garments rather than something to be corrected.

“The artisans of Kamalia, Punjab, were a big inspiration for me,” Mansoor said. “The fabric is handspun and handwoven, using handspun thread, so every piece has its own character.”

The collection itself remains firmly contemporary, with a restrained palette of ivory and black and silhouettes that rely on clean lines, proportion and construction rather than elaborate ornamentation. Triangular forms appear as a recurring motif, drawing on the simple geometric language of Indus Valley artefacts and pottery.

“I was also inspired by the simple geometric forms found in Indus Valley artefacts, which became part of the shapes in the collection,” he said.

Omar Mansoor walks the runway to conclude his show. Photo: Author

The choice to leave the khaddar's irregularities visible also speaks to a broader philosophy behind The Living Loom. In an industry increasingly shaped by rapid production and uniformity, Mansoor wanted to highlight the time, skill and human labour involved in creating the material.

“I wanted people to look at the clothes and feel the human hand behind them,” Mansoor said. “Today, so much is made very quickly and very uniformly. I wanted to celebrate something made slowly, with care, where every small difference in the fabric has meaning.”

Khaddar, therefore, is more than a textile reference in the collection. It becomes a way of connecting the finished garment to the people and processes behind it, from the spinning of the thread to the weaving of the cloth and ultimately its transformation into contemporary clothing.

American Designers launching their Spring/Summer 2027 collections at NYFW. Photo: Author

“Khaddar was the heart of the collection,” Mansoor said. “It is made with handspun thread and handwoven on traditional looms. I wanted to keep the natural texture and small irregularities of the fabric visible. For me, those details are not imperfections. They are what make the cloth special.”

That approach also informs Mansoor's understanding of sustainability. Rather than limiting the concept to the finished garment, The Living Loom considers the origins of its materials, the people who produce them and the communities supported by their continued production.

The collection consequently places a traditional textile practice within an international fashion context without attempting to reproduce traditional Pakistani dress. Its silhouettes and styling remain contemporary, while the provenance of the fabric provides the collection with its deeper narrative.

American Designers launching their Spring/Summer 2027 collections at NYFW. Photo: Author

Mansoor's show was among the fashion events taking place across New York on September 10 as the city entered Spring/Summer 2027 fashion week.

The wider schedule brought together established American names and international designers, making the city a meeting point for different approaches to contemporary fashion.

 

 

 

 

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For Mansoor, that international stage ultimately led back to the material at the centre of his collection and to the people who continue to make it. “The narrative is distilled to its source. It begins with the cloth. And before the cloth, the loom,” he said.

Hailing from a textile family, Mansoor grew up surrounded by fabrics, art, architecture and design before moving to London to study fashion, where he developed his signature approach to clean, elegant and timeless silhouettes.

He launched his eponymous label in 2008, and his designs have since been worn on international red carpets by actresses and members of royalty and featured in publications such as Vogue UK and the Financial Times.