India, May 25 -- The first time I visited Nicobar, it was the spring of 2016, and Tulsi Garden was still the kind of address that felt like a secret worth keeping. The frangipani-lined studio was dressed almost entirely in white with hanging cotton lights. There was something quietly radical about the simplicity of it all. Indian fashion was still largely chasing occasion, and here was a brand asking a different question: what if you just wanted something beautiful to wear on a Tuesday? The party that followed was anything but quiet. Designers, editors, architects, friends in dozens. The city had turned up.

Ten years later, same address, same trees, same courtyard. The collections have moved from white into a deeper palette, sharper silh...