She may be known for bold prints and adorning Bollywood’s brides, but Masaba Gupta is operating far beyond the fringes of fashion. At once a heritage brand builder, a Netflix phenomenon, and now a fine jewellery contender, Gupta is standing out as a case for why Indian luxury can hold its own against global maisons on the world stage.
To speak of contemporary Indian fashion is to immediately invoke the electrifying sensibility of Masaba Gupta. Her aesthetic—a distinctive, joyful collision of audacious, declarative prints and deep heritage motifs—has made her a non-negotiable fixture, not only on the Bollywood firmament, gracing icons like Sonam Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Priyanka Chopra, but also on the global red carpet with stars like Simone Ashley and Ashley Park. The geographical reach of her work is vast, yet her vision remains singularly unmistakable: a force dedicated to dissolving the perceived, and often rigid, boundaries between tradition and the relentless pace of modernity.
It’s no surprise then, that Gupta’s life has proved as compelling and as strategically disruptive as her own creations. She was raised in the public eye, the daughter of celebrated actress Neena Gupta and West Indies cricket icon Viv Richards, a background that hinted at her future as a multifaceted cultural force. In 2020, she solidified this role by becoming the first Indian designer to anchor a Netflix series about her personal and professional world. Masaba Masaba captivated a global audience, resonating with particular strength in Singapore, one of its most engaged international markets. Yet, the series only ever offered a vibrant glimpse of the full narrative: the complex, compelling story of a designer whose instincts flow fluidly between the meticulous craft of design and the sharp calculus of commerce.
Gupta’s beginnings were remarkably precocious, driven by a palpable, early intent to reshape Indian fashion from the inside out. At just nineteen, her debut collection, Kattran (meaning small fragments of fabric), at Lakmé Fashion Week announced the arrival of a fresh, assertive voice that refused to be categorised. By 2009, this creative impulse crystallised into House of Masaba, a label that has swiftly grown into one of the country’s most distinctive lifestyle brands, now spanning apparel, the inclusive cosmetics line LoveChild, and, most recently, fine jewellery. Accolades have followed rapidly, affirming her dual status: Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2017, Fortune 40 Under 40, and recognition by Forbes India as a leader in ethnic luxury. The ultimate validation of her commercial acumen arrived in 2022 when Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail acquired a majority stake, valuing the company in the multi-millions of dollars. This decisive move cemented Gupta’s status not just as a creative visionary, but as a business leader with powerful institutional backing.
Last week in Singapore, this powerful duality of designer and entrepreneur was put on full, ambitious display. House of Masaba staged its first international preview at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, brought to the Lion City by Melange Singapore, the multi-designer platform founded by Samia Khan to bridge South Asian fashion with Southeast Asia’s luxury market. The showcase, moderated by Beyond the Boardroom’s editorial director Rahat Kapur, was designed to signal the brand’s intent to play boldly at the intersection of culture and heritage on the world stage.
At the heart of the presentation: a bold redefinition of possibility with the launch of a 46-piece fine jewellery line, created in collaboration with the revered house of Amrapali. While Gupta has explored jewellery before, this is her most ambitious declaration, transmuting her signature mascots (the camera, toffee, palm, and Nandi) into objects of permanence. The pieces are crafted in 18-carat gold, set not just with classic diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, but with exotic stones like tourmalines, peridots, tanzanites, and quartz. Gupta framed the effort not as mere ornamentation, but as architecture. During her fireside chat she shared: “This is our first foray into fine jewellery, pieces rooted in tradition yet made for everyday wear, from a white shirt to a saree. They’re designed to be investments that can be passed down for generations.”
What makes this collection particularly striking is its intentional rarity. Many designs are unique, one-of-a-kind, resisting mass replication to ensure each gemstone is honored in its singularity. The collection is deliberately gender-fluid, designed to resonate with any wearer. Affirmations like “Strength,” “Pyaar” (love) and “Peace,” engraved on cuffs and bracelets, anchor the pieces in personal narrative, while the campaign, Identity Crisis, nods to Masaba’s own ongoing evolution.
It was the conversation surrounding the collections, however, that truly illuminated Gupta’s broader strategic intent. She was clear that the jewellery was not conceived as static wealth but as living culture, saying: “I wanted these pieces to be woven into the everyday language of people, and still be heirlooms,” positioning the collection as a bridge between daily life and generational legacy.
She also turned to India’s own position within global luxury, cautioning against the country’s tendency to look outward for cues: “India is ripe to take its place, not just externally, but as a market itself. The energy, experimentation, and dynamism here are sometimes forgotten. We have such a rich canvas of our own making, with an aesthetic and influence that deserves to be valued.”
“Indian fashion has too often been reduced to categories of ‘bridal’ or ‘occasion wear’. My vision is ‘India for the world’, to prove that our heritage can live in the everyday, be worn anywhere, and still feel fearless, contemporary, and unapologetically our own,” she reflected. She also describes her design ethos in three clear strokes. “First, prints that take their cues from Indian iconography; second, silhouettes that drape easily across diverse bodies; and third, a refusal to dilute boldness. These elements aren’t bound by geography, prints resonate universally, comfort is non-negotiable, and boldness is aspirational no matter where you are.”
And why Singapore of all places for her international debut? Gupta pointed to both instinct and concrete evidence. “Some of my most loyal wearers are here,” she said, emphasising the city-state’s role as a market that prizes individuality as much as refinement. “People here are so stylish here, and very attuned to heritage meeting modernity. Singapore itself sits at the crossroads of Asia’s influence. For me, this city was the natural stage to launch a new chapter.”
If Gupta’s prints once disrupted how India wore its traditions, her venture into fine jewellery may yet redefine how the nation builds its generational legacy, living not only in vaults or museums, but worn daily on the bodies and woven into the stories of a generation unafraid to both inherit and fiercely reinvent its culture.
House of Masaba’s fine jewellery collection is now available via her flagship site and her new collection can be shopped via Melange Singapore.