The summer work wardrobe in India now has to survive two climates. One is outside: blistering, unapologetic, where the sun slurps your energy with the efficiency of a 2000s Glucon-D ad. The other exists indoors, in the corporate purgatory created by overzealous central air-conditioning. Somewhere between heatstroke and hypothermia, the sweater has staged a slightly unhinged comeback in the summer work wardrobe.
While everyone else was discussing breathable dressing, graphic knits kept appearing with suspicious confidence. Celebrities have been wearing them through peak summer, and in offices across the country, chair backs have become coat hangers for emergency cardigans, cashmere shawls and the one “just in case” sweater a colleague refuses to take home.
It makes very little practical sense, which is perhaps why fashion loves it. A sweater in May should feel odd. And yet, if the commute is all glare and humidity while the office thermostat insists on maintaining Zurich-in-November conditions, who are we to argue?
Here are the knits making the indoor tundra more stylish.
The Sabyasachi tiger
The motif has already prowled through celebrity wardrobes this summer—from Sobhita Dhulipala to Karisma Kapoor—proving that maximalism travels well.
Dior’s romantic knits
