I travelled to Bhutan Fashion Week 2025 and found fashion with a soul

From the time I landed at Paro’s tiny, kaleidoscopically painted airport, burrowed between the mountains like a secret, I knew this was going to be unlike any fashion week I’d ever attended. The setting alone is magical. Every moment in Bhutan feels touched by something sacred, and as the country celebrated its first-ever Bhutan Fashion Week this autumn, that energy infused the atmosphere. The creativity and self-expression on display felt authentic and full of potential.

Held from October 27 to November 1, 2025, Bhutan Fashion Week marked a seminal moment for Bhutan’s cultural and creative landscape. 20 Bhutanese designers presented their collections across Paro and Thimphu, their runways set against some of the world’s most spectacular natural and historical backdrops. Remarkably, all 20 were women, each weaving her own interpretation of heritage into fabric and form. From my balcony at the newly opened Dawa at Hilltop, with its spectacular infinity pool gazing over a mist-soft valley, I could sense that this week was about more than fashion. It was about identity.

Photographed by Sheetal Mallar

The first shows of Bhutan Fashion Week in Paro unfolded right on the city’s main street, where the red carpet ran beneath the watchful gaze of Paro Rinpung Dzong, a 400-year-old fortress monastery glowing in the late afternoon light. Nine designers, both emerging and established, shared the runway in a vibrant mix of sound and texture, accompanied by local musicians and singers. I saw children perched on curbs, elderly leaning from balconies and even a stray dog claimed a spot beside the catwalk, refusing to budge—a small, endearing reminder that this fashion spectacle belonged to everyone.

Photographed by Sheetal Mallar