Why Gen Z is Choosing Fashion That Feels Like Home

Forget categories, forget costumes. The language of clothing is shifting, quietly, with a sense of intimacy that doesn’t scream trend. Young adults today aren’t trying to dress “ethnic.” They’re looking for something that feels honest. A certain warmth in fabric, a certain weight in the weave—an echo of something older, familiar, comforting.

Heirloom silks are no longer locked in trunks. Vegetable-dyed kurtas are no longer festival wear alone. Stoles edged with embroidery now travel from home to hostel, from train rides to work meetings. These are not style statements made for applause. They are worn for the sake of self.

“I wore my grandfather’s kurta for my college farewell,” says the Gen Z fashion conscious student today.

That quiet return is everywhere. Chappals worn with cargos, jhumkas peeking through messy buns, a handwoven dupatta thrown over a T-shirt. It's not a protest. It’s a memory made wearable. A bridge between a past they never fully lived and a present they are crafting with care.

This is what we call heritage in motion. A bangle from a mother’s drawer. A fabric that smells faintly of home. A button repaired, not replaced. There is care in this clothing. And a certain stubborn joy. In finding beauty without gloss. In building a future that doesn’t forget.

Fashion that feels like home follows the seasons of life. Worn for rituals both small and sacred. Cooked meals, long walks, laughter with friends. It is soft with wear, strong with meaning.

And slowly, it is changing the world.

Kriti May 2025 Edition

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